It is your agent who would be due the commission and your agent who would have to pay the agent of those two buyers, not you. So sending them to their agent isn’t the answer. You need to talk to your agent OR have an attorney look at your contract to see if you might have to pay a commission after you close with a buyer thinking you have no commission to pay.

We can’t tell you what is in your contract. Usually there is a “protection period” in a listing contract to prevent a buyer and seller from coming together during the contract, and then cancelling it so they can go around the agent(s). Basically you told us your agent worked for eight months (during the worst market) and now that the market is finally a little better and it looks like the property can finally be sold, you want to do it without the agent who worked for you for eight months.

Why are you not asking your own agent what would be appropriate in this case? Listing agreements are usually one page long not counting the input data. Two pages at most. If you don’t understand what it says, it can’t cost much to bring it to an attorney.

I can only assume that you and your agent did not part on good terms. You can always call the broker of that company, if you don’t want to speak with the agent you had for 8 months.

Consumers are not subject to mls “rules” nor are their laws on the subject. Your listing contract would decide. Sometimes there is wording covering a short period of time after the expiration date. Clearly if someone saw it the day before it expired and the reason you know they are interest is a result of the showing from when it ws on market, you shouldn’t be looking for a reason not to pay as you promised when you put the property in the mls. But most times, I don’t think you have to care about those who worked for you in good faith.

From what I can see, 2.5% works just as well as 3%, unless the home isn’t comparable for some reason to those who sold with that offering. If everyone started offering 2.5% then maybe 2% would work in the future.

I haven’t seen offering a higher amount compensate for property weaknesses…nor should it. As to the “A to Z” LOL, I didn’t invent the alphabet, so didn’t attribute your A to Z to “copying” me.

Like that A to Z post. Are you a flat fee based listing company? Do the listings also go into the mls? Do owners have that option? What is your advice to sellers regarding Buyer Agent Fees?

I have a friend that is thinking about selling his home on his own. He knows plenty of Realtors and doesn’t want to choose one and risk any friendship with others (I told him that it wouldn’t hurt my feelings at all if he choose a different representative than me).

But the advice I gave him was to put a tag line on his marketing that reads something along the lines of … “Buyers OR buyers designated broker recieve X% of sales price at closing.” The ‘X%’ can be whatever my friend thinks is appropriate.

If he gets an unrepresented buyer, the buyer can use the funds in escrow to help with the lending or for down payment. If my friend is met by a represented buyer then the broker will get paid.

Lastly if any of my friends other Realtor friends brings a buyer… then they get paid and no feelings are hurt.

I’d offer this to any unrepresented seller as free information or a tip… no problem.