Yes, many buyers that were born in other countries ask for money back, they, themselves, call it a rebate. It is common and legal. The illegal aspect of kickbacks is if the lender, the title company, or escrow gets a kickback or gives the real estate agent a kickback for their business.

This kickback from industry suppliers is illegal because RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) clearly states that the buyer has the choice of which suppliers to use. If the agent gets a kickback from a particular bank for bringing in a client, well this may not be in the best interest of the client.

But RESPA does not state that you cannot give the buyer, himself, anything. It is clearly his choice.

I don’t like it, but at times I must do it too.

KL

Pete,

I agree with you to an extent. I think that agents on Trulia shouldn't answer question unless they know the answer. I think if a question is asked about real estate in 92154 "Otay Mesa in San Diego California" an agent in another area let alone another state might want to think twice before answering it. When it comes to a question like the one asalasx1 asked it pertains to the state that they are buying the home in and it clearly stated South Bay San Diego which everyone should know is California. An agent from a different state could not possibly answer this question correctly. Rules are different in other states. Pete, don't be discouraged. I'm not sure we want the model of the Financial Industry do we? I think Trulia is good to gather information and then once the poster of the question reads the answers they can contact the agent who knows what they're talking about.

As far as rebates..... There's nothing backwards or wrong about an agent using some of their hard earned commission to help a home buyer out with closing costs to make their dreams of home ownership possible. I have done it from time to time and it shows how kind and caring some agents can be.

Mike Lewis - San Diego California Realtor

Excuse me--i live in so-called backwards Louisiana--but this kind of thing would get your license yanked so fast you wouldn.t know what hit you!We are not even supposed to recommend a particular home inspector,etc. because there might be a suggestion of a kickback.

I've been frequently reading this site for several weeks now, and continue to be bewildered by such asinine responses by so many real estate agents. And I just had to sign up so I could respond to this post. How can so called professionals of their field be so wildly wrong regarding this simple question? I hope that more people are out there challenging all of the incompetent real estate agents who are only preying this site for business. BTW, I think that it is perfectly fine and appropriate to seek out business from potential home buyers who do not have an agent via various sites such as Trulia, but to provide information that is blatantly incorrect (similar to so many other posts), I think that is misleading at best. I wish real estate agents were held responsible like other professionals are in different sectors (i.e., financial advisors, attorneys, etc).

I implore all of you to be more thoughtful and honest about your responses before providing fallacious information to people seeking support.

Hi,

I just spoke with an attorney at C.A.R. California Association of Realtors. As long as the lender is on board with the rebate it is 100% legal. Rebates are not illegal!

Mike
http://www.AgentBookListings.com

I'm sorry but both Michael Barron and Dana Schuster are absolutely wrong. We operate a flat fee buyer brokerage in San Diego (and San Francisco and LA coming next) and it is perfectly legal to offer a buyer a rebate/refund at closing. (And if you don't believe me, go to Redfin's site and read up. Do you think they wouldn't discover this through their diligence with $30M in venture backing?)

Contact Cleve Shirley and he will happily help you out - full service for less. Cleve@condoDomain.com

There are relocation companies out there that will refer you to a real estate agent, if you buy or sell a home through that agent, you get a cash incentive after closing.

Hi there , this is an illegal pracice and you should not work with an agent who tells you they do this.. Agents can offer incentives which are taked out of escrow. so you can call it a rebate if you like. It depends in the person and the property. Just curious sellers pay the commision so are you looking for a rebate on what , Buyers do not pay the agent??

Kind Regards
Michael Barron
Realtor/MBA
First Team Real Estate
michael-barron@sbcglobal.net

Hi Homebuyer,

Agents can offer rebates by paying out of their commissions buyers closing costs through escrow. So yes an agent can offer a rebate through escrow form their commission. I don't discount my services but some agents will. Please let me know if your want me to work for you undiscounted.

Mike

I hope not, it is highly illegal and could result in extremely serious consequences for any broker who engages in this practice.