Hi Everyone,

In the previous newsletter we have talked in general how the foreign realtors are different in their duties, real estate commission charges, etc. depending on the country they live and work in. Now we’ll look at the Russian realtors and their approach to international sales and commissions from this point of view as an example.

I know first-hand what kind of problems the buyer’s Russian realtors encounter in their work selling international properties to the Russian buyers. Their first and foremost concern is to receive their real estate commission or an agreed shared portion of it in international sales in full and on time.

In Russia there are no regulations on the commission size and no rules for sharing the real estate commission. Of course, the size of the commission matters for the foreign realtors a lot. The usual size of commissions that Russian realtors get from international sales can be from 2% to 10%, and depends on the country where the sold property is located, market segment and property’s price.

Any Russian realtor who works with a particular foreign country’s property for sale, knows how much local realtors make there.

In case of commission shares with local realtors the Russian realtors prefer 50:50. (And remember that they do not charge the buyer they send you upfront, because if they try the buyer would go away to any other representative who doesn’t charge.)

Essentially, there is a method for the foreign realtors to secure their commission for sure: To have a trustworthy cooperating partner in that country where the sold property is located who would get the commission for them at closing. Any other provisions appear problematic as it does not seem reasonable for any realtors to go to court in the foreign countries and to have a legal battle for their commission, right?

As a seller of a property that you want to offer to the foreign realtors, the most important task for you is to prove to them that they will receive their real estate commission in full and on time.

By the way, as a marketing consultant for those real estate sellers who want to find the Russian buyers, I often receive inquiries with a lot of information on properties for sale, but almost never accompanied by any mentioning of the commission to the foreign realtors and what is even more important – how the commission will be paid and guaranteed.

If you want to sell to the foreign buyers through the foreign realtors, make sure you are convincing and open about how they will get their real estate commission.

Interested in cooperation with realtors in Russia? Feel free to email me.

To your best business success,

Sincerely,