Realtor Rebate
Realtor rebate or what is more commonly know as a real estate agent rebate is a concept currently being used by real estate agents to woo many property buyers into buying properties being sold by them. This rebate actually comes on the part of the seller to the buyer. This means that if the real estate agent is charging 3% of the sale price as a commission, then he or she can give this back to the buyer as an incentive to get this back from them. This is in effect really just a transfer of cash from the realtor to the buyer. It has in the last year yielded great results especially for the larger real estate brokerages. In the past this was an unheard of practice as many realtors and real estate agents wanted higher commission rates and because of the recent crunch in the real estate market sales are on the decline, they are many properties for sale but very few buyers. This has led to a drop in price and a lot of ‘dry spells’ (long periods without the sale of a property) for real estate agents. Lots of information can be found in real estate magazines.
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The real trick of realtor rebates is get real estate buyers to list with them. This means that if a buyer wants property they contact the real estate agent or brokerage and these people in turn locate properties for them. Once the closing of the sale is completed and the realtor gets his/her commission, they give back up 75% of that commission back to the buyer. An actual example is explained below:
300,000 x 6% = 18,000 x 75% = 13,500
The realtor will rebate to the client the total sum of $13,500.00
It’s a great incentive that creates added saving for many real estate buyers. However there are implications for all parties involved. The most important issue is that of taxation and if the recipient of a realtor rebate is to be listed as taxable income. The transaction really affects the income of the realtor and the buyer. The Internal Revenue Service has referred to income such as this for both parties.
In the case of the realtor or real estate agent, when reporting income must report the full revenue that they receive. However it will be net off in some other charge such as advertising that is placed on the books of the real estate agent. It is for this reason why over fifteen states in the
In the case of the purchaser however, they must report that as income and it must be taxed as regular income. The concept continues to grow in popularity and soon will become standard as it begins to attract many purchasers to receive cash back from purchasing a property.