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Real Estate Agent
A real estate broker or a real estate agent is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually work under a licensed broker to represent clients.[1] Brokers and agents are licensed by the state to negotiate sales agreements and manage the documentation required for closing real estate transactions. In North America, some brokers and agents are members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the largest trade association for the industry.[2] NAR members are obligated by a code of ethics that go above and beyond state legal requirements to work in the best interest of the client.[3]Buyers and sellers are generally advised to consult a licensed real estate professional for a written definition of an individual state’s laws of agency, and many states require written disclosures to be signed by all parties outlining the duties and obligations.
Generally, real estate brokers/ agents fall into four categories of representation:
- Seller’s Agents, commonly called “listing brokers” or “listing agents,” are contracted by owners to assist with marketing property for sale and/or lease.
- Buyer’s Agents are brokers or salespersons who assist buyers by helping them purchase property.
- Dual Agents help both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction. To protect their license to practice, a real estate broker owes both parties fair and honest dealing and must request that both parties (seller and buyer) sign a dual agency agreement. Special laws/rules often apply to dual agents, especially in negotiating price. In dual agency situations, a conflict of interest is more likely to occur, typically resulting in the loss of advocacy for both parties .Individual state laws vary and interpret dual agency rather differently, with some no longer allowing it. In some states, Dual Agency can be practiced in situations where the same brokerage (but not agent) represent both the buyer and the seller. If one agent from the brokerage has a home listed and another agent from that brokerage has a buyer-brokerage agreement with a buyer who wishes to buy the listed property, dual agency occurs by allowing each agent to be designated as an “intra-company” agent. Only the broker himself is the Dual Agent.
- Transaction Brokers provide the buyer and seller with a limited form of representation but without any fiduciary obligations. Having no more than a facilitator relationship, transaction brokers assist buyers, sellers, or both during the transaction without representing the interests of either party who may then be regarded as customers. The assistance provided are the legal documents for an agreement between the buyer and seller on how a particular transfer of property will happen.
A real estate broker typically receives a real estate commission for successfully completing a sale. Across the U.S. this commission can generally range between 5-6% of the property’s sale price for a full service broker but this percentage varies by state and even region.[4] This commission can be divided up with other participating real estate brokers or agents. Flat-fee brokers and Fee-for-Service brokers can charge significantly less depending on the type of services offered.
Homeacre-Lyndora
Homeacre-Lyndora is a census-designated place (CDP) in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,906 at the 2010 census.[1]
Lyndora was linked to Butler, Evans City and Pittsburgh in 1908 by the Pittsburgh, Harmony, Butler and New Castle Railway, an interurban trolley line. The line closed on 15 June 1931, and the trolleys were replaced by buses.
Homeacre-Lyndora occupies a broad portion of central and northern Butler Township, north and west of the city of Butler. The U.S. Census Bureau locates the CDP at 40°52′10″N 79°55′14″W (40.869461, -79.920460),[2] but it consists of several developed areas separated by forested valleys. The Homeacre portion of the CDP is located on high ground west of Butler, while Lyndora is directly adjacent to Butler in the southeast corner of the CDP, in the valley of Connoquenessing Creek. The CDP is bordered by Meridian on the west and by Shanor-Northview in Center Township on the north.
U.S. Route 422, the Benjamin Franklin Highway, passes through the CDP, leading east 22 miles (35 km) to Kittanning and west 25 miles (40 km) to New Castle. Pennsylvania Route 356, New Castle Road, follows the old routing of US-422, leading east into downtown Butler, and joining 422 in the northwest corner of the CDP. Pennsylvania Route 68 joins PA 356 in the Homeacre part of the CDP, leading east into Butler but traveling west to Connoquenessing, Evans City, and Zelienople. Pennsylvania Route 8 passes through the eastern part of the CDP, interchanging with US 422 and leading south into downtown Butler and north to Harrisville and Franklin.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 6.6 square miles (17.2 km2), all of it land.[1]