The main role of a real estate agent is to help clients buy, sell, and rent real estate. This includes
residential and commercial property, along with land. Of course, this is just a very basic answer to this
question.
Real estate agents play a very important role when you need to buy, sell, or rent a property. They have licensed professionals with the necessary training and supervision to guide you through any type of real
estate transaction. Agents work under the supervision of a real estate broker.
While an agent will have different duties to perform when working with a buyer compared to a seller,
the general duties will remain pretty similar. Some of the tasks real estate agents will perform for you
include:
1) Answering phone calls and responding to emails.
2) Scheduling showings and appointments
3) Creating and updating property listings
4) Performing a real estate market analysis
5) Keeping up with the market trends, best practices, and other real estate news, especially on a local level
6) Take care of all marketing tasks for the property for sale or rent
There are many things a real estate agent will do for a client, based on the type of transaction and the needs of the client.
Benefits of Hiring a Real Estate Agent:
If it’s time for you to buy, sell, or rent a property, hiring a real estate agent offers several benefits. You will have a licensed and qualified person to guide you through the process. Plus, real estate agents have industry and community connections to help you.
One of the biggest benefits you will gain when you hire a real estate agent is their local expertise. A good agent will understand the local market and trends. They will know how to properly price your property and negotiate a fair deal for you.
Most sources will tell you the average real estate commission is about 6% of the final sales price of the property. This is a standard percentage, but the percentage you pay might be a bit lower or a bit higher. Typically, the range will go from about 4.5% to around 6.33%.
The real estate commission is often split between the buyer’s agent and the seller’s agent. This split will go even further as each agent will likely have a split they have negotiated with their broker.
When you pay a real estate commission, you’re not just paying for a licensed professional. Your agent will work very hard for you and do many things to earn their commission. From analyzing the market and conducting comparative sales analysis to handling the marketing for a property, agents will take care of all the necessary tasks to get your property sold or to help you find the right property to buy.
Hiring an Agent Means a Higher Sales Price:
While the real estate commission can be seen as an expensive fee, for most sellers, it’s well worth the cost. A good real estate agent will sell your home for more money compared to the For Sale By Owner route.
It’s also common for an agent to be able to sell your property much faster. Good agents use excellent marketing methods to ensure more potential buyers see the property. This can lead to a bidding war or a multiple-offer situation.
Hiring a real estate agent and paying the commission, as a seller, will also take a lot of tasks off your plate. There are many moving parts to a real estate transaction and a good agent will know how to navigate the entire process with ease.
If you’re a buyer, hiring a real estate agent makes perfect sense. Most buyers will not have to pay any real estate commissions. It’s usually covered by the seller.
Most real estate agents are paid by commissions. They don’t earn a salary or an hourly wage. Some real estate agents do get paid a fee for listings. This type of agent is often called a flat-fee real estate agent. Flat-fee agents are rather rare.
When a real estate transaction happens, there is a commission paid, usually by the seller. This commission will be split four ways between the buyer’s agent, the seller’s agent, and both the brokers for the agents. The actual commission split will depend on the agreements between the agents and the sponsoring brokers.
How the Commission for Real Estate Agents Works:
When a real estate agent lists a property for a seller, the seller will sign a listing agreement. This is a contract that will provide the details of the listing, including the commission, which might be called the broker’s compensation. The commission is always negotiable based on federal antitrust laws.
Most real estate transactions will include a commission between 5% and 6% of the final sale price. This can fluctuate a bit based on the market conditions and the agreement made between the broker and the seller.
While the seller will pay the commission, it’s often factored into the asking price, which means, the buyer indirectly pays the commission through a higher purchase price.
Both agents involved in a real estate transaction already have agreements with their sponsoring brokers. In some cases, the commission is a 50/50 split with the broker, but this split can vary quite a bit.
Once the real estate transaction has closed, the commission will be paid. If the final sales price was $300,000 and the commission rate was 6%, the total commission paid will be $18,000. This will be split 50% for the buyer’s agent/broker and 50% for the seller’s agent/broker, or $9,000 each.
From there, the commission will be split between the agent and the sponsoring broker. It might be a 60/40 split giving the agent a $5,400 commission and the broker a $3,600 commission.
When you’re ready to buy or sell a home, you want to hire the right real estate agent. Finding a good real estate agent isn’t always an easy thing. However, there are a few things you can do to make it easier to find the best agent for you.
One of the best ways to make sure you have a great real estate agent is to get a referral from someone you know. Many people find their real estate agent by talking to friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors that have worked with an agent recently. Of course, you can also talk to your social media connections to help.
It’s also very common to find your real estate agent online. However, you want to make sure you do plenty of research when you start looking online. There are many real estate agents to choose from and you need to make sure you get a good one.
As you do your research, you will want to look at any reviews about the agent. There are many websites that feature reviews about the many real estate agents you can choose from. Make sure you do your due diligence before you hire any agent to help you buy or sell a home.
A Few Tips to Help You Find a Good Real Estate Agent:
1. Define Good:
The word “good” when used in front of “real estate agent” can mean different things to different people. You might be looking for an agent that is the best possible negotiator and you don’t really care how nice they are during the process. Someone else might care more about how well they get along with their agent.
Take the time to figure out what “good” means to you before you start looking for a good real estate agent for you.
2. Check Their License:
It’s important to make sure the real estate agent you hire has an up-to-date license. If they don’t, you want to move on. Just go to the real estate department website for your state and you can check the status of the license.
3. Consider the Certifications
If you have a unique type of property or you’re looking for a specific type of home, the certifications of your real estate agent become rather important. Some agents have taken extra courses and have met specific parameters to become certified. You might find an agent certified in military relocation or as a buyer’s agent.
Use these tips and make sure you do your research when trying to choose a good real estate agent.
One of the best ways to know if you have a reputable real estate agent is through good research. The online world can tell you quite a bit about an agent. Of course, it’s smart to start by verifying if your agent has an up-to-date real estate license.
Once you have verified the license, it’s time to move on to further research. Just because a real estate agent keeps their license up-to-date doesn’t mean they are reputable. Most real estate agents will be reputable, but you do want to be on the lookout for a scam or just an agent with a bad reputation.
Read Online Reviews:
It can be a sign of a not-so-good real estate agent if the online reviews are not very good, or there aren’t very many. Make sure you read reviews on multiple websites to ensure you get a good sense of what others think about your agent.
A real estate agent with a solid reputation will have plenty of good online reviews. Whether you find reviews on Google, Facebook, Zillow, or another website, you can gain trust and get a sense of the agent through reading reviews.
Look at Certifications:
It can be helpful to look at the certifications of a real estate agent, too. Most agents that aren’t very reputable won’t go the extra mile to gain certifications. If an agent is certified in a specific area, it can be a good sign.
Check Their Listings:
Good real estate agents tend to have plenty of good listings. Of course, this might not be the case with an agent that works only with buyers. However, if you are looking for an agent to list your property, you can certainly check their listings to make sure they are reputable.
Meet the Agent in Person:
If an agent doesn’t want to meet in person, it’s likely not someone you want to work with. An in-person meeting can make it easier to get a better sense of whether they are a reputable agent or not. Plus, it will help you use your gut to make a better decision about whom to hire for your real estate transaction.
There are many good reasons to hire a licensed real estate agent when buying or selling a property. If you’re selling, an agent can help you sell your home faster and for a higher price, compared to trying to do it yourself. Buyers will gain a master negotiator to help them navigate the process of buying a home.
Top Reasons to Hire a Licensed Real Estate Agent:
1. Expert Negotiator:
Whether you’re buying or selling, you need an expert negotiator on your side. There are plenty of things to negotiate throughout a real estate transaction. Your agent will act as your expert negotiator.
2. Price Expertise:
A good real estate agent will know how to set the right price when you need to sell. They will also know what the fair market value is of a property when you need to sell it.
3. Understanding of the Legalese:
A licensed real estate agent has gone through education and training to understand the legalese. When an agent gets their license, they must pass specific national and state exams. You will benefit from this as you will have an expert to help you navigate the legal side of buying or selling a process.
4. A Personal House-Hunter:
Sure, you can look online for a home you want to buy, but a licensed real estate agent knows how to find the right home for you. They often have a network they can use to help find homes you might not be able to easily find online, too.
5. An Objective Party:
With a licensed real estate agent, you get an objective party that will tell you the truth. This can be very helpful when selling your home, as you might have an emotional attachment that makes it harder for you to sell your home.
There are many good reasons to hire a licensed real estate agent. With the right agent, your property can be sold faster and for a higher price. As a buyer, you’ll have an expert to guide you through finding and buying the right home.
When you hire a good real estate agent, you should expect plenty of help during the home buying or
selling process. Your agent is the expert you get to lean on throughout the process. They can offer
advice, guidance, and so much more. Let’s look at a list of some of the things you should always expect
from your real estate agent.
Top 5 Things to Expect When Hiring a Real Estate Agent
Honesty:
Very few things are as important as honesty when you’re trying to buy or sell a home. You should expect
honesty from any good real estate agent you hire.
Excellent Communication:
A good real estate agent will communicate with you the way you prefer and do it very well. They won’t
leave you hanging very long and they will respond to emails, phone calls, and text messages as soon as
they can. Frequent communication, especially when it’s time to make an offer on a home, should be
expected from your real estate agent.
Professionalism:
Any good real estate agent will be a true professional. They will dress the part, walk the walk, and talk
the talk. You will know you are in good hands because the agent will be a true professional that shows
up on time, likely a bit early, for meetings.
Local Real Estate Knowledge:
You cannot expect your real estate agent to know every market across the country, but they should
know your local market very well. The knowledge of your local real estate market that your agent has
should be extensive. Expect that your real estate agent will understand market values and what types of
homes are selling well in the current local market you’re working in.
Excellent Negotiation Skills:
One of the main reasons you hire a real estate agent is to have someone that will go to bat for you. A
good real estate agent should be a top-notch negotiator. You should expect they will work hard to get
you the best possible deal, whether you’re selling or buying.
estate agents?
When you need to buy a home, you might want to be aware of some of the common mistakes you could
make. Awareness of these mistakes can help you avoid making them. While not hiring a real estate
agent is probably the biggest mistake any buyer can make, there are some common mistakes you might
make when working with a real estate agent.
3 Common Mistakes Made by Buyers When Working with Real Estate Agents:
Not Getting Pre-Approved First:
Many agents won’t work with you unless you have already gotten pre-approved. They might meet with
you, but you might not get to schedule showing appointments until the agent knows you can obtain
financing.
Before you start shopping for a home or interviewing real estate agents, it’s smart to get pre-approved.
This makes it much easier for a real estate agent to help you find the right home and submit a strong
offer.
Not Taking the Advice of Your Agent:
Most of the time, your real estate agent knows better than you do. When you’re trying to buy a home, if
you think the offer should be for a lower amount than your real estate agent, there’s probably a reason
your agent doesn’t want to go that low.
You hired an agent to have an expert by your side to walk you through the home-buying process. Let
them do their job and take their advice into consideration throughout the process. While you don’t
always have to do as your agent advises, it’s smart to understand why they are giving you specific
advice.
Showing Up Late Consistently:
While some agents might not be as bothered as others, a real estate agent’s time is valuable. Agents
that work with buyers don’t get paid until they find you a home and the commission will likely be paid in
full by the seller. This doesn’t mean you can show up late to every appointment.
Not only can this be annoying to your agent, but it can throw off their entire schedule. It can also cause
those at the meeting to hurry through important information because they lost valuable time. Be on
time to meetings and you will have a better buying experience.
estate agents?
When you hire a real estate agent to sell your home for you, there are some things you don’t want to
do. Making specific mistakes with your real estate agent can cost you time and money. Let’s look at a
few of the common mistakes made by sellers when working with real estate agents.
3 Common Seller Mistakes Made When Working with Real Estate Agents:
Not Taking the Agent’s List Price Advice:
One of the biggest mistakes any seller can make is pricing their home too high or too low. If you take the
time to interview real estate agents and you choose the one you trust, you should trust the list price
they recommend.
When you think you can always reduce the price, if needed, you might just be setting yourself up for
disappointment. Pricing your home too high will likely make it hard to attract interested buyers.
However, a price set too low might make buyers wonder what is wrong with the property.
Not Taking Curb Appeal Advice:
Your agent can help ensure you have great curb appeal, but you have to listen to the advice they
provide. While you don’t have to do everything recommended by your agent, if they give you a short list
of things that will boost your curb appeal, listen.
Curb appeal doesn’t just show up when buyers show up to the home. It will show up in the listing
pictures, too.
Hiring an Agent Providing False Promises:
Listing your home for sale is a huge deal. It’s something you want to do right and with the right real
estate agent. If you interview three or four agents and one of them is promising to sell your home for a
much higher price than the others, it might be a false promise.
It’s important to hire a real estate agent with a proven track record. Look at the online reviews and you’ll
be able to figure out if you have an agent that will price your home correctly or one that wants to
promise you the world, but cannot deliver.
Red Flag #1 – Little or No Experience with Your Type of Property
This real estate agent red flag doesn’t make an agent bad, but they are not the right fit for you. When
you have a historical property, for example, you need an agent that understands how to deal with this
type of real estate. Make sure you choose the right agent that has plenty of experience in the type of
property you are looking to buy or sell.
Red Flag #2 – Super Salesy
You should never feel like you are being pressured by your real estate agent. If you feel pressured into
buying a specific home or doing something specific with your listing, it can be a red flag. Agents are
supposed to have your best interest in mind and not be consistently worrying about making a
commission off the deal.
Red Flag #3 – Slow or No Follow-Up
You might notice, early in the process of finding a real estate agent, that some agents simply are not
great at following up with you. When an agent is slow to follow up or simply doesn’t follow up, it’s an
agent you want to avoid. You need someone that is on it and has good communication skills.
These are three of the most common red flags to look for when searching for the right real estate agent.
It’s important to have an agent with a good reputation that also matches well with what you need.
When you list your property for sale or you need to buy a home, you want to make sure you know how
to work with your real estate agent effectively. Here are a few tips to help make it easier to work with
your real estate agent.
Top 4 Tips for Working with Your Real Estate Agent
Be Clear About Your Expectations
Real estate agents cannot read your mind, so don’t make them have to try. It’s best to be clear about
what you expect when buying or selling a house. Speak with your agent about how you prefer
communications to go, your goals, your timeframe, and everything that is important.
Go Over Your Must-Haves with Your Agent
When you’re buying a home, you want to go over your must-haves for the home you’re looking for. This
helps your agent narrow the search and find what you’re looking for much easier. It’s also smart to
speak with your agent about your neighborhood preferences.
Speak with Your Agent About Open Houses and Showings
If you are selling a home, setting expectations for open houses and showings with your agent is
important. They can give you an idea of what to expect and you can speak with them about what to
expect from an open house or showing.
Be Upfront About Your Budget
When you’re buying a home, you want to be upfront about the budget you are working with. Getting
pre-approved is important, but you should make sure your agent knows your actual budget, too.
These four tips will help you work more effectively with your real estate agent when you plan to buy or
sell a home.
When it comes to buying and selling homes, a real estate agent’s commission is pretty straightforward.
Maybe you’re wondering what the charge is when a real estate agent handles your rental property. Let’s
look at what this will cost and how pays the commission.
Real Estate Agent Commission for a Rental Property
The amount a real estate agent makes from a rental property can vary quite a bit. It depends on if they
are also the property manager or just the agent for the property. Typically, a real estate agent will
charge anywhere from 25% to 100% of one full month’s rent for leasing a home for you.
This means if the monthly rent for the home is $2,000, the agent will charge anywhere from $500 to
$2,000 to get the property leased for you. However, if the agent is also the property manager, they will
take about 8% of the monthly rent each month as a management fee.
In some cases, the agent might be splitting the commission with another agent. If they are the listing
agent and there is also a tenant agent, the commission might be split between the two agents for the
property.
Who Pays the Commission on a Rental Property?
The commission on a rental property will most likely be paid by the landlord to the listing agent. If there
is a tenant agent involved, the listing agent will be responsible for paying the tenant agent. If you are
looking for a rental home, you will not need to pay a commission to an agent for help.
While the commission is most often going to be paid by the landlord directly to the listing agent, this can
vary based on the contract. In some cases, the first month’s rent check will be made out to the listing
agent instead of the landlord or property manager. In other cases, it might be an upfront payment made
when the contract is signed.
