Agents, Clients, or Brokers: Who Should Pay the TC Fee?

Jason Cassity posed a question on a recent Instagram post: “Should agents pass off their TC fees to the client?” Agents in the comments did not hold back, with most answering “No,” but some defending the idea. Where do you stand?

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Attention all agents: Should you be charging your TC fee to your client?

Jason Cassity—BAM contributor and co-founder of the REFER network—-posed the question on a recent Instagram post to gauge whether agents generally supported or vehemently opposed the idea.

In a typical real estate transaction, you probably pay a transaction coordinator (TC) to help with paperwork on the backend—or to essentially manage the transaction from start to finish, with the exception of the work you do as the agent.

TCs are paid anywhere from $300–$600 per transaction (assuming they aren’t paid a regular wage as a staff member), and independent TCs typically receive payment similarly to an agent—via a fee at closing.

Agents commented in droves—and they did not hold back.

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A post shared by Jason Cassity (@jason_cassity)

One side argued the agent should pass that fee along to their client, either as a commission addendum or as part of the contract, so the client ends up paying the fee.

Some do this with most of their clients.

On the opposite side, agents argued the TC fee should not be passed to the client because the agent is the one that pays the TC to streamline the process and free up their time to do the agent work that only they can and will do.

Let’s start with the most popular opinion:

Nope!

“I mean, in some cases, sure…”

Some agents were more open to the idea, while at least one admitted to passing the TC fee along to the majority of his clients.

IG-comment-TC-fees-13 — As for the following comment, we’re not sure whether this agent is suggesting that, if you sell at a high enough price point, the client probably won’t notice a $300-600 TC fee—or that you, as the agent, will earn a commission large enough to make that fee a non-issue.

Or he could be saying that, in this case, it doesn’t really matter who pays.

IG-comment-TC-fees-14 — So, where do *you* lean in this debate? Should the client pay the TC fee? Or should you as the agent pay it? And do you leverage your stellar TC (or TC team) as part of the next-level service you provide as an agent? Head on over to Instagram and share your thoughts.

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About the Author

Sarah Lentz

Sarah Lentz started writing for BAM in late May of 2022 and quickly realized she was exactly where she wanted to be (and still is). Before BAM, she worked as a freelance writer. She lives in Minnesota with her four kids and, in her free time, is writing her next book.

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