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I noticed that my real estate listing agent was given a check for the agreed upon 2.5% for selling my home. She also charged me a 'listing fee' of 250.
Is that a b*llsh*t fee or what? Shouldn't the listing feel be a cost she swallows? Considering she made over 12k on selling my home you would think 250 is a drop in the bucket for her.
I'm wondering if I should just call her out on it and try to get the fee back somehow.
The time to negotiate the "listing fee" was before you signed the listing agreement. The fee should have been spelled out in that agreement. If not, then ask for written proof that it was disclosed, and that you owed that fee.
Some brokers charge a "listing fee", also called a transaction fee to supposedly cover administrative costs. Others don't. It may be a fee required by your agent's broker and not up to her to charge or not.
My agent works with Remax so maybe it's a Remax thing. Sounds like I probaby don't have a way to get that fee refunded. I don't have the contract with me at this time so can't check.
My agent works with Remax so maybe it's a Remax thing. Sounds like I probaby don't have a way to get that fee refunded. I don't have the contract with me at this time so can't check.
It's not a RE/MAX thing.
Brokers can choose different ways to run their offices ... it's not a blanket fee with the franchise.
I agree with Chuckity. It is not a RE/MAX International thing but might be a company policy. It would worth looking at your contract to see if it was spelled out.
There was $195 agency fee on my buyers contract. I asked my realtor about it and she was pretty honest and said it was pretty much a junk fee for the broker. The broker said it was to maintain the doc's for some length of time, blah, blah, blah, I did some research and forwarded a copy of a lawsuit filed to the broker that said that unless the fee is for something unusual to the way transactions were it was unlawful. To me it seemed that the fee was only added when the market started to tank and technology has made maintaining docs LESS expensive than in the old days when there wasn't this fee. I found it by googling. He waived the fee, but normally realtors end up paying it when a client challenges it which is not fair at all. I HATE junk fees.
There was $195 agency fee on my buyers contract. I asked my realtor about it and she was pretty honest and said it was pretty much a junk fee for the broker. The broker said it was to maintain the doc's for some length of time, blah, blah, blah, I did some research and forwarded a copy of a lawsuit filed to the broker that said that unless the fee is for something unusual to the way transactions were it was unlawful. To me it seemed that the fee was only added when the market started to tank and technology has made maintaining docs LESS expensive than in the old days when there wasn't this fee. I found it by googling. He waived the fee, but normally realtors end up paying it when a client challenges it which is not fair at all. I HATE junk fees.
Totally with you there. Our company just started charging $95 (one company in town charges $495!) this year. No other reason other than just additional revenue, but they also gave the same excuse about storage - which is bogus considering that things are stored electronically now. I either pay it or the client has to pay. I pay if it is a regular home owner. I charge the client if it is an investor. Realtors aren't happy with it either.
Totally with you there. Our company just started charging $95 (one company in town charges $495!) this year. No other reason other than just additional revenue, but they also gave the same excuse about storage - which is bogus considering that things are stored electronically now. I either pay it or the client has to pay. I pay if it is a regular home owner. I charge the client if it is an investor. Realtors aren't happy with it either.
Seriously.....there was a lawsuit and I thought it was in Texas. Real Estate Agencies lost and were no longer allowed to charge it. Maybe they appealed and that is why some are still charging it. That, or nobody is challenges it. I wasn't surprised they were trying to charge it, but I was ticked that my realtor says she always just pays it herself when her clients question it. Thats not fair! She certainly wasn't going to pay for it for me, but the more I thought about it...neither was I!
I think I found the details of the lawsuit by googling "Realtor Junk Fees" or something to that affect and if I remember properly, it was detailed in the Nat'l Realtor Assoc (or is it NAR) newsletter. I soon as I forwarded the link to my realtor and she forwarded it to her broker and he agreed to waive the fee. But he's still getting away with charging everyone else.
When homes were flying off the market many, many moons ago I don't recall any brokers lowering their cut but now that things are slow they have all these additional costs. Phooooey!
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