How do you avoid hidden fees and charges in seller agent commission rates?

Require your seller’s agent to disclose all costs and fees in the listing. The seller should not have to tolerate anything charged except for the commission unless disclosed. Charges may be justified, though it must pass your tests and persuade you that it’s necessary.

Correct! Don’t set an appointment to list your home based off what a billboard states! Call and if it’s any different than what’s posted…move on! Trust up-front is crucial!

In my experience, it has proven to be important to understand whether an agent will add any fees in addition to their commission. These might include marketing fees, signage, and a treasure trove of other items that an inexperienced seller might not expect.

Make the listing agent EXPLAIN the listing agreement - literally explain it. Ask questions about each section - sellers have NO IDEA how many agents do not understand the contracts - yet they hire them. It's not all about commission, you get what you pay for and you can rapidly see what that is by taking an agent off script and making them uncomfortable - how do they react? You get what you pay for - when things go wrong in real estate they do so in very expensive and nerve wracking ways.

GOOGLE every agent! You can quickly see what they actually do, if they've been reviewed and what their experience levels are. DO NOT get sucked into the packaged presentations. Make them uncomfortable, prep a list of very pointed questions ahead of time - what happens if the appraisal is low, if termites are found, if there's an encroachment, a mechanics lien, the buyer can't close, if the home is damaged before closing, the buyer fails to show up...How do they respond? Marketing is a miniscule part of this.

I am not a fan of this post! This goes back to the simple rule of... "seller beware", the same way we teach our clients the term " buyer beware ". The simple fact is ..... you have to do your homework when you hire a real estate agent. A professional real estate agent is honest, listens to the client, and explains over & over until all questions have been addressed.

I certainly cannot speak for all real estate companies but at my company we do not employ "hidden" fees of any kind. We train our agents to review the listing agreement with the seller completely prior to it being signed. We strive for repeat business and referrals. The goodwill created by being upfront and honest in our dealings would never happen if we were not upfront with the fee for our services.

Linked in should not be asking these types of questions as the answers may vary in different states. Getting an experienced and honest agent should be your number one goal.

Good to know. But how in the world would you get referrals if you had these hidden fees? And if you disclosed blantly up front who would sign up with you?

Our representation agreements in Idaho spell out exactly what the agent and client are agreeing to wrt commissions and fees. If the agent thoroughly reviews the agreements with their clients, and the client is reading the agreement, there won’t be surprises. There are agents who don’t do a thorough job of reviewing contracts with the client - and there are clients who, no matter how much they are encouraged, do not read what they are signing or ask questions beforehand. Some say, “I’ll just sign it. I trust you.” My answer is thank you, but it’s not my signature on the contract. It’s yours. Read it, and when you’ve asked enough questions that we both feel you understand what you’re signing, then we have succeeded. Communication people!

I strongly disagree with Hank’s comment about agents being available 24/7. I set expectations with my clients about working hours and have systems in place to capture after-hours leads. Not only is being available 24/7 not healthy nor sustainable, but what other solo profession is available 24/7? This expectation is unreasonable and leads to burnout. Not only that, it inevitably impacts the level at which you can advise your clients. If you feel you must be available 24/7, leverage AI to respond after hours. As I tell my sellers, if a buyer loves your home today, they will love it tomorrow. If they don’t love it tomorrow, they aren’t your buyer. Use offer deadlines and time of day deadlines to protect your time and set boundaries.

There are no hidden fees and or charges in a Seller’s agent compensation. At The Lana Rodriguez Group, all Sellers receive an Estimated Seller’s Net Proceeds Sheet. This sheet itemizes all the debit and credit items totaling the Seller’s Net Proceeds at closing. This sheet includes all closing costs, compensation, taxes, association fees, Goverment fees, and concessions. There no hidden fees and if there are, you have an unethical agent.

Any agent is fails to be available 24/7 should be avoided. That idea of "calls after 6PM returned the next business day" is over. Real estate is an every day business, sellers that fails to have listing agents that quickly respond will miss buyers. Again, GOOGLE perspective agents - and do test calls - do they answer or text back at 7:45 PM?