The realtor asks to transfer money for viewing the apartment. Is this legal?

Most transactions for the purchase and sale of apartments in big cities are carried out with the participation of realtors.

Such transactions require certain knowledge. This is why most sellers and buyers turn to the services of real estate agents.

But here one question arises: who pays for the realtor’s services: the buyer or the seller? Let's figure this out together.

Should the buyer pay the realtor?

There are several options for cooperation between a client and a realtor. The most common are:

1. The parties involved in the purchase and sale of real estate have one realtor who provides services to both the seller and the buyer. In this option, the realtor receives a double fee - from the buyer and from the seller separately, since they have entered into different contracts. This work is very difficult because you need to connect and find a common compromise between the buyer and the seller. For a realtor, this is an excellent option for earning money, so he will definitely do an excellent job and take on this offer with pleasure.
2. The parties to the transaction have different realtors from different companies. Each party pays only the realtor whom it hired to find an apartment or a buyer for an apartment.
3. There is a moment when one party has a realtor and the other does not. Then only the person who hired the realtor pays for the services of the realtor. This type of contact is not entirely beneficial for the agent since it performs the work of one party, who does not have a realtor, for free.

Who pays for the realtor's services: the seller or the buyer?

It is believed that the one who orders the services of a realtor pays. The following options exist:

• the seller pays for the services;
• the buyer pays for the services;
• Both parties pay, but each pays to their own realtor.

The determining factor in paying a realtor is the cost of the apartment . What could be the size of the commission? Real estate agent fees typically range from 3 to 5% of the property price. The amount of payment may be higher if, in addition to selling real estate, the realtor provides other services.

In some cases, a real estate agent's salary will be fixed. This usually happens when the value of the property is low or if the realtor does not do all the work, but only part of it.

When contacting a real estate office when selling or buying an apartment, you should know that the intermediary’s income is formed from the commission that the parties to the transaction pay during mutual settlements. So the realtor is directly interested in concluding the deal, otherwise he simply will not receive the fee. This mainly explains the masterly actions of the realtor in convincing buyers to buy this or that property.

Why do realtors charge money from both the buyer and the seller? It is believed that the realtor is paid by the one who ordered his services. In practice, it often turns out that both parties to the transaction pay the agent: both the seller and the buyer. And often they don’t even suspect it.

This is the skill of a realtor - to get the largest possible fee from both. If a realtor manages to pull off such a deal, then he receives not only double financial reward, but also moral satisfaction (“I’m a sales genius!”).

An experienced real estate agent is guided by the situation: if there is an opportunity to take money from the seller, then he will take it; there is a chance to take it from the buyer - he won’t refuse either. Moreover, neither one nor the other even knows which of them pays the realtor (secretly thinking that it is not him).

This is the real skill of a realtor! And not at all in searching for objects, and not in preparing documents . After all, finding a suitable apartment using open databases on the Internet is not difficult. You can entrust the work with documents to a lawyer.

A realtor most often does not have a legal education. His task is to convince the client that he cannot cope without his services: he is defenseless and helpless in the real estate market. Happened? This means you can set a suitable price tag for your services to a hooked client.

In order to convince the client, various techniques are used - complex legal terms, personal charm, listing a mass of incomprehensible documents, and even slight intimidation (“they say, just recently one buyer decided to buy an apartment on his own, and was left without everything, broken trough - m-yes...").

The client treated in this way, after such an attitude, begins to doubt his abilities and entrusts the transaction to a “true professional” who will not leave him “without money and without an apartment.”

It is this part of the work that is key in the activity of a realtor, and it is on it that the real estate agent’s fee depends . The rest of the process is a matter of technology: the mechanism has long been worked out and follows a long-established pattern. And any literate person can study this process.

So should a home buyer pay a realtor hired by the seller? In theory, it shouldn't. However, do not forget that realtors work in a real estate agency. And more often than not, these are adventurous people who are not paid a regular salary, and they deliberately do this.

The main income of realtors is the fee from the transaction they carry out, which forces them to dodge in order to snatch as much income as possible.

To do this, they have a number of techniques in their arsenal that allow them to confuse the size of the commission so that neither the seller, nor the buyer, or perhaps even the agency itself will understand the exact amount of the realtor’s earnings.

The “sleight of hand” of a real realtor helps him set the price and organize the transfer of money for the transaction so that the parties receive what they ordered, but at the same time have almost no contact with each other. This is necessary to avoid a scandal. After all, the price that is quoted to the seller and the price that is charged to the buyer are different, sometimes significantly different prices.

The realtor’s task is to control the transaction process, separate the seller and buyer of the apartment in different corners and prevent information leakage.

It is worth adding that this tactic is used most often by small and medium-sized real estate agencies, as well as private realtors. Large agencies are not afraid to openly announce the amount of their remuneration both for the sale of an object and for its purchase.

Do I need to pay the realtor if the deal doesn't go through?

It all depends on what type of contract was concluded between the customer and the realtor . If it was an exclusive agreement, which implies that the real estate agent is engaged in the sale and selection of the property and at the same time prohibits the customer from doing this on his own, then you will have to pay for the services. And if the transaction did not take place due to the fault of the customer, then the intermediary’s services are also subject to payment.

The amount of payment for the realtor's services depends on the conditions specified in the contract . But, as a rule, the specialist provides the customer with a certificate of services performed, which will present all the work done, and will require payment for the services actually rendered.

If an agreement has not been concluded with a realtor, then there is no need to pay for his services at all.

It happens that an agreement has been concluded with a real estate agency, and the seller himself has found a buyer. How to terminate a contract with a realtor if you found a buyer yourself?

In this case, you need to refer to the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights (Article 32), according to which the consumer of services has the right to terminate the contract at any time, subject to payment to the other party for the expenses actually incurred during the execution of the contract. In this case, expenses must be documented. If a conflict situation arises, file a claim in court.

Realtors have no right to demand any penalties or fines from the customer for termination of the contract, even if such a condition is indicated in the contract. The agreement is terminated by giving written notice to the realtor.

Do I have to pay if the realtor did not sell the apartment?

Here, too, a lot depends on the situation. Any contract specifies the procedure for termination and payment for services. If the realtor actually spent money, for example, on certificates or advertising, then part of the payment must be made upon completion of the work.

But you definitely don’t need to pay the full commission. Read the contract and act in accordance with the clauses of the document.

Should the seller pay the realtor?

Regarding payment to the seller, there are the following points:

• There are cases when the services of a realtor were not ordered, but they were performed. There are often examples from life when the owner is independently selling an apartment, a realtor calls him and offers to bring a client, the transaction ends with a sale and the realtor demands payment from the seller for bringing the client.
• in the case where one party has a realtor and the other does not, dishonest realtors can, upon completion of the transaction, issue an invoice to the party that did not hire an agent for the purchase and sale of the apartment.
• when a realtor works on both sides and asks the party to pay the full cost of expensive services, who doubts whether he needs the services of a realtor.

Always discuss payment details in advance so as not to end up in an unpleasant or costly situation for your wallet later. Do not delay, perhaps the services and prices that your agent will quote you will be too high. It is always worth clarifying such things.

Average cost of work

So who pays the agent? The services provided by the realtor are paid for by the client - buyer or seller who asked for help and signed an agreement. There are rarely transactions when the amount of payment to the realtor is included in the price of the property; then the services are paid by the buyer, not the seller.

Basically, the seller pays for the sale of an apartment, who is often interested in the question of how much the agency charges for processing the purchase of a home for its client. As a rule, the cost set by a realtor or agency may be fixed, or may be a percentage, but indicating the minimum amount of payment for the service.

For example, a private company in Moscow charges 2% of the cost for its services, but not less than 100 thousand rubles; if a buyer has already been found from the seller, the amount will be 50 thousand rubles. On average, the cost is 2-3%, the maximum is 6-7% of the amount for selling an apartment. In other cities, the cost in percentage is not much different - it is approximately the same everywhere. Thus, we answered the question of who pays for the agent’s work when concluding a transaction.

Below you can see how much real estate agency work costs in different cities.

Table of real estate companies in Moscow:

Table of real estate companies in St. Petersburg:

Table of real estate firms in cities with a population of over a million:

IMPORTANT: There may be additional costs during the selling process that the seller will have to pay separately.

Services to support the purchase and sale of an apartment can be provided not only by realtors, but also by notaries and lawyers, which can be found on our website.

What responsibility does a realtor have?

A realtor, as an authorized representative who is involved in the purchase and sale of real estate to his client, must always provide accurate and complete information:

• information related to real estate;
• information related to the procedure for re-registration of ownership;
• information about real estate registration;
• information about the conditions, procedure and amount of payments, about payments in government agencies, about deductions;

It is worth noting that the realtor is not responsible for the fact that the parties may violate the conditions specified in the real estate purchase and sale agreement.

If, due to the fault of the realtor, the registration of rights was delayed or there were shortcomings or errors in the drafting of the contract or the conditions thereto, then the client has the right to ask for a reduction in the fee for the work performed.

Payment for realtor services

Payment for the realtor's services must occur after all work related to the transfer of ownership from the seller to the buyer has been completed. Many realtors require payment after signing a real estate purchase and sale agreement, but this is not the final procedure. What follows are no less difficult stages in the transaction.

Payment terms are best stated in the contract that is drawn up when services are provided.

Clarification of other difficult points

Dealing with a realtor always has its pitfalls. He may make mistakes. This also indicates his lack of professionalism, since a realtor’s mistakes can be very costly for the client. What mistakes can a realtor make?

• Losing money.
• Waste of time.
• Losing an apartment.

It is best to choose a realtor with a recommendation and experience. Protect yourself, your money and property so as not to fall into the hands of a negligent worker.

Try to choose a specialist who will be your faithful friend and advisor when buying or selling an apartment, because good specialists are very well versed in all the schemes and can spot frauds and scammers in no time. A realtor should inspire your trust, and not the other way around.

If purchasing with a mortgage

In this case, you can also take the services of a realtor who will help you choose the appropriate option in terms of price and quality, and will also help you avoid falling into the hands of unscrupulous developers if the purchase of an apartment takes place on the primary market. The realtor is very well versed in all the documentation and will be able to check the developer and the apartment for legal purity. In this case, if you are not very well versed in purchasing real estate, we advise you to contact a specialist to avoid becoming familiar with fraudulent transactions.

The situation with the secondary market is the same as with the primary market. There are many pitfalls that are very difficult for a non-specialist in this field to understand, so for peace of mind and quality of the transaction and its success, you should contact a real estate agent who will do all the work and registration for you.

Who are realtors and what do they do?

The specialty “realtor” does not exist as such, and this is not taught anywhere, except in short courses and seminars . Realtors are not lawyers, but their functions include real estate transactions. For the most part, realtors are former trade workers, teachers and psychologists.

A realtor is an intermediary between the buyer and seller in real estate transactions. The services of this specialist greatly simplify the purchase and sale procedure and reduce the risk of an illegal transaction.

The basis of a realtor's activity is communicating with people, and this is the most difficult thing. Convincing a person to buy or sell real estate is not easy, so the money they receive for transactions is far from easy.

The realtor's salary depends on the value of the transaction and ranges from 1% to 5%. Only in some cases, the activities of a realtor are limited to certain stages, and his salary is a fixed amount.

When choosing a realtor for yourself, be sure to pay attention to the following details:

• what company does he represent;
• what guarantees does it provide?
• what actions he undertakes to perform.

It is very important that the realtor or the company in which he works are members of the Russian Guild of Realtors.

Joining this organization is voluntary; but if a realtor is a member of this guild, then he deserves more trust than his competitors who are not members of the Guild.

What does a realtor do? First, he carefully examines the object of sale:

1. Specifies the size of the living space.
2. Get to know the surrounding area.
3. Evaluates the object being sold.

And only then the realtor discusses the size of the commission and concludes an agreement with the client . Next, the real estate agent will engage in an active advertising campaign: compose and post advertisements on the Internet, and also post them on nearby houses. He can even call potential buyers - people who have declared their desire to purchase real estate in special advertisements.

Then the realtor will actively promote and position the property for sale, introducing it to potential buyers.

The cost of the realtor's services must be specified in the contract. If a buyer is found and is willing to pay the amount specified by the realtor, then a purchase and sale agreement is drawn up. At the same time, the realtor can search for a new apartment for the seller.

Checking real estate for legal purity is one of the main responsibilities of a realtor, as he must act as a guarantor of the legality of transactions. For this purpose, the specialist gets acquainted with all the documents for the apartment, conducts a survey of neighbors, submits requests to the housing office and law enforcement agencies.

In addition, the realtor prepares documents for registering the transaction and submits them to Rosreestr . Then the real estate agent participates in the final settlement between the parties, acting as a guarantor of the successful completion of the purchase and sale procedure.

As you can see, the services of a realtor cover a fairly wide range of activities, from assessing the value of the property to mutual settlements between the parties to the transaction.