If you’re going to be selling your home by using a real estate agent then you are going to end up paying real estate commission in some way or another. Costs up front for production of brochures and professional photography are also relatively common with upper market agents – it would always be worth making sure you know the total of ALL fees you may be liable for before signing a contract. It’s a simple calculation to find out whether it is better paying the mortgage point upfront or stay with the current interest rate on your loan.
Because the real estate transaction takes place during the year, usually long before filing the tax return, the HUD-1 given to the client at closing time could be lost or misplace. The seller is going to try to bump up the price of the home in order to cover the cost of the commission he must pay at closing.
After introducing the principal to the real estate agent the finder fee is typically paid upon close of escrow. Not being able to come down in price can often times be the difference between making the sale or not. Before completion (the Acte de Vente, the act of sale), the balance of monies, including legal fees, must be paid into the notaires bank account before the completion date.
Once I became an empty nester and started looking for additional income, I decided to play the real estate investing game by selling a piece of property that I already owned. If the seller or buyer hires an expert to estimate the price of the property, then they obviously have to pay the required appraisal fees for the work done by the appraiser.
Since the current market is not a sellers market, it would behoove us to take a look at the payment structure for a buyer’s agent. If one of those names goes on to buy the house (in practical terms within 6 months from the date of termination of the agent’s contract), the old agent is entitled to their fee.