By the way, if I was the seller’s broker I would be suspicious that this agent you’ve brought into the picture is a friend or relative being used as a straw-man to effectively reduce the price of the property to you by 3% (or whatever half the commission was).
When I bought my first (only) house, I used a friend who is a licensed broker (actually broker, not salesperson working under a broker — there are two kinds of licenses in CA),
She got half the commission, and kicked it all back to me —all fully disclosed. We know it’s legal because someone tried it before me, it went all the way to the Cal. Supreme Court, and they ruled if you disclose it, you can do it.