REALTORS® fees or commissions vary. Compensation is always agreed to beforehand between you and your REALTOR®. There is no set commission rate in the real estate profession, and any fee or compensation paid depends on the service provided by your REALTOR®, which can vary significantly depending on your needs as a client or the business model used by the REALTOR®.
When is the commission or fee payable?
The Standard Multiple Listing Contract provides that the fee or commission is payable on the earlier of the following:
- completion date under the Contract of Purchase and Sale; or
- the actual date that the sale completes
The GST
GST applies to REALTOR® fees and other services.
Other
Don’t forget to ask your REALTOR® about these costs when calculating the total cost of selling your home:
- Adjustments, may include property tax adjustments
- Final maintenance and utility costs
- Lawyer or notary fees and expenses — attending to execution of documents
- Costs of clearing the title, including:
- Discharge fees charged by encumbrance holders
- Pre-payment penalties
- Insurance — should maintain under the latter of either the date when you receive the proceeds of sale or when you vacate the property
- Real estate commission fee
- Property Tax — before the tax due date (in most lower mainland areas taxes are due on the 1st business day in July) you will be required to pay a portion of the estimated taxes for the coming year. This also applies to utilities (water, sewer & garbage) if they are billed separately from the property taxes
- Mortgage – check with your lender about prepayment privileges and penalties. Some mortgages do not allow any prepayment prior to the maturity date and if prepayment is allowed, penalties can be substantial. If you have the right to prepay a portion of your mortgage without penalty and have not exercised that right for the year of the sale, you should ask your lender if they will take that prepayment privilege into account when calculating your penalty for early prepayment
- Strata Title Homes – Condominiums & Townhouses – you may be required to pay a move out fee. This is charged by the Strata Corporation and will be deducted from the sale proceeds
- Legal Costs – legal costs do vary. When requesting a quote ask that it include fees, all disbursements (the legal costs of searches, registration fees, couriers, photocopies, faxes, land title agent’s fees, etc.) and taxes (GST and PST) to be charged