Times are tough. Times are tough for everyone, especially for homeowners having to sell their home for one reason or another. As most sellers will take a loss with the sale of their home, any additional cost associated with the transaction hurts twice as much.
Many offices in our area charge a transaction fee at the time of closing. We've seen the amounts ranging from as low as $195 to a whopping $600. In my previous office, we were asked to charge our clients (sellers as well as buyers) $195 per transaction. If questioned by clients we were to shrug it off as costs associated with file storage, faxing etc. We were told that if we forget or refuse to charge the fee, it would come out of our pocket. One agent categorically rejected the added fee, saying she was happy to pay it out of her pocket - and she did. Personally, I didn't like charging the fee because I knew it wasn't being used to pay for file storage but to advertise our office and listings.
It seems that some offices are now also charging a listing fee. This is an advance fee due from the seller at the time the property is being listed. We don't know if it is being refunded if the property doesn't sell and we find it hard to believe that any homeowner is willing to fork over $250 and forfeit it if the agent isn't able to sell the property. In times like this, who can afford to spend $250 on NOTHING?
Listing with us doesn't cost anything! No listing fee, no fax fee, no file storage fee, no fancy office decoration fee, no fee for added fuel cost, no fee to have your property advertised in weekly print materials, no fee to put your name on a listing agreement, not even a cancelation fee.
Commission is the only fee ERA Advantage Realty will charge you and we only get paid if we sell your home. Plain and simple!
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