Who Pays —- and How Much Does It Cost?
Generally speaking, the real estate agent listing the house pays for the SMARTePLAN®. Why?
A Home Seller pays a Listing Agent a commission based on the services they are providing and their professional skill set which includes: positioning the property properly, pricing it effectively, and promoting it in the market-place.
As the Seller, you can pay an Agent a 6% commission and have these materials included in that rate, or end up paying the same 6% and not have these materials working for you — your call. It depends on your choice of agent and how that agent allocates their marketing budget. Not all agents spend the same on marketing, so this is an area you need to discuss with your agent to be sure you are both in agreement on how much is spent on marketing, and “how” it is spent. [Link to Agents Who Use SMARTePLANS]
So generally speaking …. since a SMARTePLAN is a marketing tool, the whole fee usually resides with the listing agent who is already being paid a commission to market and sell the property.
Although not always….. as you’ve likely heard before … everything is negotiable. I have had the Listing Agent and Seller split the fee, and I also had one newly minted Agent (who couldn’t afford the fee) ask the home seller to pay the fee up front, with the agreement that the full amount would be reimbursed at closing (the house sold in 61 days). And I also have Brokers who pay the fee for their agents. So I can say in the majority of cases the listing agent pays for the cost, but I have seen a few fluctuations. Home Sellers can find additional information at [Link to Pricing Notes for Home Sellers]
Occasionally, a Home Seller elects to pay if they foresee a need to have use of the materials beyond the transaction with the current agent (or foresee utilizing more than one agent).
How Much Does This Cost?
Pricing is based on the square footage of the property and is 20 cents per square foot. A 3000 square foot home would cost $600 (plus tax). [EXAMPLE: Take the total sq ft and multiply it times the cents per sqft: 3000 x .20 = $600]
Each job is calculated based on the square footage of the property per a certifying authority (i.e. County Appraisal District, Builder, etc). There are options that can be added to the basic SMARTePLAN and this additional information is found in PRICING [Link to Pricing]