Most home sales are managed by a real estate agent (or an agency). You pay a commission to them. Historically, it's 3% from the buyer to the buying agent, and 3% from the seller to the selling agent, although the numbers can vary. In today's market, both sides are charging 5-6% which I think is highway robbery, but people I talk to in the business insist that's the "normal commission". Probably has to do with sales being down so much.
When one agent handles both sides of the sale, they may charge both sides the commission. Some agents will do this, others will only charge the buyer since they figure it's unfair to double charge. The agent that sold me my condo was one of those who thought it was unethical to charge both sides so he didn't. Maybe I lucked out there. It may also have been that I commented that three members of my immediate family were licensed real estate agents so he figured he wasn't going to get anything anyway. No way to know.
The agents handle all the paperwork. They do take an up front fee to cover costs, but that's rolled into their commission on a sale. They get the forms filled out, t's crossed, i's dotted, etc. This includes inspections and lists of things which need to be done to make the sale. And most agents either have the authority to file said forms, or retain an attorney to file them for them. That's all part of the service and it's why they get a commission.
My original question was whether or not he (she? Don't even remember who it was now) had paid a lawyer on top of an agent, since that seemed redundant. Obviously, if you decide to manage the sale or purchase yourself, you can and you'll have to pay fees to file various papers and whatnot. I suppose you'll save money doing that, but you can also easily leave yourself liable to costs and suits later if you miss something. It's a choice to make. I just wasn't sure that was the case here.
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