real estate 101 Archives - Thurston Olsen Real Estate Group https://thurstonolsen.com/tag/real-estate-101-2/ We are TO - Toronto Realtors Mon, 01 Apr 2019 16:32:47 +0000 en hourly 1 https://thurstonolsen.com/wp-content/uploads/cropped-Website-Site-Icon-TO-Monogram-1-32x32.png real estate 101 Archives - Thurston Olsen Real Estate Group https://thurstonolsen.com/tag/real-estate-101-2/ 32 32 Do you know who pays your real estate agent? https://thurstonolsen.com/who-pays-your-real-estate-agent/ Fri, 15 Mar 2019 17:00:31 +0000 https://thurstonolsen.com/?p=4702 We've recently had this discussion with buyers and feel that it's important to fully understand the buying and selling process. We're completely transparent in our process and aim to fully educate our buyers and sellers to ensure that they're comfortable throughout every transaction. Reach out if you have any questions! Who pays your real estate [...]

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We’ve recently had this discussion with buyers and feel that it’s important to fully understand the buying and selling process. We’re completely transparent in our process and aim to fully educate our buyers and sellers to ensure that they’re comfortable throughout every transaction. Reach out if you have any questions! Who pays your real estate agent? Apartment Therapy outlines the process below:

White wooden sign post with text: SOLD OVER ASKING! Thurston Olsen Real Estate Team Ford Thurston and Chris Olsen, Sales Representatives. Who pays your real estate agent?

Buying a home is expensive. Selling a home is expensive. This is common knowledge. Something I recently learned is not common knowledge? Just who pays the buyer’s real estate agent once a house sells (and who pays the seller’s, too).

It’s likely you haven’t really thought about this ever. For expediency’s sake, the answer is “the seller.” Yes, the seller pays their listing agent and the buyer agent’s commission.

And if that isn’t what you thought, you’re not alone. Just in the past month, I’ve seen two surveys showing that this is a common misconception. The first was in a new report from Clever Real Estate, an online platform that connects buyers, sellers, and agents. They did a recent survey, asking 1,000 homeowners selling their houses in 2019 a couple of questions about the home selling process. One of the questions they asked was, “In most real estate transactions, who pays the buyer’s agent commission?” Almost half (45.5 percent) responded that the home buyer did.

Side note: It’s a little weird to think that people who once bought a home didn’t know that they didn’t pay their buyer’s agent. But that might be because closing costs are so expensive and include so many fees, buyers just assume that their agent’s commission is somewhere on that closing statement.

“I think it’s one of those willful amnesia things, where you kinda forget how it all works and then are surprised by having to pay for both,” posits Dabney Frake, our Projects editor who recently went through the selling process.

So just why do people not know this? Maria Koziakov, a real estate agent with Luxury & Beach Realty in St. Petersburg, Florida, says that most people know that real estate agents work on commission and that someone has to pay that commission. But, just like other things in life, most will assume the one seeking representation (e.g. hiring an agent) will be the one to pay for it.

But in real estate, it works a little differently. The seller pays because they’re the ones who are actually hiring their agent to sell their house: “The listing agent and the office are truly hired,” Koziakov says, meaning that there is an actual contract signed when one works with a seller’s agent. The contract, known as a listing agreement, specifies the commission, any fees, and the time period.

The more you know!

source: Apartment Therapy

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]]> REAL ESTATE 101 – WHAT IS A BULLY OFFER? https://thurstonolsen.com/real-estate-101-what-is-a-bully-offer/ Mon, 23 Jun 2014 16:42:41 +0000 https://thurstonolsen.com/?p=1620 You’ve probably heard the term “bully offer” (aka pre-emptive Offer) before but may not know what it means. Basically, the listing agent will list a property on MLS and then have a set offers date. There are usually two reasons for having a set offers date. 1) The property has been intentionally listed below market [...]

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]]> You’ve probably heard the term “bully offer” (aka pre-emptive Offer) before but may not know what it means. Basically, the listing agent will list a property on MLS and then have a set offers date. There are usually two reasons for having a set offers date. 1) The property has been intentionally listed below market value in an attempt to generate competition on offers night. 2) The seller and/or listing agent want to make sure that the property gains sufficient exposure to the market before considering offers. Your buyer’s agent should be able to establish the intention of holding off on offers by speaking with the listing agent and researching comparable sales.

SCENARIO
So… now the property is on the market with a set date for offers. Let’s make the assumption here that the property is significantly under priced. Let’s say that today is Friday and offers are being reviewed on Monday. Let’s also assume there are public open houses on both Saturday and Sunday where a lot of potential buyers will view the property. While the majority of buyers will wait until Monday to make an offer as specified by the listing agent, there is always a possibility of a buyer submitting a “bully offer” before Monday. It will likely be substantially higher than the list price and will not likely contain any conditions. The goal here is to scoop up the property before too many people see it and to make an offer that is tempting enough that the seller will not want to risk letting it go and waiting until Monday with hopes of a better offer. Note that even with the set offers date, a seller is still able to consider a “bully offer” although they are not obligated to.

TIPS FOR A SELLER IN THIS SCENARIO
If you are going to consider a “bully offer”, make sure that your agent advises all parties who have viewed the property of this “bully offer” in order to try to generate competition with the bully offer. A good realtor will know to do this as it’s in the seller’s best interest. Unfortunately a “not so good” realtor will fail to do this and often the seller will be the victim because a buyer who was waiting until Monday may have had a better offer but didn’t even know the bully offer existed.

TIPS FOR THE BUYER IN THIS SCENARIO
First and foremost, if you view a property that you plan to make an offer on but you are waiting until offers night, make sure your agent asks the listing agent specifically to let them know if any bully offers come in. As well, if it’s a Friday and offers date is Monday, make sure you get a bank draft on the Friday as a back up in case a bully offer comes in over the weekend.

When making the “bully offer”, make sure that your offer is strong (5,000 over asking usually won’t do the trick) and if possible don’t include any conditions in the offer. A short irrevocable date is also a good strategy to allow the listing agent less time to drum up competition.

So there you go! That’s a “bully offer” in a nutshell. Remember that every scenario is different and as such, the strategy and process will change accordingly. If you have any other questions on this topic, feel free to give us a call at 416.465.7850.

Do you have a real estate question that you would like us to write about? Email it to us at info@rosswebpro.com.

Ford Thurston
Sales Representative

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