$200.00 in recording fees? Unusual? Depends on where you are closing. Most transactions we close recording fees are well $100 for recording fees.

Warranty Deed is $33 plus a $1 for each additional page, Deeds of Trust are $34 and $1 for each additional page. Some counties may vary slightly, but not much. Buyer pays these.

What is happening is that escrow firms (several in Puget Sound area) are charging overages just because they can. In other words, they keep the difference. Illegal, no. Unethical, in my opinion yes. But then again, our firm is customer driven, not profit driven. You must have the prior solved before the latter occurs.

Another charge that is blatantly absurd is e-mail fees. We see these charged by competitors upwards of $150-200. How do you charge a client an e-mail document fee? Many are, and it’s never questioned. This is how most all escrow firms receives loan docs. It’s a routine daily function of work, like picking up the phone. Will the industry invent another junk fee soon? Bet on it.

If you disect the potential escrow junk fees that are out there, it could potentially increase profits to the firm by 30% or so. I would love to gross 30% more than we are.

Our rate structure is on our website, but to save you the trouble: Most of our purchase transactions close for $495/side plus tax. $100,000 sale, same. $500K sale, same. No junk, no fluff, no e-mail fees. At our company, we think it’s smart business to charge a little to a lot of people than charge a ton to just a few. And, we have a strong belief that the last people your clients see in a transaction will have a lasting impact on the long-term business relationship you have with your client. End of commercial.

Most states have laws against paying third part referral fees, so it’s a tad touchy. There’s no law against reducing the commission for “other business generated” before the listing closes. But, I’m pretty sure you can’t go below zero or actually “pay” rather than “reduce” a commission, as there are laws against that in most states.

Of course, if I want to implement it, I’ve got to figure out how to capture and track the buyers so that proper credit is given. But I’m already working on how to make that happen. Thanks for a good new idea!

Very well said! Your last statement (“the value of a good, ethical and customer driven loan officer is woefully underestimated by agents”) really caught my attention. I am a mortgage banker, so I’ve been struggling with how I might comment on this without sounding self-serving. But to hell with it – I’m just going to say it – there are many things that I enjoy about working in the mortgage business, but at the end of the day the only thing that really adds value to my life is the feeling that I am connecting in an honest way with the people that I work with. It sounds so simplistic, and at least for me, as I travel through my days, finding someone that is “good, ethical and customer driven” seems to be a rare characteristic of any service provider. When I see it, I know it, and when I find it, I keep coming back. Hey…what a great marketing strategy: 1. Know your business; 2. Be ethical in your dealings with people; and 3. Be honestly focused on providing them a service. Seems that if anyone, in any business, wants to set themselves apart from their competitors, follow those three steps.

If the buyer’s agent is representing the buyer, why should the agent be “enticed” by a bounus. The best house is the best house for the buyer….not the one with the bonus. This is why I intentionally do not look at the commission until after the offer is “signed around”. One exception being, when I need to participate financially in the offer for the buyer to get the property. Then I need to see it during negotiations.

Bonuses to the buyer’s agent should no longer be used to sell houses. That’s from the old days when all agents represented sellers.

An extra $10,000 in my pocket should not make that house more attractive to my buyer. Offer the $10,000 bonus to the buyer, not to the agent. Maybe it will make the house look better to the buyer

It’s easy to sell in a seller’s market, but when the tide starts changing (already is) you actually have to try to sell a house. You have to advertise, door knock, advertise again, stage, farm, advertise more and more and more.

to sell a $1mill house in Hawaii you have to spend thousands of dollars now and it can take a year. So no, 1% is not going to cut it for the commission.

Sellers here are now offering MORE than 6% sometimes because they need to sell. If the market comes crashing hard, I predict commissions above 6% will be common. Like, 3% to buyer’s agent plus a $10k bonus. I just saw that last month here.