Perky
I agree with you. However we are not talking about a broker paying less then what they offered. That was not mentioned. so we can only assume that what was stated was also offered.

I didn't say we were talking about a broker paying less than what they offered - I was talking about Artiste's question of was it fair that the broker offered less because she was not a member of the MLS in question.

I did say that my broker - and most of the brokers I am familiar with - will pay the same commission to others regardless of whether they belong to the same MLS or not...and I do believe that it is the ethical thing to do.

This thread seemed to turn into a "Let's Beat Up Artiste for Not Knowing Better" thread...

When I look at the situation that Artiste went through, I see an education being paid for (Lord knows we've all earned our "educations" in this business) as well as a possible learning opportunity for other agents reading the thread.

It's akin to me bringing a buyer to see a FSBO without working out compensation in advance, and then being upset that they didn't want to pay me.

You are responsible for your own situation. Does it suck? absolutely - can you learn from it and do things differently next time to protect your livelihood? Hopefully.

But accept the fact that you made a mistake and own it...because until you do, you can't learn from it.

I make mistakes too, and it sucks when it happens. I was working out a deal about a year ago between an unlisted seller (who had expired several months prior) and one of my buyers. In going back and forth I revised my Seller's Net Sheet several times in the span of 10 minutes...

Because I was rushing, I screwed up my numbers and gave the seller the wrong info (and they agreed to the deal based on my incorrect numbers). I realized my mistake 2 minutes after I got off the phone with the seller.

Could I have called them back up and said "I'm sorry, you're actually going to net THIS much, not that much" and let them decide what to do from there after a deal had already been struck? yes, I could have...but instead I owned up to it, took responsibility for my mistake and made 1.5% instead of 5% on the deal. Did it suck? Absolutely. Was it fair? That's debatable...but it was my mistake, I owned up to it, learned from it, and kept the deal together in the best interests of my customers and gained some referral business out of it.

The worst thing an agent can do is make a mistake and then convince themselves that it wasn't their fault (i.e. there's nothing for you to learn because the other agent was just being unfair) - if you learn from it, at least you'll have gained something.

The reality of the situation is that Artiste was never offered ANY compensation because she's not a member of that MLS. With no buyer-broker agreement in place with compensation from the buyer, and no MLS agreement in place with compensation from the seller....it is what it is, no?

Perky Here is what Artiste said

"I'm obligated to present an offer on a home - it's outside my MLS and listed on another MLS in a nearby county.

The agent said he'd take the offer and give me a whole 1.75% commission for my side.

I spent most of yesterday upset and in tears over this - I've worked so long and so hard with these buyers and feel like I got kicked in the teeth.

Any advice you have would be appreciated."

No where in there does it say that the offer of compensation was less becuase Artiste was not a member of that board. All it says is the offer of compensation offered was 1.75%. And all it says is Artiste was upset with the amount offered. Where in there does it say that the compensation offered in that MLS was more then 1.75%. No where thats where. You all are making implications about information that is not given. The simple fact is the offer of compensation that was offered was 1.75% and Artiste was not happy with that. Well compensation is just like the purchase price, there is nothing that says Artiste has to accept that. Let me ask another question rather then get upset why did not Artiste even try to negotiate his/her compensation.

Sorry but I go by what information is given. I dont assume anything. And the simple fact is rather then get upset Artiste should have tried to negotiate her compensation just like she tryied to negotiate the sales price for her client.

Perky gets it completely - smart gal!

The trolls should be ashamed of themselves for being unhelpful and mean.