It's the Rule

Commission Agreements...
by: CEO Terese (Terry) Penza, CAE, RCE, e-Pro

December 2004

There is no rule, law, requirement, policy, etc that gives an agent automatic right to part of a commission.  Of course, all monies go through the sponsoring broker – the sponsoring broker can offer and receive compensation.  To get a commission someone has to offer it to you and you have to accept.  MLS is NOT an advertising vehicle but an agreement of compensation therefore if you have legal access to a MLS and you sell a property in THAT MLS you can get a coop commission barring any requests fro arbitration.  If a listing is in MLS but you do not have legal access to that MLS then if you want to show the property AND you want to get paid you will have to ask the listing office BOTH questions and then they can decide if they will grant your wish.  The listing office has the responsibility to tell their owner if they decide they do NOT want to work with you – they would do that just prior to the owner signing the listing agreement.

How much do I get paid? What ever the other office offers.  Where did someone get the idea that the selling office gets half of the commission?  Well, no matter where it came from because it is erroneous!  Sometime people ask for a copy of the listing contract in an arbitration hearing which is totally irrelevant – the total commission has absolutely nothing to the amount you earn.  An offer of compensation is offered to you and you decide if you want to accept it or find another listing.  Of course, you have to tell your buyer if you are going to walk away from a potential home for the buyer if you have a written agreement with the buyer.

If you put a listing in MLS then you must write the check to the coop office.  Your seller is not and cannot write the commission check to the coop office.

Standard of Practice 3-2

REALTORS® shall, with respect to offers of compensation to another REALTOR®, timely communicate any change of compensation for cooperative services to the other REALTOR® prior to the time such REALTOR® produces an offer to purchase/lease the property. (Amended 1/94)