Hoku Real Estate
What Is A Buyer Rebate?

    50% Buyer Rebate*

Simply, a buyer rebate is a way for a buyer to usually save thousands of dollars on the purchase of a home or condo. And that's money you save up front at closing - money that stays in your pocket that you would otherwise have to spend to close your purchase. Instead, you can save that money or use it for anything else you have plans for such as new furniture, a big screen TV or a vacation.

Buyer rebates have been around for a long time but have really gained in popularity in the last 15 years. In most industries, professionals compete on both price and service. For example, if you wanted to hire an accountant, you would compare services and hourly rates between different accountants and then choose with whom to work. When selecting a real estate broker to work with, you can also compare price and services - if they offer a buyer rebate.

In real estate purchases, buyers don't usually directly pay their broker for services. So, it's not obvious to a buyer that their broker's commission is something they do eventually pay since it's built into the purchase price. Because buyers don't feel that this commission comes out of their pocket directly, it has been easy to overlook buyer rebates as an opportunity for realizing significant savings.

Since most people consider price an important factor in their buying decisions, from groceries to cars, taking advantage of buyer rebates makes sense. After all, buying real estate is usually the largest financial transaction in an individual's life and a buyer rebate can be in the thousands.

When offering listing services, it's commonly understood that real estate brokers compete on price by charging different listing fees. On the buying side, the most practical way for brokers to compete on the price of their services is by offering a buyer rebate.

Hoku's buyer rebate is 50%*. We usually give you half of our commission which we receive from the seller, or seller's brokerage, at the end of the sale process. This is our buyer rebate to you, and is applied to your closing costs in escrow and can help you significantly with your purchase.

At the same time, we are a full-serivce company and are at our buyer's side from showing-to-closing.

The table to the right gives you an approximate idea of the amount of the buyer rebate you could receive. This is money that you save which you might otherwise have to bring to the "closing table".

At closing we usually receive a commission from the seller, or seller's brokerage, that is commonly called the co-op fee or co-operating broker fee. This fee varies and sometimes is 3% and other times is less. Our buyer rebate is based on the co-op fee we receive in escrow.

Over the years, the U.S. Department of Justice has supported buyer rebates as beneficial to consumers.

Let us help you buy your next Oahu home or condo - help both professionally and financially. We can actually put thousands of dollars "back into your own pocket" when you buy with us while providing the services you are looking for.

Buyer Services:

- Your Hoku agent will be by your side throughout the entire buying process beginning with the first search for properties for sale - and showing you properties -  until you receive your new keys. Great customer service is our goal.
- Help with arranging a financing pre-qualification letter if needed.
- Automatic daily email search results sent to you for properties matching your search criteria.
- Scheduling and showing of properties of interest.
- Comparable Market
Analysis, CMA, to see what recently sold and what current is available to help determine pricing strategy for the Oahu home or condo you decide to make an offer on.
- Write and present your offer.
- Effectively negotiate the purchase of your next home or condo.
- Help with access for property inspector and appraiser.
- Regular updates from your agent on the various steps in the escrow process.
- Guide your purchase through escrow to a successful closing.


Contact us:

We'd like to hear what your buying plans are, what you're looking for, and discuss how we can help you both professionally and financially when you buy with us.

Mahalo



*50% buyer rebate guidelines:
- Hoku Real Estate (Hoku) uses a written form covering the buyer rebate guidelines below. This form needs to be signed by the buyer and broker acknowledging these terms in order to receive our rebate at closing.
- Hoku normally represents buyers solely as their buyer agent - this means we work for you. There are rare events which apply to most brokerages when this may need to be modified. Your Hoku agent will discuss buyer representation at first meeting.
- In order to receive our rebate,
your purchase needs to be made with Hoku.
- Buyer agrees to provide Hoku with a financing pre-qualification letter from their lender, loan officer or mortgage broker before beginning looking for properties with us.
- If you signed a Buyer Bokerage Agreement with another broker, then you may be locked into them and we can't be your broker. Buyer affirms that they don't have any currently valid Buyer Brokerage Agreement with any Hawaii real estate broker.
- If you decide to buy a property because of the recent efforts of another broker, then we may not be able to represent you for that purchase. Buyer affirms that no other broker was the "procuring cause" of your decision to buy the property that you are currently buying with us.
- For new construction properties, your Hoku agent must accompany buyer on first visit to the new construction sales office in order for Hoku to be able to represent you and offer you our buyer rebate.
- Hoku offers a buyer rebate of 50% of the co-op fee we receive at closing. If the subject property is a listing of Hoku, then the rebate is based on the co-op fee portion of commission Hoku receives, and not on the total listing commission Hoku receives.
- Our buyer rebate must be disclosed to the buyer's lender on the escrow closing statement/closing disclosure and credited to buyer at time of closing. Lender approval is usually required for a buyer rebate, and if so, then rebate is subject to such approval. Our buyer rebate is not cash, it can only be applied to lender-approved closing costs shown on the closing statement (any rebate done outside of closing may be considered loan fraud). Many buyers are able to use all of the rebate, but in some instances, it may not be possible to use the entire rebate we offer. We can legally only rebate the amount a lender approves. It is the responsibility of the buyer to work together with their loan officer and lender to decide how to use the rebate we offer and confirm the amount that the lender approves. On cash purchases, the rebate may be applied towards the purchase price as well.
- Hoku has a minimum commission fee of $4,000. If the co-op fee offered is less than $8,000, then $4,000 goes to Hoku and the remainder is offered as our buyer rebate.
.

    Buyer Savings

Purchase price
Rebate
$400,000
$6,000*
$500,000
$7,500*
$600,000
$9,000*
$700,000
$10,500*
$800,000
$12,000*
$900,000
$13,500*
$1,000,000
$15,000*
$1,500,000
$22,500*
$2,000,000
$30,000*
(*savings based on a 3% co-op
fee commission offered by seller)

    Contact Us

Whether you simply have a question, need more info, or would like to get started working with us, we would be happy to hear from you.

Let us provide real savings, along with great customer service, while helping you with your Oahu real estate needs.


Mahalo


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