Posted on 02/19/2010 7:43:46 AM PST by TSgt
My wife and I have been looking for land for several years. We are very independent buyers and never established a formal relationship with a realtor since we didn't want to waste their time and didn't want to be hassled. We did keep in contact with a local realtor we had in mind to represent us should we decide to make an offer.
Recently we found a property we liked and walked it with the seller's realtor. We decided to make an offer and then entered into a formal, legal, relationship, i.e. retained, with our local realtor. We made an offer and the seller accepted however the seller's realtor refuses to split the commission with our realtor. He feels that he is owed the entire commission because he walked the property with us even though he would have had to anyway. At the time we walked the land we informed him that we had not formally retained a realtor, which was true, however we had no intention of being represented by the seller's realtor for obvious reasons.
Our realtor is telling us not to worry about it and that she will simply not be paid for this transaction. My wife and I do not find this acceptable and believe that she should be paid for her work. Should we push the issue about splitting the commission or pay her half out of pocket? I would rather not spend another several thousand dollars but I believe people should be paid for the work they do and she has done a great job.
She works for a major national realtor. Is it unethical to pay her directly and how much would she be paid after her company takes their share?
The seller pays the Realtor!
Your Realtor is correct in not making a fuss.. She isn’t entitled to a share in the commission.
If both real estate reps are actually Realtors, I believe their association will likely resolve this.
It sounds like the sellers realtor is the one who earned the commission. If I were in his/her shoes, I’d be demanding he commission for the sale.
1. call the sellers broker and tell the person the situation
and demand your Realtor get a cut.
2. Tell the sellers realtor and broker you will file a formal complaint with the state Realtor board.
That usually scare them into action.
I've done that before.
It’s not like you even have standing to sue for the commission on your realtor’s behalf.
I don’t know the law in Indiana. However, in Illinois a buyer can retain a buyer’s broker even AFTER the property is shown, and the seller’s broker is required by law to share the commission with the buyer’s broker.
It sounds like the seller’s broker is trying to bulldoze your broker to steal your broker’s share. I would have none of it if I were you. I would demand that the seller’s broker agree to the split. If the seller’s broker doesn’t do so I would guess that the seller’s broker can lose his or her license.
Don’t let the seller’s broker mess with another person’s livelihood.
Was your Realtor involved in any of the negotiations? If not - she gets nothing.
If your realtor is actually doing work (i.e. preparing paperwork, attending closing w/you, etc.) then he/she deserves a percentage of the commission. Perhaps not a full 50 percent, but at least some amount. At least that’s the way it’s been handled in real estate situations we’ve been involved in. What about a realtor who has an Open House, then you look at it, and make an offer through your own realtor? In our situation, our realtor has gotten part of the commission for drawing up the paperwork, and IMO, the Open House would be similar to the realtor that walked the property with you.
It makes no difference who “walks the land” with you, or shows you a house. Unless you have entered into a buyer-broker agreement with a realtor to reperesent you, ALL realtors represent the interests of the seller, even if they’ve never met him or heard of him, and even if they’ve spent two years driving around with you and showing you property.
The seller pays the commission, so everybody works for him.
Yes, she did all the negotiations.
We simply said we want to buy this one and this is what we want to pay. She did everything else.
The seller’s realtor is obliged to get the most money possible for “his” client, the seller. You could just walk away. You might ask the troublesome realtor about the professional standards committee at his local MLS or the state’s department of real estate. Greed and common sense seems to be lacking. Just my opinion.
A....B.....C.....Always be closing.
In Virginia you can retain a buyer agent at any time before the offer is accepted. It would be against our board rules to refuse to allow a buyer have his own representation if he requests that.
Our realtor did all the paperwork and negotiations.
The only thing she didn’t do is walk the land but we would have required the seller’s realtor anyway to determine the boundaries.
So, what makes the other realtor think he gets all the money?
See, this is what happens when Realtors get involved. If you'd done the negotiations with the owner directly there'd be no issues.
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