Who Pays The Real Estate Agent?
Now that you’ve learned how much does a real estate agent make, you’re wondering who pays the real estate agent?
Get ready for a non-answer. Or a super-answer. It’s a half-full/half-empty situation.
The thing is that both the home buyer and the home seller pay the real estate agents involved with the sale of a property but if you want to get too technical and literal, it’s the home seller.
Confusing? Ok, let’s go step by step of a sale and after we’ll comment and set things straight:
If Home Buyer Sam and his agent Steve close the deal with Seller Diane and her agent Roxanne, Home Buyer Sam pays up Home Seller Diane, who is obligated to give Agent Roxanne her real estate commission of 6%, that will be, then, split 50-50 with Agent Steve.
So, as you can see, the 6% commission is included in the payment done by the buyer and passed on by the seller. It’s a matter of point of view if you want to look at it as one specific party paying for that commission. And, of course, many greedy people see it this way: home buyers complain they could have spent less for the property if it wasn’t for the real estate commission and home sellers complain they could keep more of the money in their pockets if it wasn’t for the real estate commission.
But the truth is that they are both wrong. What is positively correct is the exact opposite: going about a house sale by way of a For Sale By Owner with no real estate agent involved will make you lose money. Whether you are the seller – by pricing it below (or even worse: above!) its true market value potential – or if you are the buyer – by not knowing how to detect and negotiate through the pitfalls of real estate and failing to avoid problems with paperwork and home inspection that will come to haunt you later and cost you lots of money.
Contact one of our local real estate agents right now so you don’t have to worry who pays for the real estate agent. Actually, you know what? We’re adding another answer to the question of who pays for the real estate agent! It’s not the seller or the buyer or the combination of the two… if you think about it, the agent actually pays for himself through the great work and return over your investment in hiring him! Do it!
Popular Real Estate Questions
Popular Real Estate Glossary Terms
Intermediate debt (5 to 10 years) without periodic payments but the entire amount (balloon payment) is due at the maturity date. If full payment is not made, the lender may foreclose on the ...
A style of architecture originating in Europe in the 1920s. The international architecture design was very functional and emphasized buildings constructed of steel, reinforced concrete, and ...
Situation in which very few prospective buyers of real estate are rejected by lenders. This may be due to ample money supply, lower interest rates, and/or relaxed credit standards. See also ...
Range reconnaissance, or surveying, for the purpose of preparing grazing capacity estimates. There are two parts to a range survey: mapping of grazing cover varieties and associated ...
Also called profit and loss statement. A financial statement depicting a business entity's operating performance and reports the components of net income, including sales of real estate, ...
Tax assessed on a transfer of property made without adequate legal consideration. This tax is based on the appraised value of the property at the time of transfer.Also, gifts of property ...
Escrow, often known as collateral, is a legal concept. A third party is designated to hold an asset, resource, or a sum of money used in a transaction on behalf of the other two parties, ...
A portion of a real estate company's assets financed with debt instead of equity. It involves interest an principal obligations. Financial leverage is beneficial to real estate investors ...
Map presented to a municipality's planning agency by a real estate developer for consideration and approval. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.