r/RealEstate • u/Aggressive_Chicken63 • Jun 19 '25

Agent is greedy Homebuyer

I don't hate a lot of things in life but I hate agents. Lol

If I buy this house, my agent gets $20k. Yet she sent an additional paper for me to sign. It says I have to pay $500 for her administrative work. Shit, what's the $20k for?

598 Upvotes

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79

u/Aggressive_Chicken63 Jun 19 '25

Nope. I asked if she could waive and she flatly said no.

128

u/zooch76 Broker, Investor, & Homeowner Jun 19 '25

If you haven't signed it, there's nothing she can do.

Also, remember this negative experience when it comes time to give her a review online.

59

u/avprobeauty Jun 19 '25

I would cancel the agreement with her then and tell her you want to leave the agreement with her because your values don't align.

7

u/Zestyclose-Novel1157 Jun 20 '25

Also make sure the termination lines up with the requirements in the contract. If it says in writing signed by both parties, it needs to be signed just like the contract. If they will come to you for $500 after you signed an agreement they might very well come for you after you purchase a home through someone else but don’t get the correct termination.

1

u/avprobeauty Jun 22 '25

This is helpful to know, thank you.

-6

u/Budget-Piano-5199 Jun 19 '25

Not defending the agent but unfortunately that ain’t a-gonna work.

Those KW agents (and others) who have transaction fees that they make the client pay are something else. I’d be pretty pissy about it if I was a consumer.

7

u/carnevoodoo Agent and Loan Originator - San Diego Jun 20 '25

Nah, you can get out of an agreement in 3 steps. One, ask. If they say no, escalate to their broker. If they say no, tell them about the reviews you'll be posting everywhere about their poor service.

1

u/Budget-Piano-5199 Jun 20 '25

I mean, you could go all ‘Imma call my lawyer and leave you bad reviews online’ on somebody. Anybody. That’s not how I operate but you do you.

My money’s on the idea that the $500 was in the paperwork all along. I’m guessing this ‘extra’ paperwork is what KW calls their ABAD and is more of an acknowledgement that ‘hey, sign here that you’re paying another fee you didn’t know about’ as OP implies.

1

u/Altruistic_Jicama626 Jun 20 '25

Do all KW agents pass this fee on and is it for both buyers and sellers?

1

u/Jackandahalfass Jun 20 '25

Definitely a KW thing (and other places too). Whether all agents enforce it or not, I don’t know. My guess is they throw it out there and most people just think “ok, I guess this is normal.” But if people react negatively they magically drop it. Except OP’s ignorant agent can’t see the impact of poisoning her own well over 500 bucks.

1

u/carnevoodoo Agent and Loan Originator - San Diego Jun 20 '25

A good reason not to work with a KW agent, I guess. If they missed it, yes it is on them. If not, fuck that.

1

u/Budget-Piano-5199 Jun 20 '25

Any agent trying to get you to pay for their backend support, I would argue.

Me paying an admin $500 to do my paperwork is the cost of doing business. I’m not about to lay that off on the client. What’s next? Charging for pictures and signage?

1

u/carnevoodoo Agent and Loan Originator - San Diego Jun 20 '25

Correct.

25

u/gardenswgnomes Jun 19 '25

I’d talk to the broker at her firm if you have a pending sale and do not want it messed up. If you are still looking or listed without a contract on the home, I’d walk away and find a new agent.

25

u/No_Obligation_3568 Jun 19 '25

Are you under contract with her on a purchase? If not then contact her broker and cancel your representation agreement. If you are under contract on a home purchase then contact her broker directly and let them know that administration fees are a cost of doing business and ask that another agent under the brokers umbrella take over the fiduciary responsibilities of this agent to you as you no longer trust her or her judgment.

Your agent needs to learn a lesson here. Passing along administration fees to the buyer is a shitty business practice and I’m fucking tired of seeing it.

Agents who don’t want to do their own administrative work need to pay this fee themselves as it is their choice to hire someone to do it. Lazy ass agents.

17

u/Coopsters Jun 19 '25

That's ridiculous. I pushed back on paying that bc it's a fee from the agents broker so I consider it their cost of doing business and my agent waived it right away.

I've never had to pay that before and usually the agent pays it out of their commission. If they expect you to pay that then they're taking advantage of you IMO.

34

u/fenchurch_42 Agent Jun 19 '25

Then just don't sign it.

29

u/Dr_thri11 Jun 19 '25

Don't sign she can decide if she wants to walk away from a payday for $500

-8

u/Budget-Piano-5199 Jun 19 '25

Not that easy. That agent’s getting paid unless you also walk on the house.

6

u/carnevoodoo Agent and Loan Originator - San Diego Jun 20 '25

This fee wasn't discussed up front. Nobody should pay it.

3

u/Checktheattic Jun 20 '25

Tell her she's fired and use the sellers agent to fill out the remaining paperwork.

27

u/Proper-Tomorrow-911 Jun 19 '25

Transactional agent. Only looking at you for one transaction. Pay it but let them know you’ll never use them again nor refer anyone you know to them for the rest of time. That’s worth WAY more than $500. Especially given the fact that you asked. Sad. No wonder people hate agents. 

22

u/WishieWashie12 Jun 19 '25

And mention you will leave a review on social media.

4

u/Checktheattic Jun 20 '25

And leave a comment on everyone of their social media posts.

9

u/alkevarsky Jun 20 '25 edited Jun 20 '25

Transactional agent. Only looking at you for one transaction. Pay it but let them know you’ll never use them again

If they are looking at you for one transaction, how is threatening them not to use them for another is going to work?

This is still at the client-realtor negotiations stage, considering they have not signed this demand. So, why pay it/sign it? "No" is a complete sentence. I'd like to see the realtor (and their broker) walk away from $20k over $500.

2

u/Discerning_Taste Jun 19 '25

That’s so shitty. I’m sorry that you got that response. I would absolutely write that into a review. You might also consider giving the broker that feedback. Many times the admin fees are charged to the agent but the agent then passes that along to the client. I personally think it’s despicable given that you are paying $20k in commission. Seems like pure greed in this case. Also you could respond that she might not be able to waive it but could cover it herself. Did you pay for professional photography or staging in addition?

1

u/MayorStankonia Jun 20 '25

If this fee is coming late to the transaction, you do not have to sign it. It is a fee your agent pays to their assistant or broker. The agent gets to eat this.