Buyers & Tenants
The real estate industry has undergone a fairly significant change in the last few years, at least in Washington state. Earlier, commissions on successfully completed transactions, whether by sale or lease, were paid by the seller/landlord to their ‘listing broker’ who would be contractually obligated to share that commission with the ‘selling broker’ who represented the buyer/tenant. Sellers/landlords may contend that they should only be bound to pay their own broker and that the buyer/tenant should be bound by a separate contract to pay their own broker a commission for their service.
Thus to secure our own commission fee today, buyers and tenants will be asked to sign what is called a Buyers Broker Agreement. The agreement will define not only what obligations each party has to the other, but also a commission fee which the buyer or tenant must pay upon a successful transaction. It should be mentioned that most owners and landlords are still electing to pay both sides of the commission, in which case the buyer is relieved of paying their brokers commission. Buyers and tenants are highly encouraged to clarify this situation for each transaction they consider as it is determined by the seller/landlord of each property.
