Things To Do In SW Florida

For decades, home sellers typically covered both their own agent’s commission and the fee for the buyer’s broker, a structure that left little room for negotiation. But a recent legal settlement has shaken up that system, opening the door for buyers and sellers to haggle over who pays what — and how much.

In the Bay Area, many agents ask for a 2.5% or 3% commission — a rate they say is justified given their experience and market knowledge, and the time they take to help clients navigate the process of buying and selling a home. Agents may also face pressure from brokerages, which may receive anywhere between 15% to 30% of that commission, to keep fees close to 2.5%.

Although some agents don’t budge on their rates, some will under the right circumstances. Here’s how a buyer or seller can strengthen their hand in negotiations:

Show that you’re serious. Matt Castillo, an East Bay agent, said that part of the reason agents set their fees around 2.5% is because it’s so uncertain whether their client will actually close — and the agent will get paid. “You might be working with someone for a year, and they may never buy,” he said. read more

When Eric Itakura listed his Mountain View, California, condo last year, he hoped to save some money on commissions.

The rules over how agents’ fees are set had recently been rewritten as part of a landmark settlement reached between the National Association of Realtors and a group of home sellers. For decades, sellers typically paid a fee between 5% or 6%, split between their own broker and the buyer’s. The new rules, industry watchers predicted, might finally chip away at that standard by forcing buyers and their agents to negotiate separately.

RELATED: How to negotiate commissions with your real estate agent

But Itakura found that not much had changed. Two buyers made offers, both asking that he cover their agent’s fee. One wanted 2.5%, the other 3%. Itakura knew he could say no — but he also knew the buyers could walk.

“There’s a convention that’s been in place for a long time,” Itakura said. “The more you try to buck against that standard, the more potential problems you create for yourself.” read more

The night before the Trump administration began enforcing a 25% tariff on Canadian imports, Chicago-based GI Stone had 13 trucks at the U.S. border, each loaded down with specialized granite set for installation in the Obama Presidential Center under construction in Jackson Park.

Only eight trucks made it through before the tariffs took effect on March 4.

“We rushed all the trucks we could get,” said Sandya Dandamudi, GI Stone’s president and owner. “But there was a lot of congestion and long lines, so everything took a long time to process. For us, the tariffs have been a bit of a nightmare, and the biggest problem is the chaos.”

Adjusting to the tariffs imposed on Canada and other countries has not gotten easier over the past six months. The White House has imposed or canceled tariffs on nations with little or no notice, sending up and down the costs of key imported building materials such as steel, aluminum, copper and lumber. Construction industry leaders say the tariffs have made it more difficult to predict prices, secure financing and kick off new development. And even though short-term fixes, including stockpiling inventory, have so far helped developers and contractors avoid passing along cost increases to consumers, tariffs will ultimately mean higher rents and housing costs. read more

By BYRON TAU, GARANCE BURKE and DAKE KANG, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers and activists across the political spectrum called on American tech firms to stop selling surveillance equipment to Chinese police and for Congress to examine the issue after The Associated Press reported that U.S. technology had played a far greater role than previously known in enabling human rights abuses by Beijing.

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Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri told AP he wanted to summon tech companies before Congress to address how their technology exports were used. Hawley, a longtime critic of U.S. technology companies, bemoaned Silicon Valley’s general lack of cooperation with Congress on that and similar inquiries. read more

By JOHN LEICESTER and NICOLAS GARRIGA

PARIS (AP) — A lifelong fan of “Tomb Raider,” French gamer Romain Bos was on tenterhooks when an update of the popular video game went online in August.

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But his excitement quickly turned to anger.

The gamer’s ears — and those of other “Tomb Raider” fans — picked up something amiss with the French-language voice of Lara Croft, the game’s protagonist.

It sounded robotic, lifeless even — shorn of the warmth, grace and believability that French voice actor Françoise Cadol has given to Croft since she started playing the character in 1996. read more