What is a Flat-Fee Real Estate Agency?

Real estate agents are one of the crucial persons when it comes to real estate transactions as they handle everything about the selling and buying process. However, it can be difficult to proceed with the transaction if you don’t know how to find the best real estate agent in your area.

Moreover, it can be difficult to understand the fees involved when it comes to paying your real estate agent. Many people believe that the agents’ commissions are always 2-3% of the total sale but that isn’t always the case. In fact, you can opt for a flat-fee system when you hire a real estate agent.

Real Estate Agent Commissions

As mentioned, most believe that commissions are strictly 2-3% of the total sale. However, this is simply the average and not considered a strict rule.

As such, you can negotiate your agent’s fee before the deal is completed such as opting for the flat-fee system when it comes to your real estate agent’s fees.

Flat-Fee Real Estate Agency

So, what is a flat-fee system? The flat-fee system is the practice in real estate wherein you pay your real estate agent a fixed fee for their services rather than paying them a percentage of the total sale.

Moreover, instead of the traditional way of listing your property, your agent may use their own platform to market the property or cheaper listing sites.

Some agents will provide other services like managed showings, open houses, professional photos, and more. However, these are optional and the seller isn’t required to avail of all the services.

Simply put, no matter how much your home sells for, you will pay your real estate agent a fixed amount and not the typical percentage.

Advantages of Using a Flat-Fee Real Estate Agency

So, why opt for a flat-fee real estate agent when listing your property? Well, there are several advantages to doing so such as:

• Being able to keep more of the profits from the sale.

While many of those who sell their home aren’t really looking to make a profit, it’s always a good thing when you save on costs and avoid losses on your property. Moreover, having additional profit will give you more wiggle room when looking for a new property/home.

When you pay less in commissions, you can expect to reduce the costs of the sale and gain more profit on the sale of your home. As such, many are starting to opt for this system rather than the traditional real estate agency systems.

• Having peace of mind during the process.

There’s no guarantee that your home will be sold or just for how much. Paying a fixed fee to your real estate agent will ease some of the worries that come with the process. You no longer have to second-guess how much commission you have to pay for your property.

This will allow you to sell your home within your preferred price range, without worrying that you’re taking a loss when paying commission.

• Having more control over the sale of your property.

Since you’re paying a fixed fee for their services, you can have more control over the sale since you won’t be locked into the process until your home is sold. You don’t have to stick it out and you’re free to go in case you deem that the relationship won’t work.

Final Thoughts

More and more sellers are opting for flat-fee real estate agencies as this offers more benefits compared to going with traditional real estate agents. However, you will need to do enough research to ensure you’re choosing the right type of agent for your needs.

Regardless of whether you choose a traditional agent or a flat-fee one, you only need to make sure that they can handle the sale of your property properly and that you’re not taking any losses by hiring them.