The LIV way forward from the NAR settlement is documented in our training and a written Colorado Real Estate Guide booklet for all LIV Sotheby’s International Realty brokers.  Here are the new rules for us to follow:

1. Enter into a written agreement with a buyer before showing a property. Colorado is one of 18 states with buyer agency agreements so this is pretty normal to do already for me.  Although the practice of just running out and showing property with someone unknown is unlikely without at least a disclosure.
2. Have the amount of compensation you will be paid to represent a buyer included in the agreement.  Also a normal practice for me and most brokers to explain how and what we get paid.  Although pretty rare, a buyer may have to pay all or some of this compensation if the Seller does not agree in the Contract to Buy and Sell.
3. Don’t get paid more than the compensation in the agreement.  This is a change that is subtle but significant.  Some Sellers offer bonuses or higher compensation for various reasons.  Now your Buyer has to amend the agreement (or decide not to) and approve of any compensation over what was agreed to.
4. Don’t advertise an offer of compensation on a multiple listing service.  So when writing an offer on a property there will have to be some dialogue between listing and buyer brokers on what compensation is offered and it will be a negotiable part of the Contract to Buy and Sell.  It’s possible that the offer of compensation will be deficient to what was agreed to and the buyer may decide to pass on that property, or pay some or all of the commission to their broker.

In general, we expect business to operate pretty normally in the future.  We are used to changes in our industry and think that as always there will be a flight to quality and experience for our customers.  These changes will take time to incorporate in our business practices but in the end there will be more transparancy with the consumer over compensation especially for the buy side.

If you have any questions please reach out to me:  720.203.9624; [email protected]