A Why 6 Percent For Sale By Owner Customer Writes: 

“A buyer, who found our home on Realtor.com, is now interested in writing an offer.   After he toured our home twice, he mentioned that he was working with a real estate agent and handed me her business card.   I assume, by his action, that he intends to use her when he makes an offer, even though she didn’t find our home or accompany him on the tours.  My question is, if he writes an offer that includes a commission for his agent, do we have to pay her fee?

Dear For Sale By Owner: 

First, congratulations on your prospective buyer.  This is a tough market and qualified buyer’s are certainly a hard to come by.  Based on your question, it appears that he is serious, which means your marketing efforts, MLS listing and hard work are paying off.

Secondly, please remember that everything about a real estate deal is negotiable.  First, you need to review the entire offer, once you have it in hand.  The goal is to remain objective, keep an open mind and insure that the deal stays alive. 

In this particular case, it doesn’t sound as if the broker legally procurred the sale, nor were you informed about her involvement during your initial contact.  So, technically speaking, neither you, nor or the buyer, actually “owes” a commission on the sale.

On the other hand, if the buyer feels guilt or responsibility about compensating the broker, don’t kill your deal by refusing to discuss payment of her fee.   Before you make any judgements, look at the entire offer.  If the offer is a good one, you may not mind making a concession.  

Note:  Consider asking the agent to accept a discounted fee since she was not initially involved.  Also, she should do all the work necessary, going forward, to get the house closed, if she accepts money from either party. 

The important thing to remember is we are in a buyer’s market.  Seller’s need to be flexible on how they look at offers and always focus on structuring a deal.  The most important thing you can do is to keep everyone talking and engaged. 

Thank you for writing to Why6percent.com.  If you have any questions about buying or selling a home please contact us.  We will do our best to help you.  We also have a free, anonymous Forum where you can post questions and answers.