Who pays the commission if I use a buyer’s agent with a “for sale by owner” home?
Generally, the FSBO has agreed in advance to pay the buyer’s broker a commission. However, if the seller has not made such a commitment, there are several ways to address that situation. You can write it into the contract that the seller pays the commission. You can offer the seller a lower price and then pay the commission yourself. Or you can agree ahead of time with your agent what will happen in that situation. This situation hardly ever arises, but if it does, the B’s only charge a 1.5% fee to the buyer. Say if you found a home by yourself but need someone to take it from contract to close. The B’s would charge 1.5% to the buyer. See the following list of all the tasks to the B’s do.
