WHO PAYS THE BUYER AGENT’S COMMISSION?

The commission is generally paid by the Seller. The Seller pays the listing Brokerage a commission for their part in the transaction.

In certain cases the commission would be payable by the Buyer. An example of this would be a For Sale by Owner transaction. In most cases your Buyer Agent will be able to negotiate a commission directly with the owner of the For Sale By Owner property; however, occasionally it would be necessary for the Buyer to pay his Agent’s commission directly – the offering price for the property should take into account the fact that the Buyer is paying the commission on their own.

Other examples may be a discount or “Posting Only” listing. These properties are essentlally the same as a For Sale By Owner; however, the seller has paid a brokerage to have the property appear on the Multiple Listing Service. These properties typically offer little to no compensation to the Buyer Specialist. In such circumstances, if the seller cannot be convinced to pay the Agent’s fees, the buyer would provide compensate to the Agent for their services.