interest. Legally, agents are not allowed to work on both sides of any transaction without consent from the clients. If you’re selling your home and you don’t want your agent to also work with the buyer of your home, it’s your right to say so in the listing agreement. This is also true for buyers. A buyer can get out of an agreement with an agent if they are interested in purchasing a home their agent is listing.
HOW REAL ESTATE AGENTS ARE PAID
The National Association of Realtors® 2022 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers states approximately 10% of homeowners opted to put their homes up for sale in 2022 without using a real estate agent or Realtor®. A handful of For Sale By Owner (FSBO) transactions dealt with sellers and buyers who previously knew each other or were directly related; Real estate agents and Realtors® — unlike professionals in different categories who bill by hourly rates or earn a salary — get paid through a transaction (commission) at the end of each sale. For example, if an agent has worked with a seller or a buyer for months, they don’t get paid for the time spent if there is no transaction during that period. Agents receive a commission once the transaction goes through to settlement (closes) based on the selling price of the home. At that point, the commission is earned. The commission structure, traditionally negotiated between the seller and the agent, has typically amounted to around 6% of the
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