Patti
They said that they were bringing you an offer. How many times have I heard that and either:
a) no offer ever comes
b) the offer is really low
c) the buyer is not qualified.

The reason you have a Realtor is to get your home sold. With the problems that buyers have getting financing, I'd want to keep marketing your home while the buyer proves to you that they are capable.

When listing a home you are entering into a contract with the Broker. If you did not specifically exclude these people in the listing contract via an addendum then you will owe a commission to the broker.

Hi Patti-
The technical answer is, if you did not exclude this person from the listing, and sign a special addendum at the time of listing, giving you the right to continue to sell your property yourself, then yes, you owe you agent a commission.
However, I would say to you, Seller beware, until you have that contract in your hand, you know the buyer is qualified, if they have a home to sell, that's it's priced appropriately, etc. Then realistically, you have nothing. Anyone can SAY anything. Let them bring the offer, and THEN you'll have something to work through.

Patti
I think that you need to read your contract. It is possible to exclude buyers by name in a contract to cover something just like this, however it sounds as if you did not do this.

Legally I would recommend being up front with your Realtor and ask them. If it were me I think I'd want to discuss the details with you. For one, is this buyer qualified? Is he able to purchase the home at the right price and terms? Does he need to sell a property in order to buy yours?

Do you want to see if now your home is listed and is being marketed you might get a better offer? You might want to wait a week or so to see what else happens. It would be a shame to sell for less than you could if you gave the marketing a chance.

Patti,

Honestly, the straight out answer is that your Broker gets the commission. Unless there was an agreement that was attached to the listing contract saying that if a buyer came back from the time you were selling buy owner, in most cases you'll have to pay a commission.

Did the buyer come back after the home was listed by the realtor? Unless you had this buyer excluded by the listing agreement it's likely their sticking the sign in the front yard & putting your property in the MLS will entitle the to a comission as the procuring cause of your buyer making their offer. Sometimes that's what it takes to get fence sitters to make their offer so perhaps it what just what you needed to sell.