Looking for first home. I'm wondering if there is a company that charges an hourly rate for real estate agents.

No argument from me... None that I am aware of. But as a buyer, you don't pay the agent directly. Your agents compensation comes from the sellers contract with the listing agent. Of course that is worked into the price of the home, so you are still sort of paying...

No.. there are no companies that offer this "hourly rate".. and if they did, then it would probably work just like attorneys.. you would pay a retainer upfront, and then you get billed for every second you talk to them and then there's the "Behind the scenes" work that your agent does while not in your presence that gets added to the bill.. I would think if you were to ask agents, they would all agree.. they would make much more money if they got paid by the hour vs. how the current system works.. But this is a rant for another time.. First, you need to understand that you as the buyer do not pay the agent.. the seller pays your agent as a percentage of the sales price.. but this has nothing to do with you.. Also, it's absolutely not true that the same amount of work goes into a $100K home vs. A $500K home.. when you are looking for a $100K home, typically, your in the mix of low income borrowers, first time buyers, single couples, retired folks, and cash investors.. all looking at the same $100K home.. so, because the competition is so great on these low priced homes, you end up looking at many more of these properties before you actually get an offer accepted, vs. a buyer looking at $500k properties.. less competition, less offers, less time spent looking and submitting offers.. I'm a Broker here in Scottsdale AZ and I only lend in Arizona. If you or someone you know is looking for financing options, feel free to contact me or pass along my information. William J. Acres, Lender411's number ONE lender in Arizona. 480-287-5714 WilliamAcres.com NMLS# 226347

We all agree with you :)

As a buyer, you are not the one to pay the commission to the listing agent - the seller does. In terms of number of hours worked showing you homes vs. purchase price, William has this correct. The best way to approach this is to carefully interview a few agents to determine whether they are one to look at just one transaction (i.e. a smaller purchase price), -or- understand the value of knowing you and your referral sources over time. If they don't get the long term value, skip him/her.