[Etymonline.com](Real estate, the exact term, is first recorded 1660s, but in Middle English real was used in law in reference to immovable property, paired with, and distinguished from, personal.)
It’s pretty obvious that property sales are handled in very different ways on each side of the Atlantic. Here and estate agent is paid by the seller, usually a percentage of the sale price, but recently, fixed price selling has become more common.
A buyer usually employs a solicitor to handle the transaction and do the necessary searches, although that is not compulsory.
In English law, ‘real’ estate is the fixed part - land buildings, fixtures and fittings. It is just convention that has dropped the real part of the title.
In common law, “real property” means land and items fixed to it. “Personal property” or “chattel” means other kinds of property
In most of North America, the realtors/real estate agents are paid by the seller. Often each side has an agent and they figure out the deal. The seller pays a commission, which (typically) the two agents split - typically 5% to 7%. And then, usually, the agents work for an agency, so each agent gets to pay about half their commission to the agency. So your agent is personally working for 1% to 2% commission - enough for them to want to close ASAP. Think about it - an extra $10,000 for you means maybe an extra $500 split four ways, so they gain an extra $125. Is that enough to make them put several extra days of effort into getting you a better deal? (And each side pays their own lawyers out of pocket on top of the commission, and there’s land transfer fees, home inspection costs, etc.)
Is it any wonder one of the biggest growth areas in real estate is simple sell-it-yourself services? The realtors/real estate agents association runs adds with things like the SWAT team invading a home.
“Wrong place, you aren’t the Smiths.”
“We just bought this house.”
“Didn’t your agent warn you?”
“We didn’t use an agent.”
“aha…”
But again, agents have to pass a licensing test in most Canadian provinces. When my old boss sold his house, the agent got really upset he’d met face to face with the buyer and discussed it. Mainly because, when everything goes through the agents, things are documented - nobody can argue later whether promises were made or whether the problems in the house were discussed (i.e. “the basement does NOT flood” or “nobody told use about the electrical issues or leaky roof”). All those problems would go through two agents and it’s harder to deny what was said. After all, the agents aren’t going to lie for a client in the subsequent lawsuit when they’ve already been paid.
In most states, it’s an offense punishable by a six-month jail term and $5000 fine to write or post the word realtor without capitalizing it.
Uh-oh.
Cite please?
That’s gotta be a whoosh. Even the Association itself, in that FAQ that someone linked above, merely recommends (not requires) that the word “Realtor” be written in all capital letters.