CALL TOLL FREE (866) FLAT-FEE (352-8333)

FLAT FEE COMMISSIONS

Unbundling the services and charging a flat fee for those services is the future of truly ethical real estate transactions while placing the client's best interests above all else.

The traditional 6% total commission split for an agent to sell a property is probably familiar to most people who have ever been involved in a real estate transaction. It is paid after the property sells and is taken out of the transaction by the escrow company and distributed after escrow closes. What you may not know is how that is divided between the parties involved in the transaction and who really pays for it. The division can typically be 3% to the buyer's agent and 3% to the listing agent, but it is not necessarily divided equally and during unusual market times it typically isn't. The division agreement is made between the listing agent and the seller, so the amount of commission offered to the buyer's agent is predetermined before the listing hits the market.

The amount of commission to sell a property is negotiable, so it is easy to understand the affect of these incentives. Buyer's agents do not know what the listing agent is being paid. However, they not only have access to seeing the amount of commission that the buyer's agent is being offered, including any bonuses, they are able to use the amount of commission as one of the criteria to search for when finding homes for buyers. When agents show clients properties based on the amount of commission they will receive, the consumer's best interests are compromised.

It is in the best interest of agents for consumers to believe that the seller pays all the commission. The seller then feels more empowered because they took part in how much commission the buyer's agent will receive. The belief is that they can just increase the listing price to compensate for the commission. The best part for the agent is he or she can offer to represent the buyers for free and not disclose the commission or any bonus that may be offered. However, if you look at it logically, it is the buyer who pays for everything. The buyer is the only one who is bringing money to the table either in cash or lender financing. And one fact remains very true. The lower the total amount of commission that is in the transaction, the less money the buyer will have to bring in and the more value that property will have in relation to the price paid.

Regardless of the purchase or sale price of the property our commission is a flat fee, $5000 to represent buyers (the difference between what is offered and the $5000 flat fee gets credited back to the buyer). Our flat fee is $6000 to represent sellers (for our listings). These fees are what U.S. Real Estate Depot charges for our service, all inclusive unless otherwise noted, and does not include any commission offered to cooperating brokers who represent their buyers on our listings.


OTHER COMPANIES THAT CLAIM TO BE FLAT FEE OR PLAY WITH COMMISSIONS

Don't let companies that claim they can sell your property for a discounted full commission mislead you, (for example 3% total, or 1.5% for the listing agent and 1.5% for the buyer's agent). The odds that they can sell a property without offering a competitive commission for an agent to represent the buyer are in the single digits regardless of the marketing schemes offered by the company. There is little incentive for an agent to show a property to their client for 1.5% when a similar property a few blocks away is offering them 3%. There are even some companies out there that have the words "Flat Rate" in their company name but still charge a percentage of the sale price as the commission??

Not only that but some companies and agents must not know that a fraction of the purchase price is still a percentage of the purchase price. For example if a company claims it will complete a transaction for 1/3 of the buyer's agent's commission that is equal to 33.3% of the commission or 1% if the commission for the buyer's agent is 3%. In some areas this can still be a significant amount of money and it makes no sense to tie the sale's price of a property to the compensation of the agent that completes the transaction. There is no more work because the price of the property is higher. Our flat fee commission is $5000 period, regardless of the price of the property or the amount of the buyer's agent's commission.


THIS COMPANY WAS CREATED FOR THE CONSUMER PLAIN AND SIMPLE

• All of our commission and fees are transparent and clearly stated.
• Every property you are interested in has the same incentive to us when we represent you.
• We take no referral fees.
• We use technology to save time and clients money.
• We do not use sales tactics to get listings.
• We believe the market is capitalism based, is what it is at that time, and no agent or brokerage can change it regardless of their marketing scheme claims.
• Fact: 85% of all properties sold have been listed on the MLS.
• No frills advertising saves the client money.
• Using the most powerful marketing tool in the industry gets the property the most exposure.
• Getting the property the most exposure gets the highest price.
• Flat fee commissions are the future of real estate transactions.
• If you are ready to be a major participant in your real estate transaction, you are ready to work with U.S. Real Estate Depot.