In this article, we will discuss a few of the most popular options for people who are trying to sell their homes but don’t want to be charged through the nose.
Fact: Real estate brokerage fee are negotiable. Anyone who tells you differently is trying to pull the wool over your eyes. The truth is that depending on the relative strength of the market, full service agents are willing to sell your home for four to seven percent of the final price. Of course, the real estate company pockets a good amount of the commission, but the agent still does just fine.
What exactly is a discount broker?
Just as there are no set fees and everything is negotiable when it comes to real estate, there is really no such thing as a discount broker. Well, in reality, a discount broker is an agent who is willing to do some of the work for a reduced commission. Again, this means that the homeowners will have to shoulder most of the responsibility. In the next few paragraphs, we are going to take a look at a few of the most common practices of the discount broker.
Flat-fee Listing
This broker will list your home at a flat rate and compensate the primary agent a certain fee on top of that amount. The seller will also have to chip in a predetermined amount based upon the amount of work the selling agent puts into the sale. Unfortunately, this fact is often not disclosed when people list their homes for sale. It is only later that they discover that they have to pay the real estate agent.
Small Percentage Listing
Many brokers advertise low listing fees and claim that they will list your home for only 1 or 2 percent of the final sales prices. Again, however, most of them neglect to mention that you will have to pay an additional fee to the primary agent.
Commission Rebates
There are also brokers that will actually credit the home buyer a percentage of their commission or a percentage at closing. These funds come from the money the seller pays the brokerage agent, who then gives it to the buyer. The hope here is that by offering this cash back incentive, the listing will garner more attention and lead to higher closing price and thus a larger commission for the broker.
As you can see, when it comes to hiring a discount broker you have to be very careful. Oftentimes, the real estate company will not disclose their hidden fees, which may mean that you are sacrificing service for a minuscule discount. However, if you truly believe that you can sell your home on your own, you may be able to save a substantial amount of money with the right discount broker.
