It must be very confusing and disturbing to potential home buyers and sellers, that the cost of services is never discussed on real estate websites.
There are multiple reasons for that. One of which is that many agents simply want to get face to face with you before discussing costs with you. Because let’s face it, selling your home can be an expensive undertaking. More on that subject below, but first let’s make sure that you know how the pricing structure works.
When we represent you as a buyer, it costs you nothing. That doesn’t mean our services come free, of course. They are paid for by the seller.
When a home is listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service (the MLS), the listing agent specifies what the brokerage representing the buyer will be paid in the event of a sale being achieved. This is usually a percentage of the sale price, but it could be a fixed amount of money. So in our case, assuming the seller has agreed to co-operate at x% of the sale price, that amount would be paid to RE/MAX Accord on completion of sale, and we would receive a proportion of that from RE/MAX Accord.
Now there are other costs that a buyer will incur over the course of a transaction. The buyer normally pays the escrow fee, title insurance costs, and the costs of any inspections desired, other than those already arranged by the seller. Other costs will include recording charges, notary fees etc. In the event of financing being needed, there will also be loan and appraisal related costs. Some of these are determined by the purchase price of the home in question, and we would be happy to let you have a more detailed estimate for any price range that you are considering on request.
Real estate agents have been advised to avoid discussing commission fees in any public setting, and this includes websites. This came about as a result of past litigation regarding suggestions of price-fixing, and this is another reason you won’t see much mention of brokerage commsiion rates on the Internet.
But as stated, we believe in being transparent with you, so keep on reading.
Before getting into actual costs, please remember that if you are comparing the costs of listing with Agent A, as against Agent B, you should see what you are getting for your money. The end result (the final sale price), will vary wildly if you list with an inexperienced agent providing a minimum level of service, as opposed to an experienced team who operate as full-service marketing specialists.
Note that everything stated above is included in our brokerage fee.
As stated above, we are advised not to discuss the actual commission amount. We are not hiding anything though. If you contact us with the form below, and ask what we would charge, we will tell you. I can tell you now that it will a fixed percentage of actual sale price, it will include everything mentioned above, and you will get a full professional service, regardless of whether you are selling a $400,000 condo or a $4million estate.
Half of the selling commission will be paid to the brokerage representing the buyer, and the other half will be paid to RE/MAX Accord, which will be shared with us.