When my wife and I were newlyweds all those years ago we decided it was time to shop for our first home. I was in banking at the time but being a first time home buyer, we did not know some of the basics involved in a home purchase. One of these question that is simple for any of those who have worked with a Realtor, which we didn’t know, is how does my real estate agent get paid? This was very important to us since we needed as much money as possible to purchase our first home.The custom for Northern Virginia, and most states for that matter, is the seller of real estate pays the listing broker and the selling broker commission. The agents are then paid by their respective brokers a percentage of the commission after the brokers take. This means those first time home buyers will have more money to purchase a home. Those buying a home should hire a Realtor first before going house hunting and especially before stopping at a new home builder sales office.
There are two things all buyers should be aware of when it comes to hiring an agent. The first is that many brokers, normally the national firms, add other fees to the agreement that buyers are required to pay. These fees are called processing fees, administrative fees, or whatever creative names brokers may give them. My experience working for large firms and small all buyers should refuse to pay any extra fee charged by their broker. This should be discussed with the agent at the time of signing the buyer broker agreement and removed from that agreement. If the broker and agent cannot make profit from the sales commission any buyer should be concerned.
Buyers should also understand one important aspect of the buyer broker agreement they sign to hire their broker. The standard agreement used in Northern Virginia has a stated commission amount that is inserted into the contract. The buyers are on the hook for this commission if the sellers do not pay this amount. The good thing for buyers is their agent will know before looking at a home, whether the sellers are paying the commission and how much. Buyers should request their agent to let them know when the sellers are not paying the entire commission.For further information on buyer representation read Caveat Emptor, or Buyer Beware in Virginia.
Joey Remondino is a full time Realtor and Broker with StoneHouse Realty Inc. Specializing in residential real estate in Northern Virginia including Centreville, Chantilly, Falls Church, Gainesville, Mclean, Reston, Great Falls, Alexandria, Manassas, Manassas Park, Prince William, and Fairfax Counties. Trained and experienced expert in Estate Homes, New Home Sales, Relocation, real estate. Joey can guide you through the real estate buying or selling process.
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