The answer to your question is that the contract called for a 6% total commission. If the listing agent sells the house on an open house then the listing agent is both the listing AND selling agent and is entitled to the 6% commission. Hope that keeps it simple for you. :)

The seller and Listing Broker enter into a contract (the Listing Contract) in which both parties agree as to both the total commission that the home seller will owe at closing as well as what the split will be between the broker that lists the home and the broker that sells the home.

If, as in your hypothetical scenario, the commission agreement allocates 4% to the Listing Broker and 2% to the Selling Broker, and furthermore, it is the the Listing Broker that also sells the home then the Listing Broker will retain the entire 6% commission absent any other arrangement made between the Seller and Listing Broker.

The reason for this is that if the home is sold, there is a Selling Broker - in this scenario it happens to be the same office as the Listing Broker, but someone did the work to effect a sale, even if it's the same person or a different person from the same office.

I hope this explanation helps, but if you find this confusing (as most people do) and would like to discuss this with me for a better understanding, please contact me directly at (516)410-3594.

Regards,
Arlynn

Arlynn B. Palmer, ESQ, SRES, CBR, CMS, CNS
Lic. Assoc. Broker, REALTOR
Coldwell Banker Claire Sobel
(516)410-3594
Arlynn@ArlynnPalmer.com

Whatever commission rate you arrange goes to your listing broker.

You have a right to question what your listing agent is giving out to the selling agent. In fact, this MUST be disclosed to you by law at time of listing. You have a say-so in this.

There can be several scenarios in a sale in NYS. There is the seller's agent (or listing agent) who works for the seller; there can be a sub-agent or a broker's agent that sells the house and those agents also work directly or indirectly for the seller and then there can be a buyer's agent, who works for the buyer. It is all according to the listing agreement. If the seller and the realtor agreed to a particular percentage and the SELLER offers a certain amount to a buyer broker, it is specifically designated in the listing agreement. If the seller offers no commission to the buyer broker, then the buyer would be responsible (by buyer broker agreement) to pay the commission to the buyer broker. In that case, the seller could still be responsible for the full amount of commission to the listing agent. If you go to an open house and buy the house, the listing agreement still would govern and the listing agent or broker would get the full commission. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me.

Good luck!

Ralph Windschuh
Associate Broker
Certified Buyer Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist
Century 21 Princeton Properties
631-467-0009
rwindschuh@c21princetonproperties.com

That depends entirely upon what the seller and the listing broker have agreed to. There is no set standard of practice. Commissions are not set by the industry, sellers and brokers negotiate what is in the listing agreement. All you have to do is ask the listing broker if the listing agreement contains a variable rate comission or does the seller pay a different commission amount if only one broker is involved in the transaction.

Yes, the Listing Broker gets the 4% for the work done on the list side, and 2% for the work done on the sale side, same as though it were sold by any broker in the MLS.