If you live in one of the 40 states that allow home rebates, you might be able to save money when buying a house. To do this, you would have to find a real estate agent that offers home rebates. This is not something that is offered by all agents, but it is available through some. Here are several things to know about these rebates.

What is a home rebate?

A home rebate is an incentive offered by a real estate agent to a person buying a house. The agent that offers the rebate is responsible for paying or providing whatever the rebate is, and this means the cost comes out of the agents' pocket.

Real estate agents may offer these rebates to obtain new clients. If a person is looking for a house to buy and can save money by obtaining a home rebate, the person is likely to do so, even if this means using an agent he or she does not know. A new agent can often obtain a client list quickly by doing this, and referrals from these buyers can help the agent become successful with helping people buy and sell homes.

What types of rebates are offered?

There are numerous types of rebates offered by agents, but a common type is a percentage back. The percentage might only be 0.5%, but this is better than nothing. With a percentage rebate, the agent takes the percentage off the total house price, and the amount reduces the commission the agent earns. For a house that costs $200,000, a rebate of 0.5% would be $1,000. If you took advantage of this, you would pay $1,000 less for the house than you planned on.

Real estate agents that do not offer a percentage back may offer other types of rebates or incentives. Giving a buyer a gift certificate is one common option. This could be for any amount, and it could be for a home improvement store, restaurant, or any other type of business. Another common option is a free home inspection. If your agent offers this, the agent will take care of paying for you to get an inspection of the home.

Finding a real estate agent that offers some type of rebate or incentive is a great way to earn something while buying a house, and this can be a nice gesture when investing in a home. To learn more, contact an agent, like Steve Cohn - Keller Williams Realty - Petaluma, today.