Free Script Example

Question 2:
I thought that working with a Buyer’s Agent was Free?

Answer #1:
I can understand why you would be under that assumption. Although many buyer’s agents have claimed over the years that they were working for free (since the seller was paying their compensation through the closing), the reality has always been that their fees were actually factored into the home’s purchase price, that the buyer was paying. The seller paid the full commission from the sale proceeds to the listing agent, who then distributed the agreed amount to the buyer’s agent’s brokerage. In the future, if the seller decides not to offer compensation for the buyer’s agent, the buyer will be responsible for covering their agent’s fee directly.

Answer #2:
Buyer Agent’s commissions have never been free, the way it worked in the past was you as the buyer wrote an offer at a price that included a commission amount for two agents. Half for the Listing Agent and Half for the Buyer’s Agent. The seller would then, at the closing, distribute those funds accordingly to pay the commissions.

The new practice changes after the lawsuit now states that buyers must negotiate the commission for their own Agents separately from the Seller & Listing Agent’s commission negotiations.

The negotiable fees are the same - who is doing the negotiating is what has changed.