What is a New York City Real Estate Commission Rebate?
As a buyer in NYC, you may have heard
that the services of a so called ‘buyer’s agent’ are free.
But you may be asking – if my buyer’s agent is free, who pays the bill?
And what is a New York City real estate commission rebate?
How does a real estate rebate save me money?
To answer these questions, let’s take a step back
and look at how a typical sale in NYC works:
Step 1: A seller hires a New York City listing agent
and signs a 6% ‘exclusive right to sell’ listing agreement.
In signing this contract, the seller agrees
to pay a total of 6% commission when the property sells.
If you as the buyer are unrepresented and have no buyer’s agent,
the seller pays the entire 6% commission to the listing agent.
If you are working with a buyer’s agent, the seller pays 3% commission
to the listing agent and 3% commission to your buyer’s agent.
The key takeaway here is that the seller pays the same amount of commission
regardless of whether a buyer’s agent is involved
in your deal alongside the listing agent.
Because the seller pays the commission bill for your buyer’s agent
and you won’t achieve a lower sale price by being unrepresented,
hiring a buyer’s agent is a no brainer.
Step 2: You hire a buyer’s agent to help you with your purchase.
Your buyer’s agent offers several services
to help streamline the overall deal process.
The typical services provided
by a New York City buyer’s agent include the following:
Helping you search for listings
Answering your questions about specific buildings and units
Preparing pricing analysis for the listings you are interested in
Implementing a negotiation strategy
Reviewing and assembling your board package
Now here’s where the real estate commission rebate concept comes into play.
If you hired a traditional buyer’s agent who does not offer a rebate,
your agent will collect his or her commission check at closing and walk away.
If you are lucky, your traditional buyer’s agent will buy you a box of chocolates
or a bottle of wine as a token of gratitude for you sending them
a deal worth tens of thousands of dollars.
On the other hand, if you requested a real estate commission rebate
your buyer’s agent will write you a check at closing
for a portion of the commission he or she earned on the deal.
Because of the high median purchase price in the city,
real estate commission rebates in NYC can end up being $30,000 or more.
An NYC real estate commission rebate can significantly reduce your closing costs.
If you are buying a property above $1 million,
the NYC real estate commission rebate you receive
will pay your entire mansion tax bill.
Better yet, real estate commission rebates in NYC are completely legal
and generally considered to be non-taxable income.
So, how do you request a New York City real estate commission rebate?
First, a word of advice.
There are over 50,000 buyer’s agents in NYC,
and most of them have little or no recent deal experience.
Just like in any other industry, there are seasoned professionals
as well as amateurs all vying for your business.
Having an experienced buyer’s agent can be a tremendous asset to your deal,
but partnering with an inexperienced
or unprofessional buyer’s agent can put your entire deal at risk.
Discretion is also key when requesting an NYC real estate commission rebate.
The last thing you want is for the listing agent
and/or seller to hold a grudge against you
because they know you are receiving a commission rebate.
At Hauseit, we’ve partnered with NYC’s most experienced
and seasoned buyer’s agents who have agreed to discretely offer you
an NYC real estate commission rebate at closing.
As NYC’s largest FSBO and Buyer Agent Commission Rebate company,
Hauseit’s reviews online are second to none.
To request a rebate, visit www.hauseit.com