Who pays the real estate agent fees?
The seller. Yay, the one bullet you dodge as a buyer! When a house is put on the market, the sellers usually sign a contract with a real estate broker -- fees are typically from 3 to 6 percent of the purchase price -- to take care of advertising, showing the property, and negotiating with the buyer.
What if you’re the seller? You’ll be handing over a large sum of money to this person, so you want to shop around to find an agent you like and negotiate the best possible deal for yourself. And be aware that the business is changing all of the time, especially because of the Internet. Realtors and real estate agents used to deal only in exclusive listings, but now with web-based databases and other multiple listing services, you can sign nonexclusive deals for lower rates.
When you’re the buyer, you can go to any broker -- or all of them -- and they can show you properties in your area free of charge. Even if you want to stick with one preferred agent and that person doesn’t have an exclusive listing on a particular place, he or she can probably help get you in to see anything available. Agents tend to work out deals among themselves to split fees if they bring each other business.
by The Nest Editors
7/2/08
See more:
buying a home,
Real Estate