With Buy Owner, you pay NO commissions. Period. But if you wonder what this means exactly, we’re here to help. Understanding real estate commission can be a bit confusing and may warrant a lot of questions. When do you pay? Who do you pay? Who pays: the seller or the buyer? While commission rates vary, depending upon how many real estate agents are involved, the sale price of the house and other negotiations, here is a general explanation as to how commission works.

When do you have to pay a commission?

If you sell your home using the help of a real estate listing agent, you may have to pay commission. The agent works for a brokerage that has the exclusive right to market your home, thereby attracting buyers and requiring a commission for all of his/her hard work.

If you use a real estate selling agent to help you buy a home, you will most likely pay commission. Why? The agent is doing the legwork for you, finding potential homes for you, bringing you to them and showing you the ins and outs of each of them. Also, the commission is almost always worked into the sale price of the house.
With Buy Owner, whether you are buying or selling, there is no commission, ever!

Who pays: the seller or the buyer?

Sellers will only pay the commission if they sign an agreement with the brokerage and the selling agent, stating they will do so. Sellers tend to do this as part of an incentive to sell the house quickly. However, the buyer usually pays the commission, as it is typically represented as part of the sales price.
By buying/selling Buy Owner, you won’t have to pay commission, ever!

Who do you pay?

Remember, there are two different agents at work here: the listing agent (for the seller) and the selling agent (for the buyer). However, you don’t pay the agents directly, since they work for a broker. All fees go through the broker to be split between the two agents. While the split may be equal at times, the market also plays a factor in the amount of commission each agent receives. For example, in a buyer’s market, the selling agent will receive a bigger commission than the listing agent. However, this is not under your control. You just pay the brokerage and enjoy your new house.
With Buy Owner, you don’t have to pay a broker commission at all, ever!