Can our agent demand their commission B4 closing?

No. If your listing agreement states the commission is payable at closing, that's when it's due. The agent cannot unilaterally change the terms of your agreement and demand payment before closing. The fact that the buyer's lender doesn't work with their brokerage is not your problem. Commission disbursement is handled at the closing table through the title company or closing attorney. The listing agent's commission is paid from the proceeds of the sale, not from a cashier's check you hand them before the deal closes. Tell the agent in writing that you'll honor the terms of the listing agreement, which states commission is paid at closing. If they push back, contact their managing broker and reference the specific language in your agreement. If it escalates further, consult a real estate attorney. Do not bring a cashier's check to your agent before closing. That's not how real estate transactions work.

Hi Elizabeth -- there is a lot of information missing from this question. What is the $3000 for? You state that they will received their money at chosing. Who is they? The Buyer or the Lender? Usually money exchange is through attorneys or title companies. Need more info to fully understand your question. Julianne

Elizabeth, start here: your listing agreement is the contract, and if it says the brokerage is paid at closing, then the brokerage is paid at closing. A party to a contract does not get to change a payment term mid-deal because a different, unrelated party is inconvenient. Do not write that check based on a phone call. The stated reason does not hold together either, and I want to name why, because it is the part that should make you slow down. Commissions are paid out of the seller's proceeds by the closing agent, whoever that is. Which lender the buyer is using has essentially nothing to do with whether your brokerage can be paid from your proceeds at the closing table. If there were a genuine issue, and sometimes there is a real one, for example a compensation arrangement that needs to be documented correctly for the lender's closing disclosure, the solution is paperwork between the brokers and the closing agent. The solution is never "the seller personally hands us cash in advance." Here is what I would do, in this order. Put it in writing and make them do the same. Send one email: "Please identify the provision in our listing agreement that requires payment prior to closing, and please explain in writing why the buyer's lender prevents payment at closing." Reasonable requests, politely worded. What happens next tells you almost everything. A legitimate issue gets a specific, coherent written answer. An improper demand tends to get vagueness, a phone call instead of a reply, or quiet retreat. Read your listing agreement yourself, all of it, including the part about when compensation is earned versus when it is payable. Those are two different concepts and the distinction is where these disputes usually live. Look also for anything about protection periods and about how disputes are handled. Call the broker, not the agent. Every real estate agent works under a licensed broker, and it is the brokerage that holds the compensation agreement, not the individual agent. Ask for the broker of record by name and take it to them directly. A surprising number of these situations are one agent freelancing, and the broker shuts it down in one conversation. Loop in your closing agent. In Florida, closings typically run through a title company or a real estate attorney. Call them, describe the request, and ask whether they see any reason the commission cannot be disbursed at closing in the normal way. They handle this every day and they have no stake in the argument. Their answer will be quick and clear. If it does not resolve, you have two escalation paths. Florida real estate licensees are regulated by the Florida Real Estate Commission through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and you can file a complaint there. If the brokerage belongs to a local Realtor association there is also an ethics complaint route. And if real money is at stake, an hour with a Florida real estate attorney is worth it, particularly since your closing is imminent and you want someone who can read the actual agreement rather than describing it over a forum. One practical caution. Do not let this blow up the closing if you can avoid it, because you have a buyer and a date. Keep every communication professional and in writing, do not sign an amendment to your listing agreement under time pressure, and do not pay anything outside of closing without an attorney reviewing the request first. If they threaten to walk away from the listing days before closing, that is a separate and serious problem, and that is exactly the moment to call the broker of record and an attorney the same afternoon. I am a real estate professional, not an attorney, and I have not read your listing agreement. It is possible there is a provision here I cannot see. That is precisely why I would ask them to point to it in writing before you pay anything. Ocala is not my market, I am Zoltan Peresztegi, and I work Los Angeles and the South Bay. If you would like a second set of eyes on the actual language, I am glad to connect you with a Central Florida agent or point you toward a real estate attorney in your county. Zoltan

Commission, unless otherwise specified, is paid upon the successful closing. Keith Jean-Pierre Managing Principal The Dapper Agents Operations In: NY, NJ, FL & CA

No, a real estate agent cannot demand commission before closing. Commission is paid at closing from the closing proceeds, not upfront from buyer or seller directly. In Masaryktown, Florida, if an agent is asking for money before closing, review your listing agreement carefully and contact the broker of record. Kevin Neely & Kaitlynd Robbins | K2 Sells

No. Commission is typically paid at closing through the settlement statement once the sale is complete. If someone is demanding payment early, that is not standard.

This is a complex question depending on many factors; however, an agent must get paid throught their broker and the broker gets paid at a successful closing through the title company/closing lawyer. If they are asking for an advancement on their commission I highly recommend you contact their broker directly. Now, if the buyer or lender is asking for a credit that would also get paid at closing. Either way it essentially near impossible that anything should be paid prior to closing besides repairs/improvements taken care of during the contract period or an open lien. You can also contact the closing company and seek advice from them as they would be able to help clear up any unresolved issues.

The title company will work up a settlement statement prior to the closing and disburse the funds to the broker who will disburse the commission to the agent. Never pay in advance of any closing as there is no guarantee the closing will take place until you are at the closing table with a check in your hand.