This is the #1 Thing Home Buyers Are Surprised About
Mar 04, 2021
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It can be surprising what tiny tricks the mind plays when you’re trying to make a difficult decision. Sometimes, just one hiccup is enough to make the whole process feel overwhelming. For most people, buying a home is one of the trickiest decisions they’ll ever make. It’s a lot of moving pieces, a heap of money, and a huge commitment so thinking about real estate agent fees can feel like the perfect reason to put off your search a little longer. The good news—and something we’ve come to realize that many buyers don’t even realize—is that the services of your buyer’s agent are free. No, agents aren’t working for nothing but the commission they are paid isn’t going to come out of your pocket. So if you’re on the fence about starting your search and have hesitated for fear of getting locked in, we want you to stop worrying. Your buyer’s agent will work hard on your behalf (especially if you go with Realty Collective!), but you won’t be footing the bill. We’ll explain.
Do Buyers Pay Real Estate Agent Fees?
Real estate agents are independent contractors. Instead of regular paychecks, the money we earn comes from our commissions. So no money changes hands until you find your dream place and the deal is complete. But if you’re not handing over the commission, who is? Generally, a buyer’s agent’s fees are baked into the seller’s closing costs and the percentage from the sale is usually split between the buyer and seller’s agents. So if a home costs $500,000 and the terms of the deal include a 5% commission ($25,000 in this case) to be evenly split between the buyer and seller agents, each would earn 2.5% of that commission (roughly $12,500 each). The best part? That’s all covered by the seller. So if things are tight and you’ve been worried you’d have to sacrifice some of your down payment to pay an agent, now you know better! It’s important to know, too, that just because a buyer’s agent isn’t paid by you, we still work for you! It’s our fiduciary duty to try and get you the best possible deal, as well as provide services only we can—like finding properties for you to look at via the MLS, managing all the scheduling for visits to potential homes with the seller’s agent, and handling all the paperwork. Buying a home will never be easy, but our job as agents is to make it as painless as possible all without you paying a dime.