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Pet Peeves

If you're lucky, or persistant enough, to convince your Broker to reduce their commission, take precautions to make sure you're not hurting yourself by allowing an undisclosed reduction of commission to the Selling Broker (aka Cooperating Broker or Co-Broke, who works with [not usually for] the Buyer)

In Milwaukee, tradition has kept that the Listing Broker usually keeps 60% of the commission and offers 40% to the Selling Broker. Remember that at a "traditional" real estate company both sides split their commission between the company and Agent. So, the commission is usually split FOUR ways.

Remember that real estate commissions, by law, are negotiable and can not be "fixed" across different companies. If you agree to pay your Listing Broker 6%, they usually offer 2.4% of that to the Selling Broker. If you negotiate a rate like 5%, the Listing Broker may only offer 2% to the Selling Broker.

The 4/10 percent difference can add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars LESS to the Agent who sells your home. Do you think they ALWAYS try just as hard to show or sell the home with the lower commission? Maybe in a perfect world.

I recommend you insist on putting the commission offered to the Selling Broker (Co-broke) IN WRITING in the listing contract.

By the way, if the Listing Agent recommends "raising the commission percentage" to encourage more interest from other Brokers, they could be planning on keeping 60% of the extra commission for themselves. In 15+ years as a Real Estate Broker in the metro Milwaukee area I have NEVER sold a home with a commission higher than 6% where the listing company didn't keep 60% of the "extra", in several cases the listing agent keep ALL of it... I wonder if they told the Seller that THEY would keep it all? I doubt it... Although I usually recommend against it, a "bonus" to the Selling Broker might be a better way to accomplish this.

That's what I think, but... who cares what I think???