Market conditions, saving money, finance options – lots of good information! Come join us at the North Belleve Community Center, 4063 148th Ave NE at 6:30 pm. RSVPs appreciated but certainly not required! We’d love to see you.
Buying or Selling a Home with a Real Estate Agent: How They “Earn” Their Commission
February 22nd, 2011 by Craig
I came across an interesting tidbit in the Realty Times, a web site devoted to providing “consumers and industry professionals with helpful, informative news and advice.” The article educates agents on how they can “push back” against downward pressure on their commission, whether buying or selling. Apparently, “prospects” (the industry term for somebody thinking of hiring an agent) try to negotiate a lower commission because of “fear.” If the agent can address that fear — which may have one or more causes — then the agent will more likely get the “full” commission. (more…)
Realtors vs. Lawyers: “How will I benefit from WaLaw’s services compared to those of a REALTOR?”
October 5th, 2010 by Marc
This post is authored by Marc Holmes, the Designated Broker for WaLaw Realty. Marc recently received this inquiry from a potential client. Here is his response:
Thank you for the inquiry. The two most obvious advantages that we provide to a buyer like you are superior representation and a large commission rebate. Better representation should be especially important to you since you’re considering a bank owned home which means the seller will insist on using its own contract addendum which supersedes the terms in the standard MLS forms used by agents. Real estate agents aren’t trained or authorized to advise a client on the meaning of custom contract documents but we, as attorneys, are fully capable of advising you on the meaning of such a document and the potential pitfalls that you should be careful to avoid. Moreover, I’m currently dealing with this listing agent on another transaction so she and I are both familiar with one another and have a good working relationship which would benefit you especially if you wind up in a multiple offer situation.
Second, we rebate the entire commission to you less our fee at closing. In this case they’re offering 3% of the net sales price so if you offered the list price you’d would receive a net cash back rebate of $_____. Typically this money is used to pay a portion of the buyer’s closing costs (as opposed to paying all of your closing costs out of pocket). We can also negotiate for a seller contribution to closing costs if that would be helpful to you.
