Are Realtors employees or independent contractors?
Most Realtors are independent contractors. Some Realtors are salaried employees depending on their duties within a firm. Generally a listing agent or buyer’s agent is an independent contractor.
Who pays the Realtor?
Realtor compensation usually comes out of the seller’s proceeds of the property sale at closing and is paid to the representing firm. The firm processes the payment from the sale and takes out their compensation. After the firm is paid the firm releases the Realtor compensation.
Does the Realtor get to keep all of the commission of the sale?
Usually the firm takes their percentage of the commission earned by the Realtor before the Realtor is compensated. As an independent contractor the Realtor then pays the following from their compensation: Taxes, insurance, marketing, support staff salary, etc. The Realtor compensation is the remaining portion of the commission after expenses.
How do buyer’s agents get paid?
Generally the commission is split between the listing firm and the buyer’s agent firm. Compensation to the Realtor is then processed by the Realtors firm and distributed to the Realtor.
How does a buyer’s agent respond to properties marketed with a lower than normal compensation structure?
This is hard to answer because there are so many different scenarios and people respond differently. I will let you decide in your mind how you would operate under this example:
– Your buyer marked 15 homes in their home search portal and they want to make a decision by 6pm so that they can be under contract and head back to California and begin the planning process of moving to NC. You only have so many hours to show them homes and negotiate a contract. There is no way to see all 15 homes. Which homes do you show your client? Do you think the buyer’s agent might be swayed by the amount of compensation that is offered? There is no way to know how a buyer’s agent would respond. Is it worth a small amount of money to risk buyers not seeing your property?
Many clients want to negotiate commission and this can be done in some situations. Here are the things to think about if a Realtor is willing to negotiate their commission to get your business:
– If a Realtor is quick to negotiate their compensation to get your business will they also be quick to talk you into taking less than the property is worth so they can get a fast payday?
– What are you losing as a seller in marketing and service when you negotiate a lower commission? The Realtor has to make money to pay their firm and to be paid themselves. Do you think they will go without being paid and give you full marketing exposure?
– If you are represented by a Realtor team you normally have several people working for you. Will you receive all the service that you hired the team for with lower Realtor compensation?
– Would you go to work tomorrow if your employer said they were going to pay you less than you expect for the job you do every day? If you did go to work how would your attitude and performance be impacted if you knew you were being paid less for what you normally do every day?
The Carswell Team
The Carswell Team offers a full service group of NC Licensed Realtors to serve our clients. We are worth hiring because we treat all of our clients as if we are dealing with their financial future. We do not spare expense in our marketing of properties or service to our clients. When you sell a property it is likely one of your largest assets and you deserve the best service and attention to detail that is available. Hiring the best team means that you will likely make the most money possible in the sale of the property with the least amount of stress. Our commission structure is reasonable for our market and in line with what sellers expect for the service that we offer. We do not negotiate our commission because we will not offer our clients a lower quality service. Our reputation is solid and to offer anything less than what our clients deserve would not be in the best interest of our clients.
The Carswell Team appreciates our clients and we strive to make the real estate sales experience the best it can possibly be. Most of our business is from referrals from previous clients and repeat client business. We want to make you our lifelong client and give you the best experience possible in the sale of your property.