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I'm in the market for a home in North Carolina and am going to be interviewing a couple of "discount buyers agents." The Realtors I will be interviewing all advertise that they return around 30% of their commission.
Does this mean that I will get 30% of the 2.5% buyer's agent commission (assuming its 2.5)? Or will I get 30% of the agent's cut from his/her company, which could be much lower at 30% of 50-60% of 2.5%?
And also, suppose I get $2k back as a cash rebate. Will this get taxed as regular income, capital gain, or something else?
I'm just trying to get my head around the details before I talk to any agents.
Be sure to find out just what services your 'discount' broker will be providing, and what you're expected to do, as well. Consult an accountant or tax advisor, but I'm guessing a $2K rebate would be considered 'income' as it's not related to anything that would have to do with capital gains (I could be wrong, of course - I'm not an accountant - I'm a agent!)
The percentage questions should be asked and clearly answered/explained from anyone you're interviewing.
You should get those answers from the agents that you are interviewing. Also how will it be applied. It may show up as a credit towards closing costs or additional down payment. It also depends upon how N.C. views rebates.
You should get those answers from the agents that you are interviewing. Also how will it be applied. It may show up as a credit towards closing costs or additional down payment. It also depends upon how N.C. views rebates.
This is the correct answer. You may also want to interview a full service agent or 2 for comparisions sake. I'd ask what their average savings are. If you have an agent that gets you a better deal but doesn't rebate, you come out ahead over paying more with a rebate. I know the low service agents in my area typically have buyers that overpay because they don't really get good or any advice. Just food for thought. Good luck.
Discount agencies in my area went under over a year ago.
Maybe rebaterealator, or discountedvisor would be better. Anyway, guess it is outdated in my area as well since their aren't any.
Truth is I don't have anything against it, but having a commercial location in my area is huge (and very expensive) and I can't see competing with my current office from home.
Feel free to drop the outdated term "discount realtor".
I know 29 realtors, and 28 of them now rebate a portion of their commission.
The other one can flip a mean burger.
And this is at least the 2nd time you've posted this. There are over 2000 agents in my market, and I know of 3 that rebate commission. I don't know what happened to make you so anti-Realtor, but I hope your next experience makes up for it. I know I for one get very tired of your inflammatory remarks and obvious mis-truths.
Thanks for all of the advice. I was hoping there was a standard way of providing the discount, but I will ask each agent specifically.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandon Hoffman
You may also want to interview a full service agent or 2 for comparisions sake. I'd ask what their average savings are. If you have an agent that gets you a better deal but doesn't rebate, you come out ahead over paying more with a rebate. I know the low service agents in my area typically have buyers that overpay because they don't really get good or any advice. Just food for thought. Good luck.
This is a whole separate issue and I'm trying to stick to objective questions . Would anybody actually trust what an agent says to the question, "What are your average savings?" I can see how one agent could save an average buyer more money as compared to another agent. But, I am not planning on letting my agent have much influence on the actual price negotiations.
Thanks for all of the advice. I was hoping there was a standard way of providing the discount, but I will ask each agent specifically.
This is a whole separate issue and I'm trying to stick to objective questions . Would anybody actually trust what an agent says to the question, "What are your average savings?" I can see how one agent could save an average buyer more money as compared to another agent. But, I am not planning on letting my agent have much influence on the actual price negotiations.
Well, the agent should be a valuable source of information. The reason you are hiring an agent is to save money. Part of your equation will be factoring in a rebate as you feel fairly comfortable with your negotiation skills.
Would anyone trust an agent? Some would but the good news is you don't have to. Have the agent print off their sales from the year on the MLS where they represented the buyer and you can compare the list price vs. the sold price. Cold hard facts-doesn't get any better than that plus you get to see how much business they actually did. The more transactions closed the better.
Good luck!
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. Would anybody actually trust what an agent says to the question, "What are your average savings?" I can see how one agent could save an average buyer more money as compared to another agent. But, I am not planning on letting my agent have much influence on the actual price negotiations.
