Buyers Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is this buyer rebate you speak of?

A: The buyer rebate is simply part of our commission we rebate back to you as part of your real estate purchase. It requires that you use us as your Buyer’s Agent and that we represent you in the purchase of a property where we receive commission as part of the transaction. We will rebate you up to 25% of the amount of commission we earn. This will all be clearly documented and disclosed and be part of the HUD-1 closing document.

Q: I heard from another agent that rebates aren’t legal. Is this true?

A: Commission rebates are legal in 40 states including Pennsylvania. What agents may be saying is that they don’t offer rebates or that their broker has a policy prohibiting rebates. Remember that all commissions in real estate are 100% negotiable by law, so we can offer rebates and you get the benefit when you work with us. Other brokers just choose not to offer this rebate to you.

Q: I am confused, why does Perry Wellington Realty offer rebates when nobody else does?

A: More business. The buyer rebate program allows us to attract buyers by offering a portion of our commission. This means we make less commission per transaction than agents who don’t offer rebates. We make up the difference by doing more volume and by doing it more efficiently. You see, we are very high tech in what we do, and we also have very low overhead. We don’t have fancy offices, we don’t have espresso machines and expensive administrative staff. We spend less so we can save you more.

Q: Does this mean that I am not getting the ‘Full Service’ that other agents offer?

A: Quite the opposite. We focus on getting you the best deal on your property and on getting you a rebate. We have skilled agents who used to work for Coldwell Banker, Re/Max and Stultz Real Estate who realize that real estate transactions are changing and that consumers are expecting more for less. The ‘old school’ type of real estate is on the decline. Customers now initiate their search for properties on our website at www.perrywellingtonrealty.com and identify which properties they would like to see. This eliminates a lot of driving around and involves you the consumer much more in the process. We also use electronic forms, scanning and email to eliminate driving contracts all over town. Our processes are much more efficient and faster which allows us to focus on negotiation, inspections and getting you the best deal on your property. As for expertise, our broker is the only broker in our area with an MBA and is also a director of a real estate school who teaches real estate courses.

Q: I looked at a house by calling an agent’s phone number off the sign from another brokerage. Can I still get the rebate?

A: Most likely not. That’s why you need to call us FIRST. You need to use Perry Wellington Realty as your Buyer’s Agent in order to take advantage of the rebate. Actually it is not usually a good idea to call the agent’s number on the sign. That agent represents the seller and is trying to get the best deal for their seller. They can also represent you, but you and the seller will need to sign an agreement stating you understand that they agent is acting as a DUAL AGENT. We are not particularly fond of dual agency as we think it is hard for you to get your best deal if the agent represents the buyer and seller. Think of it this way, you wouldn’t normally go to a Hollidaysburg vs. Altoona High football game and root for both sides. Simply put, don’t call the agent on the sign – call us FIRST and have us show you the property.

Q: I was thinking of building a house, can I still get the rebate?

A: It depends. If we introduce you to the builder, most builders will pay us our commission, which we will rebate a portion to you. If you contact the builder first, we can’t offer this program to you.

Q: I am an investor, can I take advantage of this program? What about commercial property?

A: Most certainly yes. Commercial property too.

Q: This all sounds too good to be true – what is the catch?

A: There are a couple of things to keep in mind – typically the rebate can’t be used as downpayment money, only for closing costs. Your lender can explain more, but the bottom line is that you still have to have a downpayment. There are limits to ‘seller’s assist’ which is a portion of the property price a seller can give back to you to help you with your closing costs. Many lenders won’t let you exceed a certain percentage of seller’s assistance depending on the type of loan you are getting. Check with your lender to be sure, but in many cases you can use the rebate towards your closing costs.

Q: I just still can’t get over why nobody else offers this program. It just sounds too good to be true.

A: We didn’t make this up. We read about agents offering rebates in trade magazines and on the internet. We thought we would bring this advantage to buyers in our area. It certainly makes us unique- for now, we fully expect other agents to offer this program as it catches on. We started our brokerage with these concepts in mind, so our costs are lower to start with – other agents will have to adapt to meet the demands of the ever-changing market. Our goal is to reduce the ‘friction’ in transactions. Friction is the added costs which expensive brokers with fancy offices and huge billboards add to the cost of the home you are buying in the form of higher commission fees. They charge more to list and sell a home and don’t offer rebates – pocketing more of your money. We think we can save you a lot, and make up the difference by selling more houses and keeping our costs low. We invite you to search and learn more about commission rebates – just ‘Google’ the term ‘real estate commission rebates’ and you will see there are agents all over the country who do this, including Perry Wellington Realty, right here in your hometown.

Q: Ok, so I took your advice and searched this. Oh boy, are my eyes open now. I have some more questions.

A: Fire away

Q: Some brokerages only offer rebates based on houses above a certain price, say over $100,000 what do you do?

A: No limits. Many times the checks are small, trust us. We decided it just would be too confusing to put limits on the program on less expensive houses. You are buying a house for $50,000 you still get a rebate.

Q: Don’t sellers get upset knowing that you are giving away part of your commission?

A: Sellers are mostly interested in their bottom line – how much are they netting on their deal. They are going to pay 6% commission (more on that topic) so it doesn’t matter to them where that money goes so long as they get what they need out of their house sale.

Q: If nobody else is doing this, won’t Perry Wellington Realty have difficulty working with other agents?

A: Really not. Everybody in real estate is trying to get houses sold. We sell houses. We work with other agents and they with us to get the houses sold regardless of who gets the commission in the end.

Q: So I was reading on your website that you only charge 4.5% commission to list a house.

A: We have a FAQ for sellers where we explain that in more detail.

Q: I read some different things about taxes related to the rebate, could you explain that?

A: We are unable to give tax advice and you should direct your tax questions to a tax professional. It appears in many articles that the understanding is that the property basis price is reduced by the amount of the rebate. In other words, you paid slightly less for the property.

Q: What about a rebate for a short sale house?

A: Sorry, short sales prohibit rebates.

Q: I bought a house a few years ago and the agent bought me a nice housewarming gift.

A: That wasn’t a question, but we’d be happy to give you a bunch of greenbacks at closing instead. You can buy yourself a much nicer gift with a buyer’s rebate.