Should you charge a Transaction Fee Or Should It Be A Cost Of Sale?- EP 105

2021-09-27

On this episode of the Real Estate Fight Club podcast, Jenn and Monica are going to duke it out over “Should you, as an agent, charge a transaction fee for your client?” We don’t have to charge transaction fees, but let’s talk about whether or not we do. Keep listening to witness how Jenn beats Monica and changes her mind. Episode Highlights: Jenn talks about the average transaction fee that she sees these days. She sees anywhere from $200 - $600 transaction fee. There are brokerages in Cincinnati that require their agents to charge a tr...

Episode Highlights:

Jenn talks about the average transaction fee that she sees these days. She sees anywhere from $200 - $600 transaction fee.
There are brokerages in Cincinnati that require their agents to charge a transaction fee, and then they don’t give their agents any of it.
Jenn says they were a team of 12 people with a lot of overhead and requirements. They had to keep and maintain documents for a certain time. They were charging $595 per file.
Earlier, Jenn had tried to charge a higher commission rate instead of the transaction fee, but the fee went through a lot easier for her.
For Monica, the answer is NO, you should not charge a transaction fee. Instead of charging a transaction fee, Monica suggests charging the expenses or cost of sale.
People are used to paying fees and it has been the same for so long. We have never adjusted the commission, and now we are just trying to get sneaky ways of earning more income, says Monica.
Jenn explains why she stopped charging transaction fees; They don’t have overhead anymore.
Monica calculates, if we are doing 40 deals a year, and 30 of them are listings, then we are talking about $14,850.
If you enjoyed this episode, let us know on our page! Did you change your mind like Monica did? If you have other ideas or thoughts to share with us, please go to our podcast page - Real Estate Fight Club Podcast. We love hearing from you!
Tiebreaker Aaron Sims believes that if an agent wants to, they can charge a transaction fee.
Aaron shares what he says to people that are asking why that isn’t included in the commission.

3 Key Points:

Monica inquired from Jenn instead of charging a transaction fee why did they not charge a higher commission rate?
As a realtor, you charge what you need to charge for your commission and you should be able to defend that.
Jenn asks Aaron why both sellers and buyers do not charge the transaction fee; why is it charged only on the seller's side?

*STOP yelling at your phone and yell at Jennand Monica instead! Join us EVERY Thursday at 12pm EST for Real Estate Fight Club in Clubhouse. If you have an iphone but don't have an invite yet, text Jennat 513-400-1691.*

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