Your Agent and Your Team for a San Francisco Purchase
Since the 2024 NAR settlement and California's AB 2992, buyer representation is a negotiated written contract, and your agent's fee is one of the largest negotiable numbers in the purchase. In a city where single-family homes were reported selling well above asking through 2026, the agent's judgment on price is worth more than the fee either way, so choose carefully and negotiate both.
This stage covers the people on your side: the agent and what you pay them, the agreement that binds you, and the bench of inspectors, specialists and occasionally attorneys you need before a short contingency window opens.
What good looks like
You have interviewed three agents with the same questions and seen their last ten San Francisco offers. You negotiated a flat fee or capped percentage, written into a non-exclusive agreement with a short term and a clean cancellation clause, and you know what you owe if a seller offers nothing. Your lender and agent have each other's cell numbers and an agreed turnaround for offer letters. A general inspector, a pest inspector, a sewer scope operator and a structural engineer will answer your call, and if a TIC or a tenant-occupied building is in play, the attorney has already read the documents.
The biggest mistakes
- Signing a three-month exclusive agreement at an open house because the agent said it was required; a short, non-exclusive showing agreement satisfies the rules.
- Choosing the agent with the lowest fee without checking offer accuracy. Overpaying by 3% on a $1.5 million home costs more than any commission difference.
- Treating the seller's inspection reports as your inspection.
- Discovering on day two of a five-day contingency that no sewer scope operator can come until next week.
- Offering on a TIC or a building with tenants before a specialist has read the agreement or the tenancy.
How this site is paid
SFoverasking is paid through the buyer-side commission when a reader chooses to work with its agents, and takes no referral fees from lenders, title or escrow companies, insurers, inspectors or attorneys, which is why it can tell you plainly that the commission is negotiable.
In this stage
Start with who pays the buyer's agent in SF now, which explains the settlement, the loan rules and how to negotiate the number. Then how to choose a buyer's agent in San Francisco gives you the interview, the verification steps and the dual-agency warning. Buyer representation agreements in California, explained goes clause by clause through the form you will be asked to sign. Home, pest, sewer and foundation inspectors in SF builds the bench you can mobilize in 48 hours. TIC attorneys and fractional lenders covers the two specialists a tenancy in common cannot do without. And when SF home buyers need a real estate attorney tells you which situations justify the fee and which do not.
Do this now
- Interview two or three buyer's agents before signing anything; ask each for their last ten SF offers, won and lost, and what compensation they want.
- Negotiate the buyer representation agreement: term (California caps agreements with individual buyers at three months), compensation, exclusivity and cancellation. Never sign one at an open house to get in the door.
- Get in writing how any seller concession toward your agent's fee will be requested in offers and what you owe if the seller pays nothing.
- Introduce your lender and agent to each other and agree on offer-letter turnaround times.
- Book relationships now with a general inspector, a pest inspector and a sewer-lateral camera operator; in a 5-day contingency you will not have time to shop.
- If TICs are on your list, retain a TIC attorney and talk to a fractional lender before you write an offer.
- Know the situations that need a real estate attorney: tenant-occupied buildings, co-buying, probate or trust sales, unwarranted units.
Articles in this stage
- Who Pays the Buyer's Agent in SF Now? It Is Negotiable
Who pays your buyer's agent in San Francisco after the 2024 NAR settlement and AB 2992, what is typical, how loan rules treat it, and how to negotiate the fee.
- How to Choose a Buyer's Agent in San Francisco
How to pick a buyer's agent in SF: where to find candidates, ten interview questions, verifying a track record, dual agency and lender coordination.
- Buyer Representation Agreements in California, Explained
What AB 2992 and the NAR settlement require in a California buyer representation agreement, clause by clause, what to negotiate, and how to exit a bad fit.
- Home, Pest, Sewer and Foundation Inspectors in SF: Your Bench
Which inspectors SF buyers need on call before offers, what each finds in 1900s housing stock, what they cost, and how to vet them before a short contingency.
- TIC Attorneys and Fractional Lenders: Who You Need for a TIC
Why an SF TIC turns on the TIC agreement and the fractional loan, what a TIC attorney reviews, which lenders write fractional loans, and what they cost.
- When SF Home Buyers Need a Real Estate Attorney
California closes through escrow, not lawyers. When an attorney is worth it: tenants, unwarranted units, probate or trust sales, co-buying and title defects.
What to shop for at this stage
| Service | When | Savings from shopping | How to shop it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buyer's agent (compensation and terms) | Before you sign any representation agreement | High: shop it hard A half point on a $1.5 million purchase is $7,500 and a point is $15,000; agreement terms decide whether you can leave a poor fit without owing anything. | Interview three agents, ask each for rate or flat fee, caps, shortfall terms and a non-exclusive trial, and negotiate term, cancellation and protection period in the written agreement. |
| Home inspector | Before you write offers | Medium: worth 2-3 quotes Bay Area fees cluster around $500 to $850 as of 2026-10-25 (check current figures); report quality varies far more than price. | Compare sample reports on pre-1920 SF homes from two or three inspectors and ask whether they will review a seller's report the same day. |
| Sewer lateral camera inspection | Before any offer on a home with original plumbing | Medium: worth 2-3 quotes Roughly $200 to $500 as of 2026-10-25 (check current figures) against lateral replacements estimated elsewhere in the Bay Area at $4,000 to $11,000. | Book a scope-only operator or a plumber who delivers the video and a written report rather than a repair bid. |
| Foundation and structural specialists | When an inspector flags foundation, cripple-wall or soft-story issues | Medium: worth 2-3 quotes Engineer fees vary widely; national cost guides put a cripple-wall retrofit at roughly $3,300 to $7,600 as of 2026-10-25 (check current figures) with Bay Area labor higher, so an independent opinion is cheap by comparison. | Get a flat-fee site visit and letter from a licensed structural engineer and compare it with any contractor bid. |
| TIC attorney | Before you offer on a TIC | Medium: worth 2-3 quotes Co-ownership agreements run roughly $1,000 to $2,000 to draft under general California guidance; reviews are often less, and the saving is a bad agreement caught early. | Two flat-fee quotes from firms that review SF TIC agreements weekly; compare experience over hourly rate. |
| Fractional TIC lender | Before you offer on a TIC | Low: compare once Rates run about 0.5 to 1 point above condo loans with few lenders, so the spread is small; the structure matters more than the start rate. | Two quotes on the same share and down payment; compare fixed period, caps, margin and prepayment terms. |
| Real estate attorney | When tenants, unwarranted units, probate or trust sales, co-buying or title defects appear | Medium: worth 2-3 quotes Statewide figures put real estate attorneys' hourly rates around $150 to $400 (some $500 or more) and a contract review near $780; San Francisco is higher, and a one-hour consultation before the offer is usually enough. | Flat-fee quotes from two specialists in the exact issue; most purchases need none. |
Frequently asked questions
Who pays the buyer's agent in San Francisco now?
Whoever you and the seller agree will. Since August 2024 your agent's fee is set in a written agreement between you and your agent, and since January 2025 California requires that agreement to state compensation, services and termination terms and, for individual buyers, to run no longer than three months. In most San Francisco deals the seller still covers the fee through a concession you request in the offer; if the seller pays less, the agreement decides who covers the gap.
Is a buyer's agent commission negotiable?
Yes. Percentage, flat fee, caps, tiered rates and rebates are all legal in California and all on the table. Redfin's mid-2025 reporting put the national average near 2.4% and about 2.2% on homes over $1 million, which is where most San Francisco purchases land; check current figures. On a $1.5 million purchase a half point is $7,500, so ask every agent you interview before you sign.
Do I have to sign an agreement before an agent shows me a home?
For a private showing with an agent who is working with you, yes, under the NAR practice changes; California Civil Code 1670.50 separately requires a written agreement no later than your first offer. You can attend an open house hosted by the listing agent without one. Start with a short non-exclusive agreement, such as the California Association of Realtors showing agreement, which names a few specific properties and runs for a month or less, and commit to a longer one only after you have seen the agent work.
Which inspectors do I need lined up before I make an offer in SF?
A general inspector who knows pre-1950 construction, a pest inspector who can review the seller's report, a sewer lateral camera operator, and a structural engineer you can call if the foundation or cripple walls look wrong. San Francisco sellers usually provide reports up front and buyers often offer with short or no contingencies, so you need people who can be in the house within 48 hours or review the seller's reports the same day.
Do I need a real estate attorney to buy in California?
Not for an ordinary purchase; California closes through escrow and title companies. Hire one for specific situations: a tenant-occupied unit under the Rent Ordinance, an unwarranted unit, a probate or trust sale, co-buying with friends or family, a TIC agreement, or a title defect on the preliminary report. In each case a one-hour consultation before the offer usually changes what you should pay.