Offices in Omaha, NE U.S.A.,
Licensed Iowa & Nebraska Realtors
The real estate experts in
Omaha, Nebraska & Council Bluffs, IA
Serving Bellevue, Bennington, Carter Lake, Council Bluffs, Elkhorn,
Gretna, La Vista, Omaha, Papillion, Ralston and surrounding
communities.
Relocation Done Right
Buying or selling a home is a major financial decision. It makes sense to invest time and effort in finding a good agent make sure the process turns out right. When buying or selling in their community most people do their homework to find the right agent. However, when relocating out of town they typically depend on their local agent to refer them to a good agent in the new community. Relying on the local agent for a referral is fine, if the agent actually does the research. Moving to an unfamiliar area requires a higher degree of expertise and attention from an agent than is needed to move within a community that is familiar. That is why doing the research is so important.
The problem is most real estate companies belong to closed relocation networks and the referring agent can't actually pick the new agent for their client. The agent can only pass their local client's contact information to the relocation company. The relocation company then passes the referral on to a real estate company that is a member of the network in the new community. At that point the referral is passed on to one of their agents who may accept or decline the referral. Eventually it gets assigned to an agent that may or may not have the level of expertise and commitment needed.
Agents appreciate referrals and typically pay a 20 to 25 percent referral fee to the referring agent. When adding a middleman, the relocation company, fees are typically in the 35 to 40 percent range and can get as high as 50 percent. These fees are paid out of the agent's commission from the sale of the new house. When the house closes and the real estate company receives the commission, the referral is paid to the relocation company who then passes a portion of it to the referring company. From there the referring agent is paid.
When up to half of the commission is siphoned off by people that have no role in finding the right house for the buyer, it isn't hard to see that most experienced agents aren't going to bother with relo referrals. Working with buyers that are new to the community is more time consuming than working with local buyers. Then doing it for half the pay?
Berkshire Real Estate has a better system. We are not members of closed networks, we are not contractually required to use any relocation service. We do the research and find agents that are experienced, prominent in their communities, and work with the kind of houses in the areas that meet the needs of the buyers we help relocate. After finding agents that meet our requirements we interview them and their managers to insure a perfect fit both in experience and personality. We only ask for the standard referral fee, generally 20 to 25 percent so they want to work with our referrals. Best of all, we rebate our buyer 50 percent of the fee we receive.
Moving? Fill out the Referral Form and we'll find you a great
agent.
Q.
Do I have to be a current or past client with Berkshire to utilize this
service?
Q.
Is giving rebates legal? Why aren't other companies doing it?
Since most people being relocated will be involved in a referral transaction we figure they deserve to have the best agent possible and a little extra cash in their pocket. As for the second part of the question, that's a good question.
Q.
What areas qualify?
Q.
What if I don't like the agent, am I required to use him/her?
Moving? Fill out the Referral Form and we'll find you a great
agent.
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