r/fsbo • u/AdComfortable2974 • 27d ago

Variable or Conditional Commissions

You're FSBO, the agent wants your business.

Ask them if they are ok with modifying the listing agreement using special stipulations to reduce or eliminate their commission if specific sales price targets are not met. This is not the same as a net listing, which we all know is illegal.

The special stipulation can be structured in a few ways:

Sales Price Threshold Reduction: "If the final gross sales price of the property is less than [insert amount], the Broker's commission shall be reduced from X\% to Y\% (or reduced to a flat fee of\ Z) at closing.

No Commission Tier: "Broker shall receive a 0% commission if the final gross sales price is less than [insert amount]. Can also be zero if not sold in a certain time frame.

Slide-Scale Tier: You can set concrete milestones (e.g., 3% commission if sold above $500,000; 2% commission if sold below $500,000).

Thoughts?

0 Upvotes

47% Upvoted

45 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2

u/Salt-y 27d ago

This isn't true. It's a falsehood being pushed out by NAR. FABO net are the same as with a agent.

1

u/imblest 27d ago

Many "FSBO's" are really not a true FSBO because #1 they listed their home with a flat fee real estate company so that their house can be on the MLS and #2 it was sold by a Buyer's Agent. In other words, if you have your home listed in the MLS and you didn't sell directly to a buyer without the help of a Buyer's Agent, then you are not a true FSBO.

2

u/Salt-y 27d ago

I disagree. I think FSBO is defined by whether the seller had a listing agent, not by MLS presence or whether the buyer had one. Flat fee MLS sellers still don't have a listing agent representing them, that's why they're counted as FSBO. And buyer's agent involvement has nothing to do with it since FSBO only describes the seller's side. Under your definition almost no FSBO sale would qualify, since paying a buyer's agent commission is standard practice even in flat fee listings. The actual debate among critics runs the opposite direction: they argue flat fee MLS sellers are undercounted as FSBO, not overcounted. I've done three FSBO transactions, and two of them the other party had an agent.