How does the Tampa Bay buyer credit work?
Short Answer
The Tampa Bay Buyer Credit is advertising for represented buyers who hire Jonathan Loescher as their Realtor. The credit is 20% of the buyer-agent compensation actually available on the file, up to $3,000. If the listing pays less, the credit shrinks. There is no dollar floor. It is not a rebate to an unrepresented party and not a loan credit. Eligibility is confirmed at consult.
How the Tampa Bay buyer credit is calculated
The working assumption is a 3% signed buyer-side. If the listing pays less, 20% of that smaller number is the credit, still capped at $3,000. If nothing is available, there is no credit. The credit is paid from buyer-agent compensation actually received. It is not a PMF lender credit. Realty of America and PMF, Inc. stay separate.
What this looks like in Pinellas
A Clearwater listing that offers buyer-broker compensation will pencil differently from a St. Petersburg listing that offers none. After NAR practice changes, you cannot assume the seller pays. The buyer-broker agreement you sign with Jonathan is the real number we start from, then we see what the listing actually makes available.
Step-by-step
- Hire Jonathan as your buyer-agent in writing.
- Ask what compensation is available on the listing you want.
- Apply 20%, cap at $3,000, no floor.
- Confirm it is not stacked with Homes for Heroes, List + Buy, or the 2.4% path.
- See it on the settlement statement, not as a handshake.
- Do not call it free. Compensation is being earned.
What you control versus what you do not
You control whether you hire Jonathan and which listings you write. You do not control what a seller offers. You do not control a $3,000 wire if the math is $0.
Examples as education, not quotes
| Buyer-side compensation actually available | 20% | Credit after $3,000 cap |
|---|---|---|
| $9,000 | $1,800 | $1,800 |
| $15,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 |
| $4,000 | $800 | $800 |
| $0 | $0 | $0 |
These rows are arithmetic on hypothetical compensation, not a promise about any MLS listing.
Common mistakes
Calling it a rebate to an unrepresented buyer. Stacking it with Heroes. Treating it as down payment assistance. Advertising it on an MLS-derived card. This article will not do that.
What to do next
Book. Read `/services/buyer-credit`. Apply for a loan separately if you need one.
What to expect on the ground in Pinellas and Tampa Bay
Pinellas is a peninsula of small municipalities, not one market. A file in Clearwater is not a file in Gulfport. St. Petersburg condos under Florida Chapter 718 add questionnaires, insurance, and association budgets that a Largo ranch never sees. Seminole and Safety Harbor buyers often compare commute and school calendars without asking this site to rank cities. Indian Shores and Belleair add waterfront and wind-mitigation questions. Tampa searches spill into Hillsborough rules on taxes and CDDs. None of that changes licensing: Realty of America for real estate, PMF, Inc. for the loan.
When you book a consult, bring the documents this article already named. If you are buying, that is income, ID, and a sense of property type. If you are selling, that is a payoff statement and HOA or condo docs. If you are financing, that is the 1003 path at apply, not a rate from a screenshot. Jonathan Loescher can sit in both chairs. He still cannot underwrite, cannot bind insurance, and cannot promise a date the third party does not control.
Fair housing stays simple on every file. We describe the property, the process, and the paperwork. We do not describe preferred residents. We do not steer. We do not invent a median, a DOM, or a rate to make the page feel finished. If a number is needed, it comes with a month, a year, and a source, or it stays off the page.
Equal Housing Opportunity applies to the brokerage and the lender. Program benefits have conditions in the same conversation that names them. Buyer Credit, List + Buy, sell-before-you-buy, and Homes for Heroes do not stack. Ask which story you are actually in before you write. Then follow the contract dates. Then close. If a dispute is legal, you need a Florida real estate attorney, not a longer blog.
The office is in Clearwater. The phone is (727) 729-2961. Consultations are at /book. Listing tours stay on the listing modal. This hub is for evergreen how and whether questions. Community lifestyle stays on /communities. News stays on /news. If your question is missing, book the call instead of hunting a doorway page that only swaps a city name.
Documents, people, and next actions
Keep a simple packet: government ID, income proof the lender asked for, HOA or condo documents if the property has them, insurance quotes before you write in a flood zone, and the buyer-broker or listing agreement you actually signed. Send wires only to instructions you verified by phone. Use /book for strategy. Use the listing tour modal for a specific address. Use /apply for the PMF 1003. Use /services to compare Buyer Credit, List + Buy, sell-before-you-buy, and Homes for Heroes as educational math, not as stacked promises.
If you are comparing property types, say so early. Chapter 718 condos, 55+ communities, new construction, and waterfront each change the people who have to return a form. If you are comparing loan families, say so early. VA, FHA, conventional, Non-QM, and down payment assistance each change overlays. Dual-licensed help is optional. It is useful when those two lists would otherwise live in two inboxes. It is not a shortcut around residual income, appraisals, or association budgets.
This article is consumer education. It is not legal advice, tax advice, or a commitment to lend. Program terms change. Ask for the current sheet at consult. Then decide.
How this ties to the rest of the site
Start with a consult at /book or a 1003 at /apply. Search live inventory on /browse. Read neighborhood character on /communities, not on this Q&A. Dated market commentary belongs on /news when we have a source line. Program math lives on /services. Financing families live on /financing. None of those pages is a substitute for the contract you sign or the loan you apply for.
If you are buying, the buyer-broker agreement and the letter come before the crush of Saturday showings. If you are selling, the last 90 days of solds in your pocket come before the list price you wish you had. If you are financing, overlays come before a screenshot of a score. Pinellas files stall on insurance, condo questionnaires, and late documents more often than they stall on slogans. Plan the calendar backward from the date you actually have to move.
Jonathan Loescher, Realtor SL3546365 and NMLS 2621894, can run both conversations. Realty of America and PMF, Inc. stay separate companies. Listing Book a tour buttons still open the listing modal. Header Book a Call still goes to /book. That split is on purpose.
Jonathan's Advice
Expert Insight
I disclose Buyer Credit next to the listing's actual available compensation, not next to a fantasy 3%. If the listing is thin, the credit is thin. I would rather you see $800 than hear "$3,000" and feel baited. Hire me in writing or this program is not in play.
Talk through your situation
Real estate services are through Realty of America, LLC. Mortgage services are through PMF, Inc..