How often do you hear a Realtor telling you what you should expect of them? Not often right, usually its how great they are and how fast they can sell your home. Although, experience and referrals are GREAT, we feel it is equally important to educate you, the consumer about your rights, and our responsibilities to you.
The Innovative Realty Group is an outside of the box Real Estate Group that believes there are many qualities and skills that go into being an excellent real estate professional - integrity, in-depth community and market knowledge, marketing savvy, effective negotiation skills, a high-quality professional network, and we've also found that providing the very best service is essentially about putting our clients first.
SO WHAT IS THERE TO BEWARE OF?
Before we get started on this soap box, let me preface with "Not all Realtors are created equal". The Preamble of our Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice for the National Association of Realtors states....The term REALTOR has come to connote competency, fairness, and high integrity resulting from adherence to a lofty ideal of moral conduct in business relations. With that in mind, please read the following...(we would love to hear your opinion)
A couple of weeks ago we had a transaction where we represented the Seller, and Realtor B represented the Buyer, well the day of closing Realtor B realized that they were not going to be paid on the Gross Commission, but rather the Net Commission.
You say whats the difference, let us explain. Say you have a house for sale for $100,000 and a buyer comes along and says I will give you $100,000 but I want you to pay $5,000 of my closing costs, your Net Commission would be the $100,000 sales price - the $5,000 closing costs = $95,000 vs $100,000 Gross Commission, because the $5,000 (money that the buyer has asked you to contribute towards their closing costs) is money you will never see. This would be a difference in commission of $300 ($6,000 - $5,700, based on a 6% commission rate). I know it is a small amount but do you really want to GIVE AWAY money? No we didn't think so, that is why we NEVER charge our Sellers or any other Seller for that matter commission on the Gross Sales Price if they are contributing towards the buyers closing costs. IT JUST ISN'T FAIR, NOR DOES IT PROMOTE HIGH INTEGRITY.
Anyway, Realtor B said that their was going to be a problem with closing then, which brings me to my next question/statement.....Do you think that Realtor B went to their buyer and said, "hey we can't close today because the Sellers do not want to pay me commission on the Gross Sales Price of this home because they feel that since they are contributing towards your closing costs it isn't fair that they pay commission on that extra $5,000 that they aren't getting any part of, and I know that you really want this house and I am sure that you already have the utilities turned on but MY Commission is more important than your getting in this home." Here is where our other saying comes in "More deals are lost because of the Realtors, Buyers want to buy and Sellers want to sell."
We think it is time that our profession is held to a much higher standard and that is why we are blogging about this subject and that is why we at The Innovative Realty Group feel it is our duty to educate our clients about our duties and responsibilities to them. We have nothing to fear because, we intend to promote the Real Estate Profession with the highest of integrity.
So remember whether you are an Agent or a Seller, Net Commission (Sales Price - Whatever closing costs the sellers are contributing) should be what our commission is based on.
If you are in the market to sell or buy a home, please do not hesitate to call us at (254) 638-0898 or email us at team@MoveWithIRG.com, we would be happy to send you our no cost/no obligation Exclusive Marketing Program or First Time Home Buyers Packet.
