Here is a question from a seller. I am in Georgia where the typical commision is 6%. The agent we chose to sell our house is also the agent for the builder who we are buying our new house through. We chose to use her, out of loyalty even though she has very little experience. We had a seller show up at our house without his agent. We showed the house to him and started negotiations. We also told him to call our agent. Since then we have worked directly with him on his list of repairs. We asked our agent about getting a reduction in her commission of 6% considering the work that we put into the deal. I have heard that it is pretty standard for an agent to lower their commission from 6% to 4% when they are the only agent involved in the deal. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
I think it it fair to ask that if they stand to make money on both transactions (buy and sell side) then you should be able to ask for a discount. How can they otherwise represent your interest or their's fairly? They want it to sell for the highest amount but the buyer wants it for the lowest so clearly she needs to do something. Definitely ask and if she does not like it, yank the listing away and find someone who will take it at a discount.
Goodluck!
Now let me start by saying I am not in Atlanta but we are in Charlotte and we will often reduce the commission if we have both sides and in her situation she has it 3 ways and she should be more than williing to reduce it some.
While it's always a good idea to ask others for their opinions about the situation, in the end, you need to talk to your agent to get things accomplished. Let her know your feelings on the subject and present clear, concise arguments.