The interesting thing about recently writing the series on FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions), is that all questions get even more attention and can be terrific blog fodder. Just yesterday I was asked a question that I realized I’d been asked by many sellers, “How Many Agents Do I Have to Pay to Sell My Property?”.
Most sellers realize that there may be more than one agent
involved in the sale of their house. So, the question is understandable. Some may be concerned that the more “hands in the pot”, so to say, might mean that the compensation or commission paid the agents may be more expensive. This is just one of many reasons that good agents want to take the time to review listing agreements and contracts so carefully with their clients…there’s a ton of “small stuff” in those documents.
In all listing agreements that I’m aware of for residential and vacant land, the seller pays one fee only. If another broker is involved either by bringing the buyer or if the listing was a referral from another agent, the seller still pays only one fee and the listing agent “shares” the fee with any other agent involved.
This might be of particular concern if the sellers live in a different state from the property they are trying to sell. For one thing, they may not be familiar at all with real estate rules in the other state plus they might have enlisted the aid of an agent in their home state to help them find an agent to help them sell the property. In this instance, the process is called a referral. Generally speaking, the referring agent and the listing agent will negotiate a referral fee between them to be paid by the listing agent to the referral agent upon a successful closing. Commissions are often divided into two sides, listing and selling. The referral fee would come out of the listing side of the total commission.
The second and most common scenario is that an agent from an office other than the listing agent will more than likely be bringing a buyer. In that case, the listing agent will pay half of the total commission collected to the buyer’s agent (aka “selling agent”).
So, sellers relax. Closing day will not be an ordeal of paying out additional commission fees to real estate agents just because more than one was involved. Pay attention when the agent reviews your listing agreement with you, all states’ real estate agreements and contracts may not be like North Carolina, but in our state the answer to “How Many Agents Do I have to Pay to Sell My Property?” is one…hopefully me! Call MoonDancer Realty and let’s talk about it ;-D
Comments(12)