The real estate business is a rather complex one. There's a ton of paperwork, fees, commissions and the like that both buyer's and sellers have to pore over just to make sure they know where they stand. The price consumers are looking to buy at and what they are selling usually go through a metamorphosis and even major face lift when all things are done. But for the consumer that knows a little of what they want out of the deal, a Fee-for-Service broker may be a money saving angle.



Real estate rebates are one any that fee-for-service broker's offer to make buying more affordable. This article will have a little bit about what a full service verses a FFS broker offers and how real estate rebates are used to help both the buyer and the seller.

Full-Service Broker

The traditional full-service broker is typically working for the seller only. Take for instance a house seller. The full-service broker will usually take 6% (or around that mark) of the selling cost of the home. Their fee is based on a package of services. The services are usually involving the following work:

-Marketing and listing the house in various hard copy and online real estate listings

-Going over contracts and dropping helpful advice on pricing, inspections and various contraction arrangements

-Negotiating with both buyer and seller

-Make arrangements for buyers to inspect the sale property

-Giving the buyers different buying option information

-Mediating the offer barter between seller and buyer

-Helping out with the close of the house sale, such as tutoring the seller and buyer with closing paperwork

Fee-for-Service Alternative

What a Fee-for-Service broker will have is all of the above options above except it can be arranged in a la carte purchase style. That is, the seller can pick and choose what they want work with during the selling process. Usually they pay the broker by the hour for any of the menu selections.

This is more common these days and makes it so the seller is saving more on the cost of selling, which makes it easier for them to reach their target sale price, even if their buyer is offering a bit lower.

Another option that many Fee-for-Service brokers use is the real estate rebate. This rebate system is where an arrangement of using the broker's commission on the sale to pay out to the buyer. This can be used as a leveraging tool with the seller's offer if their broker is offering up some of the total sale commission. Now, not all states have this as an option, but a majority of them do. Full-service brokers are feeling the heat a bit, and many reality organizations are in-turn trying to petition their state to overturn some of these incentives. Federal anti-trust legislation has repeatedly defended this as fair and worthy component that defends competition in real estate.