When should I sign a FSBO commission agreement?
A broker will typically ask you to sign a FSBO commission agreement before sending your FSBO listing to his or her buyer client. This is the smartest situation for a broker to be in as he or she still retains control of the situation. If the FSBO seller declines, the broker can simply never show the listing to their client.
Sometimes a broker will ask the FSBO seller to sign it after the broker’s client has already seen it but before the showing takes place. In this situation, the broker is playing catch-up and just wants to ensure that he or she can get paid. If the seller declines to sign an agreement the broker is in a real conundrum at this stage. The broker can lie to his client and cancel the showing, or the broker can proceed with the showing with zero protections in place on how or if he or she gets paid.
Because it’s so easy to get into this dilemma, brokers representing buyers seldom show FSBO listings. Why risk a buy side commission and deal with the stress of coaxing a FSBO seller to actually pay you?
Do I need to sign a new FSBO commission agreement with every buyer’s broker?