Some home builders may have resale fee in contract
There’s been a lot of buzz in the real estate world this week about a 1% resale fee that some builders may put into their new home building contracts.
This fee is not a new concept; condominium and townhome owners are often subjected to resale fees or ‘flip tax’ as it is also called. Typically the flip tax is used toward community improvements or common area maintenance – but that doesn’t seem to be the case with this new development.
The fee proposed by developers has concerned a much larger group now, as it would affect home buyers of single family detached properties – which is the majority of real estate transactions, especially in the Collin County area. It appears that some developers are looking to receive 1% of the original sales price every time the house is sold – for 99 years. And these funds wouldn’t be put towards community improvements or common area maintenance, they are solely intended as profit for the builders.
A list of builders imposing this resale fee in their contracts has not been discovered yet. Your real estate agent will be able to assist you in checking the contract and providing assistance in negotiating the fee. However, if you’re purchasing a new construction home without an agent, make sure you read the fine print and fully understand any fees or charges imposed.
As of today, there are no set policies as to who would be required to pay this resale fee – the buyer or the seller – therefore, it would be just one more item up for negotiation.
