What Does Your Broker or Agent Do for You?

Listing Broker/Agent: stays current on myriad home amenities and sales in the market many, many hours per week, accesses the multiple listing service (MLS) for searching and comparative market analysis, has a network of personal contacts, creates a marketing plan and invests a great deal of time in implementing it (print ads, internet listings, featuring listings on his/her web site, creating materials, photographing), holds open houses, follows up the numerous leads on potential buyers for the home, keeps current on contract, disclosure and all other matters real estate, to name a few. For more on this topic, as well as the fact that "Good agents spend at least nine hours working behind the scene for every hour spent in the presence of their clients," see, for example, Tyson & Brown, HomeBuying for Dummies: A Reference for the Rest of Us, p. 175.

Buyer's Broker: does all the above for his/her listing clients and so knows the market for his/her buyers. Has experience in learning what you really want and need in a house, to cull through all available homes on the market and present you with "the few" which meet your needs so that you can find "the one!" Keeps current on contract, disclosure and other issues of concern to you -- that can affect how much you get for your money -- and seeks to maximize the value you receive in the transaction. For more, more, more on what your buyer's agent does, see great guides to homebuying such as Tyson & Brown, Homebuying for Dummies: a Reference for the Rest of Us


When Is the Broker's (Agent's) Fee Paid?

Remember that agency fees are negotiable and generally are not paid until and unless the sales transaction closes successfully, unless you have contracted otherwise with your broker or agent.


Real Estate Broker (Agent) Fee -- How It Is Paid

Again, agency fees are negotiable. When agreeing to list their house on the market, among other things, sellers sign a commission agreement. In the commission agreement, the sellers and agent agree on the amount of the commission, typically 6 percent of the sales price of the home. The sellers and listing agent also agree on how much of that fee will be paid to a buyer's agent who brings in a buyer; typically that amount is half of the total brokers' fee, or 3%. The fee is paid out of the monies held in escrow, again usually out of the seller's proceeds though in a sense because the broker's commission or fee is part of the sales price, comes out of both the buyer's and seller's pockets. Given the value added by the Agent (see "What Does Your Broker or Agent Do for You?" above), and the fact that most houses list and sell with agents, this fee is a built-in part of the home's value properly coming out of the seller's proceeds.


Real Estate Fees, Other Than Broker Fees

Please click on Buyer/Seller Info and read the article in "Title and Escrow" regarding "Closing and Title Costs".