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sturti/Getty Images August 18, 2022 TJ Porter is a contributing writer for Bankrate. TJ writes about a range of subjects, from to . Troy Segal is Bankrate's Senior Homeownership Editor, focusing on everything from upkeep and maintenance to building equity and enhancing value. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
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Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by and edited by , who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy. Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest financial decisions an individual will ever make. Our real estate reporters and editors focus on educating consumers about this life-changing transaction and how to navigate the complex and ever-changing housing market. From finding an agent to closing and beyond, our goal is to help you feel confident that you're making the best, and smartest, real estate deal possible. Bankrate logo Editorial integrity
Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers. Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information. Bankrate logo How we make money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. is not something most people do once a day (or even once a decade) so it’s perfectly natural to enlist a real estate professional to help with the process. Enter the real estate agent — specifically, one known as a seller’s agent. AKA a listing agent, these reps price and advertise your home, organize showings, negotiate with potential buyers and in general represent the seller throughout the real estate transaction, from initial listing to final closing. While you to sell your home, many people choose to do so because they can make the process go more smoothly and help maximize the sale price of the home.
What is a seller s agent or a listing agent
A seller’s agent is a real estate professional (a who helps prepare and list a property for sale (the latter being the reason they’re also known as listing agents). They represent the person selling a property and must work in their best interests. Seller’s agents handle many tasks involved with selling a home, including: Helping you analyze the market to figure out if it is Giving you advice for Connecting you with other professionals to help prepare or improve your home Staging your home Listing your home on multiple listing services Helping you price your home Marketing the home: running tours, organizing Serving as the go-between in negotiations with buyers Drawing up the purchase agreement How do seller s agents get paid
Seller’s agents get paid on a commission basis. That means that they won’t be compensated until they close a deal. Typically, when you sell a home, you have to pay a percentage — typically 5-6 percent — of the sale price in . When the home sale closes, this fee gets taken out of your proceeds and paid to the agent’s brokerage (unless the agent is a broker themselves). The broker will take a cut and then distribute the rest of it to the agent who assisted you with the transaction. In most cases, the overall fee gets split between the buyer’s agent and the seller’s agent. This method of compensation can be beneficial for sellers because the agent is incentivized to help you sell your home for a higher price.
Who does a seller s agent represent
A seller’s agent’s job is to represent the current homeowners who are putting their property on the market. Many agents, especially Realtors, subscribe to a fiduciary-like code of ethics, which requires them to disclose compensation amounts, be open and honest in all dealings, and to always put their clients’ interest first, ahead of their own. However, there are some cases where a seller’s agent may represent more than just the seller. Dual agency
is a situation where the same real estate agent represents both sides in a transaction – meaning both the buyer and the seller. This is a great deal for the agent because it means they get the full commission for the transaction instead of having to split it with another agent (the buyer’s rep). Because they’re getting the whole thing, dual agents might also accept a slightly lower fee overall — a plus for the seller. And some feel the whole transaction will go quicker and smoother, with only three parties involved. However, this dual agency scenario is also a perfect situation for conflicts of interest. Even in amicable real estate transactions, the buyer and the seller generally have opposite goals. The seller wants to secure the highest price and the fewest contingencies and conditions. The buyer wants to pay the least amount possible and get concessions from the seller. Having the same agent represent these competing interests can be problematic. At the end of the day, whose side are they on? Or whom do they favor? In fact, some states, including Alaska, Colorado, and Florida, forbid dual agency entirely. Does the seller s agent represent the broker
Although a seller’s agent represents you, the homeowner, they also represent someone else: a real estate broker. It’s the broker — either another, more experienced professional or a large firm — who is technically licensed to sell property and conclude real estate transactions. All need to operate via a real estate broker. When you work with a seller’s agent, you’re really working with a broker. The agent, as a representative of the broker, is the person involved with the day-to-day process of helping sell your home. The broker is your legal representative in the closing stages of the transaction, when the actual money changes hands, and has a fiduciary responsibility to put your best interests first. It’s a little bit like a bartender working in a restaurant. The bartender presents a range of liquors and wines, mixes your cocktail, and collects your money. But they’re not actually authorized to sell you alcohol — it’s the restaurant (or restaurant owner) that holds the liquor license. You’re technically buying the booze from them; the barkeep acts as the restaurant’s representative in serving you. It gets confusing because agents and brokers do overlap. A real estate pro can be both an agent and a broker. In fact, most brokers start out as real estate agents, and after years of experience, additional education and licensing exams, obtain their broker’s credentials. Many do keep on working as agents, too, actively selling properties.
Seller s agent vs buyer s agent
If a seller’s agent is the person helping someone sell their home, that means a buyer’s agent is the person helping someone purchase a home. The responsibilities of seller’s agents and buyer’s agents are relatively similar, with the obvious exceptions required by being on different sides of the transaction. For example, where seller’s agents help homeowners prepare their property for sale, buyer’s agents prepare their clients by helping them think about what features are important in a home and checking to show them homes that are for sale in the area. Buyer’s agents are also responsible for helping buyers tour homes, advising on offers and negotiating strategies, and posing questions or presenting the offers to the seller’s agent. If a deal is struck, they often go over the contract with their client, suggesting changes or contingency clauses. A buyer’s agent is often referred to as a after a home’s in contract, because, by producing a purchaser, they caused it to sell. So, while they sound almost identical, be careful not to confuse a seller’s agent with a selling agent. SHARE: TJ Porter is a contributing writer for Bankrate. TJ writes about a range of subjects, from to . Troy Segal is Bankrate's Senior Homeownership Editor, focusing on everything from upkeep and maintenance to building equity and enhancing value. Related Articles