REF BUYER REFUND PROGRAMS OUTLINE

REF Realty offers several options for Buyers to choose when purchasing a property.  Provided is a brief explanation and comparison of each program and the type of buyer that best matches each program’s criteria.  While the programs are open to all Buyers at their discretion, REF offers its recommendation on the ideal buying scenarios.

Program Outline:

With the increased use of technology and websites in real estate, many Buyers prefer to take on more of the tasks and educate themselves on purchasing a home.  Buyers may not need or prefer the “traditional” hands on service.  Our 25% and 60% Refund Programs offer Buyers the flexibility of being more independent, and in return, get something back for their increased participation in the process.  We want to make it clear that REF agents are available to assist and consult throughout the entire purchase process.  These programs are not designed to abandon our clients, but rather to offer options for Buyers who prefer to employ them.

Your Refund:

REF Realty is compensated a commission for representing you as a Buyer’s Agent.  This commission is generally a percentage of the sale price.  We will refund you a % of our commission at your closing whereby these funds can be applied toward your closing costs and other closing related fees.  The “up to” in the 25% and 60% categories in the Programs Comparison Chart refers to the maximum refund paid to our Buyers.  In short, we will pay the maximum if REF is offered the maximum compensation.  Please see the refund calculator to the left of this page.  REF urges you to "Calculate Your Refund" based on your particular situation and to understand how our refund to you may vary.  Here’s a quick example:

Estimated Purchase Price	$500,000
REF’s Buyer Agent commission – estimated at 2.5% of the purchase price	$12,500
REF offers a 60% REFUND to the Buyer at closing:	$7,500

 

Program Comparison:

The underlying difference between the 25% and 60% programs is that the 25% program allows for up to 10 free property visits of any kind while the 60% program requires a consulting fee upon the 1st property visit and all following visits thereafter.  A Buyer can either pay $135 per property visit or pay $325 and block off 3 hours of an agents time to visit as many properties as possible in that timeframe.  All other out of office visits relating to home inspections, a final walk-through of the subject property and attendance at closings incur a fee of $250.  Please note that property showing visits require advance payments to REF while fees relating to home inspections, final walk-throughs or any other than a showing visit can be deducted from the Buyer's estimated refund at closing.

Things to Know:

Once you identify properties that you wish to visit from your REF Search, you can do the following to see them:

Open House:  Visit a scheduled open house; it should be posted on the property listing sheet or contact your REF agent to confirm.  It is important to notify the seller’s agent upon first meeting that you have engaged REF Realty as your Buyer representative.  This is an important matter and is related to an on-going procuring cause issue in the industry.  Procuring Cause is explained in better detail in question #14 on the Frequently Asked Questions page.      

Schedule with a REF Agent: If there are no Open Houses for the subject property and you wish to see the property a.s.a.p., contact a REF agent to schedule a visit.  More times than not, a REF agent will be required to accompany you to the property.  REF will explore the possibility to send you to the property unaccompanied by a REF agent to avoid potential consulting fees, however, there are circumstances that do require our attendance, which REF must adhere to:

1. Property is on a lockbox – This is done in the case of a vacant property or in a situation whereby the Sellers agent will not attend.  A client cannot visit a property unaccompanied by an agent.
2. Selling Agent cannot be present – As stated above, a client cannot attend a property unaccompanied.  A licensed agent must be present at all times, therefore, if the seller’s agent cannot attend, your REF agent must be present.
3. Selling Agent prefers a REF Agent accompany our client – This will happen more often than not and if a selling agent prefers we attend, we will to avoid any issues.  At the end of the day, we want to help you purchase your home and not create a contentious atmosphere with the selling agent.  This is where REF encourages the Buyer to calculate the cost of paying for some visits.  You will find that your refund can still be substantial regardless of paying for some consulting fees.  Allow a REF agent to go over this with you.

***Please note that REF Realty prefers to earn a minimum of $2,500 per transaction, which means that our refund to you is limited under these circumstances.  This typically applies in cases where a purchase price is less than $250,000.  In these situations, you receive the balance of our commission after we earn our minimum of $2,500.

*** When we refer to the term “web based”, we do not intend to deter those clients who may not have the technological capabilities to work with our online tools.  We have options for all Buyers; Give us a call and we’ll explain how.

***If you do select one of our refund programs, it is important to let your lender know immediately so there will be no impact on your financing as your closing draws near.  Your lender may request something in writing from REF to confirm your estimated refund.  We have a prepared letter and will gladly provide upon request.

Ideal Situations:

As mentioned above, it is the Buyer’s discretion on which program they wish to select.  However, if you want our 2 cents on the category of Buyer that each program may be best suited for, we offer the following:

25% Refund:  Buyers who have a search criteria defined and know what they are looking for; they understand the purchase process to an extent and may not take numerous searches to locate their property. 

60% Refund:  Best suited for the Buyers who know what they are looking for or may already have seen the house they want on REF’s Search page.  They are familiar with the purchase process and are ready to make an offer on the subject property. 

Non Refund:  Buyers who are new to the purchase process and are not familiar with the steps involved.  They wish to purchase a property, but are not sure of their search criteria; these buyers may take months and countless property visits before narrowing their search.  We do not necessarily recommend the 60% refund option to Buyers who fit this category.  Depending on the number of homes you choose to visit, it could become costly in the long run.  We always recommend you run the numbers with a REF agent to understand the program and its potential costs.