Yesterday, FannieMae and FreddieMac did what I had sworn they wouldn’t: They relented to accounting for the buyer’s-agent’s commission as a seller-paid concession:
This is almost no change from the bad-old-days that have been subject to so much litigation. Instead of splitting commissions by way of the listing agent’s commission instructions, the split will now be declared to be among the seller’s concessions to the buyer.
That’s good, even if comically pointless, and, very probably, of temporary duration. The jackals feeding on the National Association of Realtors seem unlikely to be sated by old wine in new bottles.
But: My advice to sellers remains the same. The buyer is getting advice at the seller’s expense, but the seller is getting the buyer – without whom nothing would be happening. You’re not paying for the advice – even though it is a liability shield for you. You’re paying for the introduction, for the contract, for the opportunity to successfully close the sale.
The seller’s motivation is the same for both agents, the lister and the buyer’s agent: You’re paying the people who are getting you paid. It’s just that simple.
Meanwhile, my plan to broadcast our buyer’s agent’s commission seems to be holding up. Because sellers can be pound-foolish, and because the ‘co-broke’ will be undisclosed in the MLS, Bloodhound being known for paying the whole pizza will work to my sellers’ advantage. Buyer’s agents are not supposed to care how much they are getting paid – in much the same way that paramecia are not supposed to move toward the food and away from the poison…
We’ll have to wait for FHA and VA to catch up to the brand-new same-old way of doing business, but this is the upshot: Status quo ante with less disclosure and more paperwork.
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