Listing Your Property…
Thinking of listing your home?
You’ve been reading in the media about all the lawsuits against brokers alleging everything from “bloated commissions” to wrong-doing.
Commissions have always been negotiable between the Listing Broker and the Seller.
The concerns have centered around whether or not the buyer’s agent should be paid by the listing broker. The lawsuit settlements point to a big shift in commission payments to buyer brokers. For now we are doing business as usual, awaiting the final legal decisions.
What are your concerns?
It’s not the gross sale price of your home that you are concerned with, but what you walk away with. Now, more than ever it’s important for you to “do the math”. When you list your property, you will be asked by your listing broker if you will be willing to pay the buyer broker a fee. No longer are “co-brokes” listed in MLS, due to the NAR lawsuit settlement.
You may be asked for concessions to the buyer for things like a loan interest buy-down, closing costs, and possibly the amount the buyer owes the agent.
These are the options for the BUYER of your home:
They can pay their agent to represent them.
They can enter into a buyer broker agreement and hope the seller of the property will pay their buyer’s agent
They can find a property and ask the seller to pay their buyer agent through a “seller concession” area in the offer the buyer makes to the seller
They can go directly to the listing broker to see the property and be represented as a dual agent or be unrepresented
They have to sign a buyer broker agreement just to see a property with a buyer agent and the agreement must outline the compensation to be received by the agent
Over the years the system has produced reasonably fast property sales, and many times it included a reduction in commissions asked for during the negotiations. That was then, this is now. Buyer brokers will have to find a way to get paid.
The decision will rest with the seller on whether or not to offer to pay a buyer broker commission, either through the listing broker agreement, or as a concession in the purchase contract.
Time is money…