Thursday, January 5, 2012

Are Buyer's agents really free?

Well yes and no! The buyer's agent is offered a percentage of the Seller's agent's commission (listing agent). For example, if the listing agent has contracted for a 6% marketing fee or commission, the listing agent may offer out 2.5 or 3 % to the agent that brings and represents the buyer. This is rather counter-intuitive as the better the buyer's agent works for you, the less he/she gets paid!! The origin of this oddity comes from the history of real estate transactions when the listing agent used to do it all. So the buyer's agent isn't "free", and in some cases such as for sale by owner the buyer may end up paying some or all of the buyer's agent fees, but the buyer usually doesn't pay the agent directly. Call or write me with any of your real estate questions! Visit my website at www.RenoHomesList.com