About Homebuying Brief
Clear, concise information that helps home buyers keep more of their own money.
Homebuying Brief is part of The Brief, a family of sites that turn complex, high-stakes decisions into clear, concise information that empowers people to make them with confidence.
What we do
Buying a home is most people's largest purchase, and one of its most misunderstood details is the buyer's-agent commission, which is money already built into the price that, in most states, can be partly rebated back to you in cash at closing. Homebuying Brief helps you see what that is worth with a state-by-state rebate calculator, plus plain-English guides and original research on how rebates work and how to ask for one.
How we approach it
We aim for clear, accurate, genuinely useful information over hype. We explain the rules, flag the states where rebates are restricted or not allowed, and point you to reputable services and official sources so you can verify things yourself.
Who writes it
Homebuying Brief is written and maintained by Ben Torres Ezrick, its founder and editor, from Miami Beach, Florida. Ben also runs The Ballot Brief, a nonpartisan voter guide built on the same rule: every figure on the page links to the official document it came from. Questions and corrections go to admin@homebuyingbrief.com and are answered by him.
How the numbers are made
Every dollar figure on this site is computed from a document you can open: a state statute or revenue-department page for transfer taxes, the rate manual an underwriter filed with the state insurance department (or the state's promulgated rate rule) for title insurance, the housing finance agency's own program page for down-payment assistance, HUD's published income limits, and the Census Bureau's American Community Survey for median home prices. Each page lists its sources at the bottom with the effective date we checked. We do not take numbers from comparison sites, lender marketing or news summaries, and when a figure cannot be traced to an official document we leave it out rather than estimate it. The full list is on the Sources page.
Where we're based
Homebuying Brief is headquartered in Miami Beach, Florida, and is a sibling to The Ballot Brief.
Homebuying Brief1610 Euclid Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33139
Email: admin@homebuyingbrief.com ← Back to Homebuying Brief