Doing Short Sales For RE Agents
Does anyone on here do shortsales for real estate agents as a seperate company? I am looking to do short sales for agents who do not really know how to do them. My question is in how i charge for this and what i am allowed to charge. I beleive you are supposed to charge 1 % in this situation because most agencies here in CT where i work charge 5 % and banks have a 6 % cap on real estate commissions when negotiating a short sale. This leave 1 % left over for me.
Does anyone do this? Does anyone actually charge more, like say 2% and you take a half % from each realtor as well.
Each state has its own set of rules and regs about getting paid from real estate transactions. You may need to be licensed with the specific broker for whom you work.
I charge 2% to process short sales for agents. I am a licensed Broker. So, since they are using me and not a typical broker shop and all of our deals are actually dual agency, the realtors have been earning 3-4% realty fees on each transaction.
I use the terms broker and agent interchangeably because in Colorado there are no more agents, just different levels of broker.
A Realtor is just a professional designation of real estate broker/ agent.
Do you have any insight into my above question in regards to how i can legally get paid from the transaction as a third party negotiator?
If you are not showing the property or engaging in practices that require licensure you should be able to be hired on a contractual basis by the real estate broker as an assistant. I have an assistant who makes phone calls for me, schedules appointments, and handles my paperwork for a contract by contract fee. I do not see why this service you are providing would be any different. Check laws for assistants vs agent for your state. Charge a flat fee per transaction you are ok with for doing the work that is worth your time. If your time is worth $75 an hour and you estimate to spend 60 hours on the deal, charge that. Are you pretty much completing paperwork and making calls like an assistant, only an assistant with specialized skills, you should be able to charge in the same manner without breaking any laws, besides you are licensed anyway. You may want to retire your license so you are not liable, also include that clause in the contract. I am sure you know what to do regarding that aspect. Agents should be willing to pay you as an independent contractor per transaction like they do assistants and the state should be fine with it. Get the commission to write you a statement stating so just in case. Special situations such as this are good to take to the state board for clarification and approval. As far as 1% or 2% you know commissions are negotiable to get rid of the appearance of being involved as an agent in the transaction approach it as an independent contractor providing a service. That contract can be in your company name, but consult a professional.