By Jacqueline Beardsley
Offers Of Compensation
There are various ways to go about offers of compensation. If this was thought of as a 'Sellers Concession', rather than 'compensation', we wouldn't be having any discussion about this.
When a seller puts their home on the market, they will be paying the brokerage company of their choice a fee for their services. In the past, this was often discussed in language that may have made some sellers feel they didn't have any way to negotiate this commission. I don't feel any of that makes much sense because commissions are and always were negotiable. Some agents will be more willing to negotiate a 'lower' fee they charge (or the brokerage office may be the ones making that decision), but they have always been negotiable. You can't price fix anything but you CAN be firm on what you charge for your services.
As of August 17th, 2024 the offers of compensation have been removed from the MLS.
Sellers have the choice of offering compensation to buyer brokers. Most buyers and especially first time buyers simply do NOT have the means to pay their brokerage on their own.
When an offer is made on your home, the buyer most likely will be asking for you, the seller(s), to pay for their brokerage fee. This will be done through the contract.
A seller can agree, disagree or negotiate. If a buyer is willing to include that fee into the offering price, and the seller agrees, the home must be able to appraise for that price.
Sellers should understand that it is in THEIR best interest if the buyer has representation and is working with their own agent. There is SO much more that goes into a transaction than meets the eye. A hard working and smart agent regardless of which side is being represented brings forth a lot of value. There is a 'team' of people that work together who get the sellers what they want and the buyers what they want. No one ever gets everything they want in life and buying or selling a home is no different. There is a lot of give and take to everything we all do in life every single day. It shouldn't all be about the dollar amount when it comes to home sales. I have always felt that way about the business.
Things are going to go on as they always have in the industry, it will just be different and easier for all parties involved when it comes to understanding 'compensation'.
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