Flat fee brokerage for VA investor?

Question

I'm an investor going onto my 5th transaction in NOVA and I'm considering whether I should complete my VA RE license and get my own broker license. But I could save myself a lot of time if someone here could point me in the direction of a flat fee brokerage that I could pay to "submit" my offer for me and rebate me the buyer's agent commission at closing. I don't need anyone to hold my hand through the process, more of a mailbox to send and receive messages. If such a flat fee service does not exist, what are some things I should consider before investing my time in getting licensed? I would only be buying for myself and I do 1 transaction a year. Thanks.

Jasmine Hu · Answer

@Alice Ay if you get RE license, you would also need to pay NVAR association fee, lockbox fee, MLS access etc, in the end, it will cost you about 2k per year. I feel what you need is a broker who is willing to be a transaction broker for you, doing the documents on your behalf. Assuming you would not need your agent for showing. In that case, you can PM me. I could do that with a flat fee or hourly fee.

Personally I believe the real estate brokerage will change profoundly. Real estate agents will become more a consultant by selling experience and insights along with transaction help.

Buyers now can get lot more info and lot more savvy compared to 10 years ago. Yet the info from zillow and redfin still can't compete what agents have. Market change can be sensed by agents much faster than data shows, this is especially true during 08 crash time and 03-04 upgoing yoyo time.

To get license, it is best to access 1st hand data. If you can do 1 transaction per year, you kinda break even. Ideally 1+ deals per year.

Heather Skowronsky · Answer

@Alice Ay I am not sure what fee an agent would settle on because it would be impossible for them to represent you in the transaction and only forward emails.  Our new representation  laws prevent that from being possible.  They would have to attend any inspections that you did on the property because the owner and/or listing agent isn't going to let a non licensed person in the property - especially a $1mm + property without a licensed agent there as well.  It's also their neck on the line if anything goes awry during the transaction as well.  So normally a fee doesn't work very well.  Additionally, the seller has already agreed to a certain commission amount when listing their home, so it should not affect you as the buyer whatsoever whether the listing agent gets that money or not.  I understand you are probably trying to strengthen your offer by receiving that money as a credit - that would probably be best negotiated with the listing agent.  The commission cannot be negotiated in the sales contract but you can certainly have those conversations with the listing agent ahead of time and let them know that you wish to be unrepresented as the purchaser and are looking to have what would have been the commission due to the buyers agent credited to you or taken off the sales price, etc.  My thought would be going through the listing agent might be your best bet as long as you are confident in knowing the contract and other addenda.  Another option would be to partner with an agent that is willing to give you a % of their commission but also represent you fully in the transactions.  And finally, I think it would be easier for you to ensure you'd be receiving the commission if you did have your license.  There are other 100% brokerages out there...I think Douglas Realty is one.  I think they charge a $99/month fee plus an admin fee or something like that.

I'd just be most concerned that you are protected when writing your offers, etc.  It's not easy staying up to date on all of the rules and regulations in the housing industry.

Best of luck to you!!

Alice Ay · Answer

Thanks @Heather Skowronsky, I looked into Samson Properties because I am thinking of getting licensed and hang my license with a 100% commission brokerage. But they've changed their rules to keep people like me (realtor/investor) out -- they will only give 100% commission back once you've proven yourself as an agent after x number of transactions. Yes, there is the admin fee the brokerage changes which I am fine with. On top of that I would pay the agent a fee -- what is a fair amount? As mentioned, the agent just needs to forward messages to/from the seller's agent. I am doing the rest. If I submit an offer unrepresented, the seller's agent pockets the buyer's agent commission. These are $1M+ transactions so the commission is quite significant.

Heather Skowronsky · Answer

Hi @Alice Ay!  So there are a few companies that could potentially help with that but submitting an offer does not require a real estate license.  You could always just submit as an unrepresented buyer.  Even the flat fee brokerages in our area charge $495 per transaction to the agent so the fee the agent would charge you would have to account for that as well.  One company I know of that is a flat fee brokerage is Samson Properties.  But by "flat fee" that means that they are just charging THEIR agent the flat fee.  That agent still is paid via commission. Be careful though - you'll want to make sure you are working with an agent that knows what they are doing.  And more than likely, if they are willing to do it for a small flat fee, they aren't very experienced or aren't going to give your contract much attention.  That's just been my experience in the past.