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Location: Sarasota/ Bradenton - University Pkwy area
4,615 posts, read 7,535,442 times
Reputation: 6036
Those fees are common in my area but I made a personal choice to work for a broker who does not charge them.
However, I sometimes get stuck paying the junk fee for a seller because the listing agent rolls the fee into the commission. For example: MLS commission is 3% - $295.
Yeah I didn't want to mess the seller up either, by making too big a stink and delaying the closing or whatnot.
Then the title gal showed me that the fee was being charged to him TOO so we BOTH were getting screwed so not like I could ask him to take my fee on AT THAT POINT.
But had I known about this crap aforehand I would have felt OK nego for him to pay "any and all realty fees" when I made the offer.
So far no one has replied who was my level of stupid
I READ IT. *punching myself in the face*
THIS IS THE EXACT WORDING:
"ReMax will charge a post closing broker service fee of $195 for each transaction where representation for a seller and/or buyers are provided by ReMax Results."
That's all it says it then describes what you get (har har) for the fee ex: doc storage, use of their FAX MACHINE for God's sake etc.
So can anyone see why I didn't think I as buyer had to pay? Sure it says "will be charged". I figured, to the SELLER along with /part of commission he pays.
Had they worded it, "will charge both buyer and seller $195." it would have been clear.
Think they word it that way on purpose? No I am not a conspiracy theorist.
Last edited by VexedAndSolitary; 02-06-2016 at 05:44 AM..
One airlines=, when questioned about it, said basically "we will still charge it as other costs have gone up: wages, food {really? they CHARGD me for that on the flight too}, insurance, {and etc}, it is an additional revenue stream like a baggage fee". {which, if they surcharge the fuel, then why charge for baggage the fuel is used to moved? sounds sort of like double surcharging for the same thing?}
Airlines are SO DUMB. I've always said that if they just raised the ticket price instead of adding all of these fees no one would complain. Instead everyone feels like they're being charged extra for something they felt they were already paying for.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OverItAll
"ReMax will charge a post closing broker service fee of $195 for each transaction where representation for a seller and/or buyers are provided by ReMax Results."
I noticed it specifies that the fee will be charged when representation is provided. Did you allow the listing agent to act as a dual agent or did you refuse representation? If you refused representation than according to this wording you don't have to pay the fee.
I neither agreed to nor refused reperesentation.
This was a sight unseen long distance purchase conducted via email only. Easy as pie and took like, a few hours to transact.
In an early email wherein I contacted the listing agent he replied that he would be acting as rep for both S and B as I did not have another agent involved, but I didn't sign any agreement attesting to such.
NOTE: the agent immediately offered to PAY THE FEE via writing me a check of his own when I asked him WTF is this fee on my HUD?
Also note: this was a $20,000 cash purchase so his commission was what? Like almost nothing.
So I don't really hold him at fault. I could not bring myself to accept his offer to pay when his entire commission was prob that amount, I, I I I am the IDIOT That didn't question the fee aforehand and ask seller to pay. So I am at least as culpable as he is for not specifically TELLING me as I think he ought to have done.
Sellers and buyers please STOP paying this. Tell your agent you'll pay his junk fee if he'll forego his commission. No wonder the public thinks so poorly of real estate agents. We all get a bad rap because so many of us are crooks. Agents who agree to let their brokerage charge these fees are just as guilty as their crooked broker. This practice appears, in my experience, to be more prevalent with franchise offices. They probably teach seminars at their conventions with titles like "ReMaximizing Client Revenue" or "Getting Every Crumb Off the Table".
I worked for a Century 21 office years ago that was bought out by an ERA franchise that implemented a $395 "regulatory compliance fee" on all transactions. I and a few other agents refused to charge our clients and the broker quietly dropped the requirement for those of us refusing. The dozens of agents who didn't protest blindly went along with having their clients ripped off.
OP, please have your agent reimburse you. He is getting a higher split from his ReMax broker who must cheat clients like you to make up for the increased payout to the agent. The agent can easily afford to pay your fee out of his inflated commission. He tricked you by not explaining the fee to you when you signed. He is fully aware that it's wrong to charge you.
Sellers and buyers please STOP paying this. Tell your agent you'll pay his junk fee if he'll forego his commission. No wonder the public thinks so poorly of real estate agents. We all get a bad rap because so many of us are crooks. Agents who agree to let their brokerage charge these fees are just as guilty as their crooked broker. This practice appears, in my experience, to be more prevalent with franchise offices. They probably teach seminars at their conventions with titles like "ReMaximizing Client Revenue" or "Getting Every Crumb Off the Table".
I worked for a Century 21 office years ago that was bought out by an ERA franchise that implemented a $395 "regulatory compliance fee" on all transactions. I and a few other agents refused to charge our clients and the broker quietly dropped the requirement for those of us refusing. The dozens of agents who didn't protest blindly went along with having their clients ripped off.
OP, please have your agent reimburse you. He is getting a higher split from his ReMax broker who must cheat clients like you to make up for the increased payout to the agent. The agent can easily afford to pay your fee out of his inflated commission. He tricked you by not explaining the fee to you when you signed. He is fully aware that it's wrong to charge you.
HA I bet it IS worded like that in seminars!
I know, it's a load of bulls**t.
But my integrity says, had I READ THE THING correctly and questioned it THEN -it was my responsibility after all to read and question prior to signing- then I would have had NO qualms refusing to pay, at that stage of the game and either nego for seller to, or telling the agent he'd have to eat it.
But since I went ahead and cavalierly signed after reading it and MISINTERPRETING it *punching myself again*
it's as much on me as him for not telling me.
If this were a much bigger sale and his commission were higher I'd let him pay me, integrity notwithstanding because he'd still make a crapload so no biggie but on a 20K sale how much is the guy making anyhow.
It sounds like a rip-off fee. Sort of like what car dealers do to their customers.
People should learn to just say no. Walk out of the closing. Let them find another sucker.
This. And I do just that. So many people just accept these BS fees, believing that they have to pay them. You don't, if you just say no. For example, I'm not paying $40 to AT&T for an "activation fee" on a new phone. When I informed them that if they didn't waive the fee, I would take my business elsewhere, they magically waived the fee. I do this for most BS fees, and I get out of the majority of them. I have saved hundreds of dollars over the years. People don't need to pay $100+ for a company to hit a button on the computer and spit out $0.02 worth of printer paper.
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