Real estate agents far and wide know financing challenges can make or break a deal, even if they have a preapproved buyer ready and willing to make a purchase.
Buyers, of course, face the biggest purchase of their lives when buying a home, and the list price isn’t the only thing they have to worry about.
The transaction includes a number of costs beyond a home’s sale price. Often, these include a mortgage, closing costs, which often range from 1.5 to 2 percent of the sale price, and upgrades homeowners may want to make to their new home.
This is where partnering with a brokerage that provides buyer credits or rebates, and specialized loan products to accompany those credits, can be a game-changer for agents. The credit or rebate may put less up-front commission in the agent’s pocket, but the customer loyalty and ensuing referrals they help create can be well worth it.
Partnering with the right brokerage can help agents serve buyers even better, saving them money by helping them pay down their loan and thus filling them with appreciation, which will increase the likelihood they’ll be a repeat client.
Expanding savings beyond the credit
Lance Hamilton was having trouble finding a home to purchase in Honolulu when he found an agent with the emergent national brokerage SRE Matrix, which collects 1 percent of the buyer’s agent commission and credits the balance to the buyer.
He soon found a three-bedroom, two-bath home with a slight ocean view and bought it for $825,000 in June 2016. His experience illustrates the power of a buyer credit, how it streamlines a home purchase and builds a loyal client.
Hamilton used his buyer rebate to pay down the interest rate on his 30-year, $660,000 mortgage from 3.625 percent to 3.25 percent, cover all of his closing costs and to remodel his new kitchen from a small gallery-style room into a larger, more open space.
While the latter were one-time payments, paying down the loan gives Hamilton an approximate $200 monthly benefit he’ll realize for the life of the loan.
He’s also become an extremely loyal, and vocal, client. “Anybody I know looking to buy, I direct them to my SRE agent,” he said.
Nationwide brokerage SRE Matrix gives partner agents and their buyers access to exclusive partnerships with lenders who provide lower-cost mortgage products related to SRE’s buyer credits. Visit SRE’s website for more information.