CHARLOTTE, NC –Buyer’s beware. New rules could cost you more when purchasing a home.
“There are going to be some houses that a buyer simply cannot afford because they can’t pay their own buyer agent fee,” said Janet Thoern.
The way it used to be was the selling agents would pay a buyers agent a portion of their fee. That led many home buyers to believe their agent was working for free said Thoern with the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.
“Some buyers found out that their their buyer agent was being paid by the seller or through the listing agent, they felt like their representation was compromised in some way because of that,” Thoern explained.
Starting August 17th, before a home buyer even looks at a house with an agent they will have to sign a buyers agreement with their realtor that outlines exactly how much they will have to pay their agent at close.
As Thoern explains, even if a buyer agrees to pay their agent a fee, it is possible the seller may offer to pay a portion or all of that commission. If the seller does not, it will have to come out of the buyers pocket.
The other new regulation states that the compensation between buying and listing agents will not be shown on the MLS.
“We are in a transition and making sure that we’re communicating more effectively,” said North Carolina Realtors President, Tony Harrington.
He believes this new system won’t have much of an impact on agents bottom dollar.
“The misconception is that compensation actually is changing, and that is that is incorrect,” said Harrington.