The Buyer agency Agreement should have been signed up front and all fees disclosed there. Tell her that you will not pay it and that she can cover the fee herself or get out of the way. Do not sign the forms until she agrees. Get this agreement via email for documentation purposes.

Most buyer agents do not charge such a bogus fee, but if they do, they should disclose it up front.

Also, the RE Commission mandates that we disclose agenct relationships to all buyers and sellers at the time of substantial contact... There is a form for this disclosure that you would have signed. This is the time that any representation fees should have been disclosed.

It's just another way for the brokerage to increase its profit.

They don't care who pays;

if you don't pay it, they take it out of the agent's commission.

I agree that you shouldn't pay it, but please understand that the agent has no choice here.

I am appalled at the greediness & the nerve of brokerages that charge these "fees", & since the real estate commissions require that brokers maintain records, their excuse is transparent...& they don't care.

The same agencies that charge transaction fees also often quote prospective agents a certain percentage as the agent's share, & the agents only find out when they get their first commission that other fees have been added, such as a "franchise fee" that hadn't been disclosed.

The office manager will typically brush it off, saying, "oh, yes, that's a separate fee that goes to corporate. It has nothing to do with your commission split here in the office."

Buyers, sellers, & agents, be careful.

Has she mentioned this fee before and you agreed? I would not pay.

In case things get annoying...She should also know that if you go out to make a big purchase now, such as a new car, you may be disqualified for the mortgage - I am not hinting anything :-)

A few of the large agencies try to get away with it. Tell her you will not pay it, and if they want to release records to you, you'll maintain them yourself, lol. Maintaining records is part of a brokers job...they are just trying to gouge you.

Wow, unbelievable. It sounds like the realtor is the one being charge initially but she should have told you up front that there was a fee. It is now on her for not telling you ahead of time. Do not pay this fee unless you signed something up front.

I wouldn't pay. My buyers agent had a $400 fee that he was required to pay his agency, and he made sure the contract was clear indicating that he would pay that fee out of his commission. My listing agent also had a $395 fee on top of their commission, which I wasn't happy about but was told it was non-negotiable. Which is one of the reasons my listing agent did not become my buyers agent.

As a buyer a few years ago, a similar type of fee (broker's admin. fee of approx. $350) was added to our closing paperwork. We were never told of the fee upfront or signed anything. We questioned it at the closing table and were fully prepared to delay things until it was sorted out. After a lot of back & forth and explanation by our buyer's agent, loan officer, and title company about what the fee is for, how everyone pays it, all the agencies charge it, etc. our agent went to her broker and got it removed. I am not sure if it was truly waived, paid by our buyer's agent, or what. The next time we used this agent she remembered the previous issue with the fee and removed it from our paperwork in advance.

Buyer's agents almost always get 3% commission around here (seller's agent gets 2% or 2.5%). If you have some sort of a flat rate commission structure then advice might be a rare and different situation. Tell them you aren't going to pay it. Worst that can happen is they come back saying you already signed something agreeing to pay. Otherwise it will magically disappear.

I'd tell her no thanks, I'll "maintain" my own files.

What does that even MEAN?

The brokerage firm is required to maintain files anyway, since they would be involved (deep pockets) in any lawsuits/disputes that might arise in the future.

Do brokerage firms get audit periodically even during "peace time"? I know mortgage brokers do.

It might depend on the state. Yes, my friend's firm in California was randomly audited by the DRE,

Thank you! She never mentioned the fee until the person who is handling the closing emailed her and asked in the email if she was charging a fee. That was after I had a signed contract.

OK, I'm not familiar with Florida real estate but now its not clear who is charging the fee. Is it the realtor, someone who works at her brokerage that assists with closing, the title insurer, an escrow company, an attorney, or what? Escrow companies do often charge various fees for documentation, copying, etc. Usually in these cases you will have been provided an estimate of closing costs shortly after you made your offer. If the escrow company is saying they won't close the sale unless the fee is paid you might have no choice but to pay other than to complain that it wasn't on the estimate.

Stan, the original post says that the notification stated that the agent's company was charging the fee.

I never have known a title company not to charge a closing or escrow or bookkeeping fee; they also get a big commission for the title policy premium.

No way would I pay a fee I had not agreed to up front. That's completely a bogus fee; they are required by law to maintain records. Tell them if they need a record later, they can come to you or the Title Company. No.