How Much Do Buyer Agent Services Cost?
If you have never worked with a Buyer Agent, you may wonder how much it costs to have your own representative help you with your real estate transaction. While there is a small transaction fee ($100) charged to my Buyers at closing, a Buyer Agent is typically compensated by the Seller’s Broker for bringing a Buyer to the closing table (whether it is NEW or EXISTING construction). The Seller enters into a contractual agreement with their Broker to sell the home with a specific compensation amount. The Seller Broker typically offers a part of that compensation to a Buyer Agent. I have never been involved in a transaction where the Seller's Broker did not offer compensation to the Buyer Agent. If the Seller or their Broker do not offer compensation to the Buyer Agent, the fee (3.0%) will be due from the Buyer at closing. The fee can be negotiated a few different ways to have the Seller pay the fee at closing if the Buyer is unable to pay.
Keep this in mind: The Seller Broker is ethically and legally bound to protect the interest of the Seller and cannot offer you the services and protections a Buyer Agent can.
How Much Money Can a Buyer Agent Save the Buyer?
A Buyer Agent assists in finding a suitable home (generally the easy part). A good Buyer Agent will then perform a Comparable Market Analysis (the Seller Broker is not ethically permitted to perform this service for the Buyer) to determine the Market Value range of the home, and then negotiate a purchase price that falls within that Market Value (or below) to make sure Buyer is not offering more than the home could appraise for, especially when the purchase is contingent on the Buyer obtaining a mortgage. (This is where the Buyer's Agent earns the bulk of their compensation.)
When it comes to buying a home, a good Buyer’s Agent will protect your interests and will save you as much money as possible. (I personally have saved Buying customers up to 15% off the List Price, throughout initial negotiations and continued negotiations during the entire transaction. The amount I saved all my Buyers is more than the fee they could have paid at closing for my services.)
(The other ways a Buyer Agent saves a Buyer money is through 1. repair negotiations with Seller, 2. identifying permit, title or property encumbrance & encroachment issues and having the seller cure before closing, and 3. referring trusted service providers.)
How Much can a Buyer Lose without Representation?
The Buyer generally pays up to $750 to have inspection's performed within the first 10-15 days after the Purchase Agreement is executed (the inspection period). If Buyer is getting a mortgage the Buyer will then need to pay for the Lender's Appraisal ($500+/-) shortly thereafter. If the Appraisal comes back LOWER than the Purchase Price on the Contract the Buyer will either have to bring more money to the closing table to cover the difference (the lender uses Appraised value to determine amount they will loan), OR the Seller will have to agree to lower the Purchase Price to the Appraised Value (sellers typically refuse to do this because the buyer has already agreed to pay the Contract Price). If the Buyer does not have the cash to cover the difference, and if the Seller is not willing to reduce the sale price, the contract will have to be canceled. The Buyer will have wasted the cost of their inspection's, the appraisal, and could potentially lose their good faith Deposit (1%-5% of Purchase Price) if their representative didn't protect it. OUCH!
Representation is imperative to protect your interests!
You cannot afford not to hire a Buyer Agent to represent your interests when Buying a home.
Let's Work Together - Contact Me Today!
FREE BUYER’S GUIDE. OUR GUIDE COVERS THE FOLLOWING:
- Our company information.
- How we represent our customer’s interest and not the sellers.
- The multiple services we provide buyers.
- Important info that buyers should know.
- What to expect during the process.
- What to expect at the closing.
- New construction representation.
- For sale by owner representation.
- A moving timeline and checklist.
- A change of address checklist.
- Important local phone numbers.
Meet
ALEX MOREL, REALTOR®
Alex is a true Sarasota Native. Born at Sarasota Memorial Hospital and has lived in Englewood, North Port, Venice, Bradenton and Sarasota throughout his 40+ years in the area. Alex grew up in a family of home builders and contractors and was on residential job sites at a very early age learning all about building homes.
Prior to becoming a Realtor®, Alex worked for a small Mechanical Engineering firm in Sarasota for about a decade as an AutoCAD Draftsman, and then as a NICET Certified Engineering Technician designing fire suppression systems for high-rise condos, office buildings, restaurants, storage facilities, churches, large single-family homes, and other facilities.
Alex has been a licensed Realtor® since 2010, and started his Real Estate career with Wagner Realty, one of the largest independent Brokers in Sarasota and Manatee counties. After 8 years with that firm he moved over to a local RE/MAX office, which was the highest producing RE/MAX office in Florida. After 4 years with RE/MAX Alex decided to hang his license with Realty Hub, a smaller real estate broker that gives him more flexibility within his business to operate in a less "corporate" manner.
Alex is a member of the local Sarasota board, Realtor® Association of Sarasota and Manatee. He is also a member of Florida Realtors® and the National Association of Realtors®. During his membership at RASM, he was previously chosen to sit on the Grievance Committee for Professional Standards and on the Community Outreach Committee.
Alex mainly works in Residential Real Estate guiding Buyers and Sellers through the complexities of the real estate market within the tri-county Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte County areas, handling new and existing construction single-family homes, condos, villas, townhomes, duplexes, quadruplexes, mobile/manufactured homes and vacant land. Current sales volume exceeds $25 million to date.