Does seller's broker have separate commission agreement with buyer's broker?

[beaelle]

Hi, one more question I couldn't find an answer to on the Hauseit site. Our contract, which should be signed today, lists the names of the brokers on the deal. In section 12.2 of the same standard contract, the language says the brokers will be paid a commission pursuant to a separate agreement.

Except, we don't have a separate signed agreement re: the commission. Is the 2.5% that we offered, that's listed via OLR and our REBNY licensed broker, implicit as the contract or do we need to sign something with the buyer broker regarding this? Our attorney doesn't seem to understand my question.

I used to be an attorney so this is a technicality but I want to make sure the brokers don't say something like we owe them 3% or they didn't know or something down the line.
Is it typical to have a separate signed agreement re the broker commission? I can't remember from the days I worked as one.

Thanks,
Lauren

P.S. By the way, I'm only referring to the buyer broker commission. Not our arrangement which is already documented.

[HauseitAdmin]

Hi Lauren, congrats on almost getting in contract!

You are correct, listing brokers have a co-brokerage agreement in place with every other member broker of the MLS (RLS in NYC). This co-brokerage agreement is signed by a broker when he or she first joins the MLS, and this agreement automatically enforces commission splitting and the commission offered to buyers’ agents in the MLS.

Because this agreement is in place by default, sellers do not need to sign any additional agreements with buyers’ agents, as co-broking is already enforced by this MLS co-brokerage agreement.

The 2.5% buyer agent fee you wished to offer is visible in the MLS, and there’s no need for you to confirm this again, sign anything or do anything else. The commission rate should also have been spelled out for the lawyers in the deal sheet.

Thank you!