Discount real estate brokers: Get what you pay for?
| In recent years, a bevy of discounters has sprung up across America. They have shaken up the real estate industry by offering real estate brokerage services for less than the traditional 6 percent of the selling price. In many cases they also provide somewhat less than the traditional amount of service. |
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Some discount brokers offer a menu of services and tailor their fee according to the menu items chosen. Others say they offer full services and simply are discounting the price. ZipRealty, which operates in 16 markets nationwide, will list your home on the Multiple Listing Service, or MLS, show your property to prospective buyers, and help you get the deal to closing. “We offer home buyers and sellers all of the services of a traditional brokerage,” says Richard Roberts, ZipRealty’s vice president for marketing. “We charge significantly less to represent the seller while still offering market-rate commissions to the buyer’s agent.” Founded in 1999, the California-based company charges either 1 percent below the traditional commission or a minimum listing fee of $2,000. That’s in addition to an agreed-upon fee which is paid to any cooperating broker who brings a buyer.
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