Everyone wants to know how Buyer’s Agents get paid. Here’s the truth.
The buyer is the only party to the transaction that brings a check to the closing table. So, simply, the buyer pays the fee. In most cases, the buyer’s agent fee is “baked” into the sale of the house. It’s the whole enchilada.
How Buyer Representation Works: When you hire a Realtor to represent you in the purchase of a home you sign a contract with the Realtor’s agency that outlines the terms, conditions, and most importantly the fee that is due to the Buyer’s Agent. This contract is between you and your Buyer’s Agent. The seller does not pay the Buyer’s Agent fee, it is paid through the transaction as a line item on the seller’s settlement statement.
Here are the two ways to pay your Buyer’s Agent:
In most cases the purchaser may request that the seller cover the Buyer’s Agent fee in the transaction. This means that when you see a “sale price” for a house it does not reflect the “net proceeds” to the seller.
Less commonly, the purchaser may want to pay the Buyer’s Agent fee directly to the buyer’s agency as part of their closing costs. This means that the “sale price” for the house does not have the Buyer’s Agent fee baked into the transaction.
If you are thinking about buying and still have questions – please feel free to reach out, we are always happy to help!
First, who doesn’t love a warm Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tart? Alas, I digress. Back to the topic at hand, what is a Pop-Tart agent? Whenever there is a hot seller’s market, as it has been the last few years in Vermont, buyers are eager to run out and see property. This means that a buyer would call an agent, and the agent would pop up at the front door to let the buyer into the house, thus the practice of “popping up” to show a house morphed into a “Pop-Tart” showing as Pop-Tarts, well, you know, pop out of the toaster when ready.
Did you know that when you contact random real estate agents they are “not” working for you? While they may be friendly and accommodating, they do not have your best interest in mind. Until you sign a contract with a real estate brokerage firm you are an unrepresented buyer. While there is no requirement that you engage a professional to represent you in the purchase of a property you may get weary of not having “one” real estate agent as your fiduciary, someone to put your interests first. Here are three reasons to hire a Buyer’s Agent:
Vermont is small, our population hovers around 620,000. Yes, that’s the whole state – men, women, children. We have never had a housing “boom” like other states. Demand for housing has outstripped our supply over the last few years. In certain price ranges there are perhaps 40 – 50 buyers looking at the same house.
We get it. We fear germs and viruses just like all of you. Federal, local, and town governments have cautioned us to stay home and practice social distancing. We want to do our part as responsible citizens so we, too, are working from home.
1. The “Premiere Agent” on Zillow has paid to be in that #1 position. Many agents pay third party search engines to pop up at the top of the list of real estate agents in your area. This truth extends to Realtor.com, Trulia.com and Yelp.com. Many times, your top local real estate experts who provide exceptional service and results stay in business through repeat clients, past client referrals, and general “word-of-mouth” networks. Ask your colleagues, friends and family who they recommend before jumping on the internet to look for an agent.
3. Internet sites that promote “We will match you with a Top Agent” usually send your information to several agents that have signed up for that websites services. These agents scramble to be the “first” to contact you and the agents pay a hefty “finder” fee to the service.
The Weaver Team 