Full Service, Limited Service or A la Carte? Which Is Right For You?

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With White Oak Realty, LLC…you have choices but, which one is the best for you. 

Time, energy and the knowledge to deal with selling your home may be at a premium with everything going on in your life.  That is when it is best to hire a Full Service Realtor.  The Realtor will field calls from interested Buyers and Agents, meet inspectors and appraisers, run errands, send emails, explain your options with offers along with a multitude of other chores associated with selling your home.

A full service Realtor will also ensure that your emotions are in check when making decisions.  Purchasing and selling a home is one of the biggest decisions of your life, other than getting married or having kids, and it too is, many times, driven by emotions.  Your full service Realtor will help keep you grounded and hopefully keep you from making a bad decision.

Full service Realtors will charge a full commission that will be shared with the agent on the other side of the deal…if there is one.

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You have some time, you have the energy, you have some knowledge about real estate but you are a little nervous about offering your home as “For Sale By Owner”.  You would feel more comfortable having a real estate professional to bounce things off of.  That is when you can hire a Realtor for Limited Services. 

Limited service must be disclosed in a written brokerage agreement in which the limited service agent:
(i) discloses that the licensee is acting as a limited service agent;
(ii) provides a list of the specific services that the licensee will provide to the client;
(iii) provides a list of the specific duties of a standard agent set out in subdivision A 2 of § 54.1-2131, subdivision A 2 of § 54.1-2132, subdivision A 2 of § 54.1-2133, or subdivision A 2 of § 54.1-2134, as applicable, that the limited service agent will not provide to the client. Such disclosure shall be conspicuous and printed either in bold lettering or all capitals, and shall be underlined or in a separate box. In addition, a disclosure that contains language that complies substantially in effect with the following shall be deemed in compliance with this disclosure requirement:

"By entering into this brokerage agreement, the undersigned do hereby acknowledge their informed consent to the limited service agent in a residential real estate transaction by the licensee and do further acknowledge that neither the other party to the transaction nor any real estate licensee representing the other party is under any legal obligation to assist the undersigned with the performance of any duties and responsibilities of the undersigned not performed by the limited service agent."

Under a Limited Service Agreement, the commission you pay to the Limited Service Agent will be less than to a Full Service Agent.  If another agent brings a Buyer then that agent will most likely negotiate with you a commission which you will need to pay at closing. 

Limited Service Agreements may or may not save you money on commission depending on your agreements with the two agents.

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The third option you have is A la Carte.  This option is perfect for people who feel confident enough to sell their home as “For Sale By Owner” but may need services that you can only obtain when you list with a Realtor, i.e. putting your listing in the MLS, having a Realtor lockbox on your home so agents can show your property without you being present, or looking at your property from a Buyers’ perspective.  You can also choose to purchase services you may not have time to take care of, i.e. taking off from work to meet the appraiser, vetting potential unrepresented Buyers to ensure they can qualify for and close on a loan and more. 

With A la Carte you can pick and choose from whatever services you decide to purchase.  The Realtor is only obligated to provide those services you purchase.  If you wish additional services, they must be paid for. 

With White Oak Realty, LLC, we offer A la Carte Services.  We also offer the option to convert to Limited or Full Services at any time.  If you choose to convert the services, any monies you have paid for A la Carte Services will be deducted from the commission owed to White Oak Realty, LLC at closing.

Currently, most Realtors only offer Full Service.  Some offer only Limited Services.  I know of none that offer A la Carte.  That is what makes White Oak Realty, LLC different.  We offer all three.  You choose.

Call us today to get started.

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