Real Estate Commissions - who pays?!
We are asked this question over and over again. It IS confusing! Let us try to clear up some of this confusion around buying a home and selling a home and who pays the commission. First, only licensed real estate agents earn buying or selling commissions (at least in WA State that is).Â
 Ok, so how does it work?
Selling Office Commission AKA the commission the agent earns by showing you a few homes is paid for by the SELLER.
Listing Office Commission AKA the commission the agent earns by listing the home on the MLS and this real estate commission is paid for by the SELLER.
If you are a buyer then it does NOT cost you to work with an agent to find you a new home or condo. If you sign a Buyer’s Agency Agreement then you could be contracted to pay a commission - ASK YOUR REAL ESTATE AGENT ABOUT THIS IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS!!!
$500 Realty earns the Selling Office Commission and returns 75% of this commission TO THE BUYER on or after closing!
Of course there’s always more details around this but these are the basics. Contact us or ask your local real estate agent about the buying commission or selling commission. It can be confusing!
August 14th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
Yahweh’s New Covenant Assembly…
Thank you for your post!…
September 23rd, 2007 at 11:58 am
I stopped by your booth at the fair and I applaud you for being able to offer “do it yourself” sellers and buyers more opportunities to capture the savings in their real estate transactions. I am a mortgage broker with Loan Network LLC(Lakewood, WA office) and I have assisted many home buyers who have done most of the research work online in finding their home only to pass on the commission to the buyer’s agent. Of course, I work with some outstanding real estate agents who earn their fees, but it’s nice to see more opportunities for those consumers who would like to save money on their real estate transactions. I would also like to see consumers get more encouragement to shop for the best loan option available rather than settle necessarily for the “preferred lender” of the real estate agent or builder. In my experience, preferred lenders tend to get less agressive in their rate and fee structure because they know that “preferred” means that they will probably not get shopped against other lenders or mortgage brokers.