Commission of Real Estate Agents and of the Attorney at Law

Tiziana Paris
Author
Tiziana Paris, Attorney at Law

How Real Estate Agents Are Paid

Real estate agents normally work on commission, not salary. They receive their slice only after your home search is over, the contract negotiated, and the transaction complete. (In many cases, they end up doing a lot of work for nothing, perhaps because the buyers lost interest or can't close the deal.) The commission is from 2 % to 5% of the puchase price + VAT.
Variations on the typical commission arrangement also exist. For example, some buyers prefer to hire an agent and pay the commission themselves, figuring it will make the agent more loyal to the buyer's interests, and provide grounds for a drop in the sales price. 

Even an agent who represents only you, and not the seller, has a financial interest in seeing the deal go through. While experienced, reputable agents won't let this interfere with their advice to you, it may cause less scrupulous agents to insist that you'll never get the house unless you bid high, to recommend home inspectors who make light of potential problems, or to otherwise compromise your interests. 

How Attorneys Are Paid

Attorneys normally charge by the hour or you can agree a commission from 1,25% -2% of the purchase price + VAT. find attorneys who charge flat fees for specific services, such as preparing real estate closing documents. Although attorneys tend to prefer handling the entire case with a "blank check" from you regarding hours to be spent and tasks to be accomplished, you're hiring the attorney, and you can call the shots. If you prefer to hire an attorney for only a limited number of hours, or for specific tasks, such as answering a legal question or reviewing a document, you can negotiate this.

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