Welcome!
As a broker in New York State who has been using buyer rebates for the past 4 years of the 22 years that I have been in the real estate business I have this to say regarding buyer rebates.........Come on in the water is fine. I once gave (I can't believe I use to do this) 25% of my commissions to a broker who sent me scant referrals. I formed my own company 4 years ago with buyer rebates and fee for services being a part of the business plan as well as the more traditional commission compensation based on a percentage of the sale price of a property. I know give 20% (I save 5% over what I gave my broker) of my selling commissions to my buyers at closing. I have them sign a disclaimer which says that the rebate is without any strings attached regarding any obligations on their part to use me again or to send me referrals. They do both. They are under no obligation to do so and obviously receive no compensation (illegal in my state) for doing so. I attend my closings to personally hand the refund check to my buyers and have them sign the disclaimer. I am the only person at closing with a check going in the right direction according to my buyers. While at a closing recently the attorneys (buyer, seller and bank attorney; we do things the old fashion way in New York) asked for my business card; not out of the norm. Should any doubting party care to spend the time, I would be happy to put them in touch with any one of my buyer and seller clients so they may ask them directly the quality of the service they received. In parting I would like to point out that NOT receiving a refund from a real estate agent is no guarantee that the consumer will be well served. I believe the current level of esteem the consuming public holds our profession in (according to the polls I read) would tend to support this argument. I know from first hand experience that my clients appreciate the level of service I bring to the table and my refunds. At the end of the day there is no substitute for the care you show and give your clients.