Rebates are not considered taxable income.  A recent IRS ruling which states that a rebate we provide you will not be considered income, but rather a lowering of the purchase price:

The IRS determined in Ltr. Rul. 200721013 that certain commissions received by real estate brokers that were passed along to their home-buying clients were neither reportable payments to the brokers nor gross income to the clients.

Source: RIA/WGL Journal of Taxation (preview) on Checkpoint

The rebate is a private transaction between the buyer (you) and his Realtor (a RebateReps agent).  The seller does not need to be notified that you are getting a rebate.  Take a look at this FAQ from the Virginia Association of Realtors, as an example, which says the rebate is “confidential to the client.”

Rebates are legal in the majority of states. However, some states haven’t joined the bandwagon yet. Those states are: Alabama, Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon and Wyoming.

The state of Kentucky just changed their rules and made rebates legal (they were under pressure by the Department of Justice to do so). If you live in one of the states where rebates are not legal, but you want them to be, please write your Senator & Congressman, or send us an email, and we’ll forward it to the Department of Justice! We really appreciate the fact that the DOJ is looking into states which do not allow rebates.

We are completely separate from lenders.  You can still use whichever lender you want (including lenders offering incentives as part of new construction builder programs).

We simply connect you to a Realtor who is participating in our rebate program, and will share his commission with you at settlement.  We do not require you to use any specific lender.

Yes!  The rebate is put right on the HUD-1 closing statement, so you bring less of your cash to closing, and use our cash instead, to pay closing costs, etc.

Our office is located in Northern Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. However, we service clients nationwide via a network of trusted agents, all of whom are willing to share their commission with you.

Not only will one of the agents in our network provide you with the same level of service, but we’ll provide you with a better level of service, and here’s how:

If you’re tired of dealing with real estate agents that aren’t tech savvy (or don’t even know how to use email!), come enjoy the benefits of having a RebateReps agent help you find your next home, and share his commission with you in the process. Take the taxi driving out of your home buying experience, and empower yourself! The RebateReps network is comprised of top local real estate agents across the USA, from firms such as RE/MAX, ERA, Centruy 21 and other brands you’d surely recognize. These agents have agreed to participate in our network, and we have verified their ability to give top-notch service & support to you.

We know it’s hard for people to believe us, but all the following things are true (and we’ll prove it to you):

1. You are literally throwing money away if you don’t use RebateReps to buy your next home.
2. You’ll pay the exact same price for your next home if you buy it with or without us.  The only difference?  You won’t get a rebate if you don’t use us.
3. Not only will you miss out on the rebate, you also will miss out on having someone “on your side” to represent you.

Why are all these things true?   It’s simpler than it sounds:  The seller of a home (whether new construction or resale) has to pay the listing agent a commission, usually 6%.

If you don’t have a RebateReps agent (i.e., you walk in by yourelf), the listing agent keeps that whole 6%, meaning the selller still pays it to someone, just not you!

If you walk in with us representing you, then 2 things happen:  #1, we get paid part of the listing agent’s commission, and we give some of it back to you.  #2, we represent your interests in the transaction, so you have someone on your side.

So don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you can get a better deal by walking into a transaction without a Realtor, because all you’ll be doing is making the listing agent more money!  The seller still pays the same commission to someone, but it all goes to the listing agent.  Use a RebateReps agent and have some of that commission go into your pocket instead of the listing agent’s pocket!

The seller always pays the commission on a home you buy. A real estate agent never charges you, the buyer, for their services. That’s why you pay the same price for a home whether or not you use a real estate agent: The seller usually has already agreed to pay the listing agent a fixed commission - say 6%. So whether you buy the house by yourself or through an agent, the listing agent gets a 6% commission. Therefore, in most cases you cannot approach the seller for a discount, since the seller is paying 6% no matter what - either 6% to the listing agent, or a split of 3% to the listing agent and 3% to your agent. (Remember, this is where we come in: we give you part of our 3% in the form of a rebate).

Our network of agents keep a smaller percentage of the commission than most agents do and they’re happy to do this. They feel that you deserve a rebate when you are actively involved in the search process. Today’s technology enables you to perform some of groundwork traditionally provided by an agent. This frees the agent’s time to focus on the part of the deal the agent does best: negotiating contracts & guiding you through to settlement.