A smarter way of handling your real estate needs

Fair Choice Realty was founded in the fall of 2006 by Christopher Ashe and Andrea Becker Abbott to provide an alternative for people who want to buy and sell real estate using a new, more logical model. Chris and Andrea both felt that while many real estate firms provide a high level of service to their clients, the way that those services were billed for is confusing to the clients and customers.  Fair choice Realty provides clients with a choice of services at a price that really makes sense.

To understand the Fair Choice difference let's take a quick look at how the traditional real estate office works.  It all starts with a "listing' which is an employment agreement with a seller who hires a real estate firm to help sell their property. The agency promises to do certain things in exchange for a commission which is a percentage of the sale price. Out of that commission the agency will pay all of their own expenses and also pay the person or agency who finds the buyer. If there is no sale of the property then no commission needs to be paid. This system was created years ago when all of the real estate agents in the transaction worked for the seller and the buyer was on their own. Real estate is no longer done that way. Today the buyers usually have their own agent who works for them representing their interests but the compensation system has not changed.  Fair Choice Realty thinks there are some good reasons to offer an alternative:

1) Under the old system the agency only earns a commission when the property is sold, but every property doesn't sell and every buyer doesn't buy so who is paying for all of the expenses and time for these unsuccessful transactions? Obviously they have to be built into the overhead for the successful transaction so if one out of every four transactions is successful then the fee for that transaction must be four times the cost in order for the agency to make up its expenses. In other words the successful transaction pays four times more than it should. Is that a fair way to charge?

2) Who really pays the commission? The seller writes the check at the closing table, but the commission is built into the transaction. The courts have held on several occasions that the buyer and seller contribute equally to the commission since it is built into the sale price. So the seller writes the check, but the buyer pays half the money. In fact the fee the buyer pays their agent is built into the sale price. Is it in the buyer's best interest to have that fee go up when they pay more for the home?

3) Does a percentage make sense? Does it really cost twice as much money for an agency to sell a $500,000 home as it does to sell a $250,000 home? The answer is, "No, it does not."  It may cost a little bit more to sell a so-called high-end house than it does to sell a more conventionally priced property but not enough to justify the higher fee. Is a percentage fee really fair to home sellers?

4) Is the "one price fits all" concept of percent of sale price commissions fair to the consumer?  Different consumers need and want different levels of service.  The first time home buyer may need a lot of guidance and education in order to complete a transaction where as an experienced buyer or seller may prefer to do much of the work themselves.

Fair Choice Realty is built on the premise that clients should only have to pay for the services that they receive.  All of our compensation plans designed to accomplish that. You pay only for what you get and the price of the property is irrelevant.  We can save our clients money while still providing the highest possible level of service .

Fair Choice Realty, 148 East Albert Street, Torrington, CT 06790 

860-601-1279

Fair Choice Realty holds a real estate license in Connecticut