Is an Agents commission negotiable?
Yes, today with the steep competition we agents feel, it is quite common to have agents willing to cut commission in order to get your business. Generally speaking the going rate is 2.5% to the buyers agent, and the 2.5% to the sellers agent is the portion that can be negotiable. It really is up to you to negotiate with your agent over the rate and level of service that you are both comfortable with. For full information on commissions please see Commissions, how they really work. Can I carry my mortgage over to my new house? Yes you usually can, this is called a portable and blended mortgage. The bank will take your existing balance and rate and blend it with the extra amount of mortgage you require at the current rate. For example: Existing mortgage of $150,000 at 5% will be blended with the extra amount of $50,000 that you need at the current rate of 4% to give you a blended mortgage of $200,000 at roughly 4.5%. Do we need to be concerned about Lock Boxes? In a word, no. Lock boxes
