Oh, Susannah!
The situation from last month is that Susannah presented an offer below the listed price and, at the negotiating table, suggested that if the listing salesperson would be willing to reduce his commission, she would as well. Sshe really wanted her buyers to be able to purchase the property. Her suggestion did not appear to go over very well with the listing salesperson.
Susannah was lucky the listing salesperson was courteous enough to show restraint after her suggestion that lowering the commission would be the answer to her buyers’ dreams.
Section 11.05 of the MLS® Rules and Regulations states:
The Co-Operating Brokerage may be paid a lower commission than that specified on the Association’s MLS® System if an agreement in writing has been reached between the Listing Brokerage and the Co-Operating Brokerage, or their authorized representatives. No attempt may be made to negotiate such an agreement in the presence of the Seller.
Section 11.02 also says that:
No Member shall attempt to negotiate the distribution of commission between Members in the presence of the Seller or Buyer.
Very clearly, Susannah should have contacted the listing salesperson ahead of time to work out if a reduced commission was possible.