Question:
Have you ever specified commission amounts in a listing agreement to account for a scenario where a buyer is represented by a lawyer, not a co-operating brokerage? In this scenario, is the lawyer entitled to the co-op commission amount specified in the listing?
Answer:
- Not required,
- No.
The commission is already agreed with the Seller. If there is no cooperating Brokerage, no one else gets to be paid. The contract that you have with your own Seller is nobody’s business. They have no right whatsoever to participate, and it would be a breach of fiduciary duties to speak with them about it.
Make sure the Buyer is neither a Client nor a Customer. That should be documented in the CCR.
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker