Who Pays the Buyer’s Agent Fee?

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!

What Does ‘Broom Clean’ Mean for Real Estate Buyers and Sellers?

pexels-cottonbro-4108715One person’s “clean” is another person’s “yuck.” In the realm of real estate there is an ambiguous phrase embedded deep in the purchase contract and it reads something like, “property to be broom clean and free of all occupants and belongings.” What about vacuuming the carpets?

Let’s decipher the legalese for the average buyer and seller. What does “broom clean” really mean? First of all, who has a broom? We vacuum, we Swiffer, we mop, right? I think we have a broom in the garage. Witches have brooms, early colonists used brooms to sweep around the hearth, but in the 21st century we have Dysons, Sharks, and fancy cleaning tools.

So, does “broom clean” mean I need to vacuum and Swiffer the floors? Sure, if that is your idea of clean. Others may go one step further and mop or steam mop the floor. One of my favorite clients introduced me to a steam mop when she was getting her townhouse ready for sale. Wow! Steam mop versus broom, no contest.

Because the purpose of a broom is to sweep the floor many sellers just focus on this when moving out of the house. Other “hot spots” that need cleaning include showers, glass shower doors, tubs, sinks, etc. But what area is overlooked the most? If you guessed the “inside of cabinets and drawers” then contact us right away for a prize.

When you sell or buy with The Weaver Team you don’t have to worry about these pesky cleaning issues. Did you forget to clean the kitchen drawers, no worries! The Weaver Team will head to your house with our hand-held vacuum for last-minute cleaning. We still don’t know how we would use a broom …