Brokerage 499$fee on the new brokerage agreement

[Sousie El]

Hello BG Community,

I had a question if the new Brokerage agreement fee of $499 can be waived by the real estate agent?, and also what to keep in mind when negotiating those fee and percentage with the agent. Thank you

[Marcus Auerbach]

You can claim it's for this or that, but let's be frank: it's additional income. It's common in lower-priced markets, you won't find that on the coast. We charge $595 and I waive it for repeat and high price point clients.

The new NAR settlement rules also mandate and allow agents since August 17th to negotiate their own buyer-side commission. We have increased our rates as a result, especially for investors.

I know how this sounds, but here is the deal. 

It has not been fair that an agent who has absolutely no background with investing, does not know market rents, has never gone through an eviction, never rehabbed 3 houses at the same time or has managed a portfolio for 15 years, is not able to provide any guidance or help with investing strategy gets paid the same.

I have been an investor for 7 years before I got licensed and I know how useless many agents are. My goal has always been to be that agent I was never able to find. And to provide more value than we charge. That's also the policy for my team.

So now we have been able to adjust that and our clients can decide if they see a value in what we offer and want to work with us - or pick someone else who is cheaper.

So you can try to negotiate the $499 with that agent, but the much more important question is: are you picking the right agent?