Say NO to Real Estate Transaction Fees
by arbourrealty.com on November 24, 2008
Almost every residential real estate company in Northern Virginia charges you an administration fee when you buy or sell a home. They range from $250 to over $500 per transaction. What the heck are you getting in return for this extra administration fee? The answer is nothing. I have heard the slick agents come up with canned responses to why they charge administration fees… like it covers the three years that the broker has to store your files. Really, $250 for that. Hmm. Shouldn’t the broker’s cut of the commission cover this?
I remember being at a holiday party several years ago and the host was talking about how upset he was that after buying a $2.5 million house his agent had the nerve to charge him a $300 transaction fee on the purchase. He swore that he would never use the agent or anyone from Coldwell Banker again.
Even worse I remember being told by some agents that they add on an extra $50-$100 to the admin fee to cover their gas. I’m not making this up.
When I was a RE/MAX they used to charge $250 a transaction, but I would cover that expense out of my own pocket. Hey, if I was going to put up with working for a company that charges admin fees, I should be the one to take the hit.
Your Realtor should inform you of his or her admin fee up front when you sign the exclusive buyer agreement. For entertainment value I recommend asking your agent exactly what the fee covers. Then you should politely ask him or her to pay the fee for you. Or, work with a company like Arbour Realty that does not charge its customers or its agents an admin fee. We don’t believe we should follow suit just because others have gotten away with it. In fact, Arbour Realty actually subsidizes the full cost of other services not even offered by the larger brokerages.
Have you ever paid a real estate admin fee? Were you given an explanation as to what it covered?
-Arbour Realty
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