The recent settlement by the National Association of Realtors regarding commissions will change the way I sell or help you buy your house. Here’s a few things you need to know, and please keep in mind that I will continue to help you buy and sell your property, just in a different way. I have been practicing many of these “New” compensation methods for many years now.
As a Listing Agent:
Concessions can still be offered to attract potential buyers or to facilitate a quicker sale. The concessions can come from you the seller, from me, or a combination. Sellers could incentivize a sale by offering to pay all or a portion of the buyers agent’s commission. However, I can no longer use the MLS platform/website to offer this compensation. Transparency about the breakdown in fees and compensation may go to the buyer’s agent. There are strategies and ways to offer compensation to a buyer’s agent to get the highest price possible in the least amount of time.
As a Buyer’s Agent:
There needs to be a written agreement specifying who pays my compensation, buyers are now required to have a written agreement with their agent. This agreement needs to specify who will compensate the agent and how much for what services. Also, the MLS platform, no longer allows compensation offers. This means that I will negotiate my fee directly with my clients, and this will be well documented. It will spell out exactly what I will do for you, for how long, and for what compensation, and/or fee.
What This Means:
Since buying or selling a house, for many, is the biggest financial decision ever to be made, these new changes will bring possible additional anxiety, more paperwork for certain and more explanations, but it will make more information available to both the seller and buyer. Clients should be more involved in the compensation process, and they should know where their hard-earned dollars are going to, and what compensation on either side means on getting the highest and best price for the sale of a home and the highest and best work from their buyer’s agent.
Home Buyer/Home Seller Tips:
- Your trusted Realtor is even more important than ever, rates are still high, but coming down, and inventory may be limited in some areas of the Peninsula
- A consultation is a MUST in the changing real estate environment. Clients and their Agents must have a serious discussion on how they will deal with new changes and how they can use them to their advantage
- Compensation Options can be different depending on your financial situation, how fast you need to sell/buy a property and how you can use compensation to your advantage. Call me to find out more, I have been practicing many of these “New” compensation methods for many years now
