Real estate attorney talks settlement that eliminates the 6% commission for realtors 

It's Realtor® Real-tor NOT realitor! This man is NOT fully informed! As an attorney, he should know that the Seller cannot give a buyer cash to buy their home! This is an inducement and prohibited! This judgment will create more dual agency transactions, which is not in the best interest of either party to the transaction. Commissions have always been negotiable! There is no standard percentage. This will create hardships for first-time buyers, for those with no or little money down, and, sadly, the VA buyer who cannot pay commissions as terms of the VA loan. Disgraceful that this uniformed attorney is sharing incorrect information!

You studied this? Commissions have always been negotiable. There is no back room conspiracy amongst real estate companies. I’ve been in the biz since 1985 in the corporate end as well as an agent and an educator. If the consumer wasn’t willing to pay fees whether it be the service industry or any product, the law of economics would prevail as always. I am curious as to the real reason this came up as you realize that attys never negotiate their fees, is this a group of attys that colluded together to take the business away from real estate agents to get a piece of the action. I think so.

Right, let’s take money out of the Realtors pockets and put it into the attorney pockets.

This fool just screwed the buyers he claims to be fighting for. 👏👏👏

There are ways to legally terminate a contract😂 Surprised the lawyer doesn't know that lol

This man single handedly made real estate more expensive and more unattainable for buyers especially 1st time buyers .....

If I am a seller who wants maximum exposure of my property and attract as many buyers as possible with their agents and I don't want strangers at my house with fake pre-approval letters, why am I prohibited to advertise buyer's agents compensation, it's my property after all? Who is the winner of this lawsuit? For sure not the first time buyers, who barely have enough money for down-payment and are now left without representation and I am not sure the sellers are going to win from it, considering the demand might drop with rising cost for buyers to buy. Dual agency is another Huge minus of this outcome, that will attract new law suits quite soon...

Good luck getting a buyer for your home when you dont pay their agent lol. This guys is out for pr because buyers dont have the money to pay commissions so any rational minded seller will understand that they have to offer something if they want their home sold. Otherwise they might as well sell for sale by owner and statistically 86% of those dont work out.

Investing requires good experience and knowledge to carry out a good and successful trade, I have lost a lot trying to trade all by myself May I ask which investments are good?

NAR should not give in. Listing agreements have commission splits from the beginning. Sellers know this from the beginning. We sell homes at market value and if the seller is content with the net amount they wanted, then what's the problem. And the commission is not fixed. There have been listings negotiated 4 and 5%. Some realtors get up to 10% but the listing agreements that sellers sign has the commission split in writing!!!!!!! There is no deception whatsoever. This attorney is twisting things.

Commissions are now and have always been NEGOTIABLE!

So many false statements from this attorney, it is opinion, not fact. His comments are like saying "All attorney's are blood-sucking leeches" which is not true either

Yeah. Getting lawyers involved airways makes things less expensive for consumers.

Where does the $410 million going. Selling your house on your own or buying on your own has been around for ever.

The big problem with this silly suit is the intermediary model where the sellers and buyers best interests are in jeopardy as both parties should have representation. It's the very reason the buyers agent model came into existence. Sellers felt agents were not representing their best interests as they might be motivated to get commissions from both sides of the transaction. This whole suit is beyond dumb. Commissions have been and always will be negotiable. Keep in mind this case was held in a state that believes men can have babies, men can compete in women's sports, defund the police, minorities like me are too dumb to get an ID and natural antibodies don't exist. So silly! On top of all this silliness are the attorney's who get al least 40% on settlement cases. I repeat 40%. Now how is price gouging who???? So mind numbingly dumb!!!

If the Sellers receive financial relief from the Settlement, then I am starting another law suit for the Seller's Agent to receive at least 3 - 2.5 percent of their settlement amount being reimbursed, because I too had to share my 6 or 5 percent with the Buyer's Agent, and I want it back just like Seller's. The Seller's Agent should be compensated as well. #Seller'sWantCompensationBackToo.

People on here acting like your realtor wants you to pay as little as possible for the house. All realtors want you to win the house. Good riddance to realtors

I remember when tipping at a restaurant was 10% ... now they put 18% 35% and 30% on the receipt and turn the little computer around to where if you try to change it its very complicated

6% has been a scam for a long time. If we go down to 2% for seller and 1% for buyer everyone will be happy.

Who is going to show the buyers 50 plus homes and educate first time home buyers on what to look for, have contacts with various vendors to get estimates within the inspection period, haul out personal items the seller left 12 hours before closing, deal with a broken garbage disposal 2 hours before closing, deal with a house that got water during a rainstorm, a roof that got hail damage during the transaction, make sure the house got winterized during transaction, make sure septic is done prior to listing, make sure you get all HOA docs and there is no assessments, deal with a burglar at 10 pm in a rainstorm on a Saturday night for a vacant property, deal with clients emotions, the list goes on and on… pretty sure this guy is not going to help with these tasks…

Sorry, it’s a pet peeve of mine but why is this journalist using the word realtator? It’s realtor, 2 syllables not 3

Did she say Realetor? 😂

Open up the market to who? Buyers are being screwed.

LOL There was NEVER ever a "set" commission. There's no "dual" agency. You represent the client you sign with, Period. What happens now, a buyer pays the buyers agent. Do they, will they have the Cash to do that?! Pay a buyer ?? What ?? Buyer Brokers should work for FREE I guess. How many lawyers work for Free... LOL

1st it’s not Relator - it’s Realtor .. and then I’d like to congratulate the attorneys involved on the 100 million ++ fees from this settlement . I had to 😂😂😂when he said they are not 4:32 in it for the money .. this will hurt so many buyers, hard to believe that all these very concerned attorneys can’t see what this is potentially doing to buyers who are not able to come up w addl cash to pay their broker .

Congratulations now poor first time home buyer are screwed and you’re happy with your 33% of winning settlement! Can we renegotiate attorneys fees now?

What a tool. 🙄

DOUG MILLER THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A SET 6% COMMISSION!!!! THIS IS A LIE!!!!

The settlement does not cut commissions in any way. Commissions have always been negotiable. It just means that listing agents can’t communicate the commission split on the mls. Nothing to stop them from picking up the phone and asking about the split. This will not bring down housing costs. It will increase the likelihood of buyers having to come out of pocket for buyers agent compensation. Basically makes it harder for low income and first time buyers. This was really a win for the lawyers.

Please, this has nothing to do with making things right for the industry. The only motive here is for attorneys to claim a small fortune where opportunity presented itself.

Attorneys charge, most of them, at least 35% of law suits some 25%. Why don't they start charging 1,2 or 3% themselves???? How would they like it?

Took away dual agency to create more dual agency. He did it for the money not the morality. Just another class action cash grabby attorney.

Glad you got your big pay buddy!! All realtors are not crooks I think we need to sue you Doug

It’s actually embarrassing that NAR lost to this guy. He has no clue what he’s talking about or what he just did. Congrats on making it exponentially more difficult for low to moderate income families to purchase a home. Key take away from listening to him “an attorney can help negotiate” Not all states are attorney states for real estate transactions and in my experience the ones that are make the process a disaster and longer and more painfully drawn out. This guy has his own agenda and with it just screwed tens of thousands of potential home buyers in the process. This settlement will bring lots of unintended consequences. NAR has been a major letdown.

How can our vets now buy with a VA loan? With VA mortgage allow the buyer to pay for representation? I sure hope this doesn’t hurt them

Here’s the wave of misrepresented buyers for the next 3 years.

it seems a lot of attorneys resent realtors for the income they make. when was the last time an attorney waived all or part of their commission when a buyer came up short for settlement or paid to do repairs or even hire a mover to help a family out. How many times a seller was frazzled trying to move and we went to help them pack or clean out the house. the only people to benefit here ar3 the attorneys. NAR left us out to dry . We find out after we paid or dues for 2024.

Hidden fees?? Can't cancel the agreement?? What is he talking about??

People will have to accept the possibility that we won't ever return to 3%. If sellers must sell, home prices will have to decline, and lower evaluations will follow. Sure I'm not alone in my chain of thoughts.

lol @ a lawyer charging a commission of 10%-20% to combat 5%-6% commissions.

Ignorance is a bliss, the real estate commission have never been 6% it has always been negotiable, actually lately was like 5 or 4% the standard, since I started I never saw buyers agent commission at 2.7% it was either 2.5% or 2% most of the time, and you were never required to use a Realtor or agent, That’s why FSBO’s exist! Liars!

Time to stop the price fixing from lawyers...

We have buyers asking for a lot of concessions from sellers because rates are super high. No they will be asking for even more.

Why did/does the real estate agent need 6% of half a million per house they sell??? Isnt that an absolutely disgusting amount? Im not sure removing it from contracts solves anything, but Im damn sure that they dont need that much per home they sell. At some point its just greed.

They should practice what they preach. They charge 7× more than a realtor!!!

miller lmao, if i am a seller, and i want to seller my house and pay a commission to anyone seller agent or buyer agent i should be able to, who are you to say i can't i would turn around and sue them because they are stopping a free market for me to be able to advertise that i want to offer a buyer agent 10% to bring me me my clients, you should not be able to stop me from advertising that. secondly agencies should just tell their sellers that if they want to pay commission to compete in the market place they can.,. they are wrong its not free market

This guy was rich 40 years ago and he forgot about being vulnerable and young enough to not be an expert . What are first time home buyers Do not have money for a lawyer plus down payment Ect ?😢

Sad for buyers. They are the biggest losers. It will give sellers a much smaller pool of buyers too. So not the greatest for sellers either. But, the lawyers win big time ! Way to go NAR !

Lots of realtors commenting here criticizing this attorney as being after $$ when they are after the very same thing. This whole thing started with a lawsuit over hidden dual agency. Dual agency (hidden or otherwise) is a blatant conflict of interest and should not be legal in MN; it is not in other states where property sales are not hampered in the least by its absence. Secondly, there are a lot of sophisticated buyers who would much rather get a 2.7 percent (or whatever amount is negotiated) savings on their purchase than pay an intermediary.

Home buyers have to negotiate their own fee now! Agents may/will not make as much commission in the future!😮

I’m not a realtor but have used them for all my house purchases for years. I’ve never ever in my life been told by any realtor that “oh they are not paying at least 2.7% for the buyers agent, I can’t show you that home”. Did anything really get fixed or are we on our own now to figure out how to avoid paying realtor fees as a seller AND AGAIN as a buyer?

Attorneys are the big winners here.

You can't pay a buyers agent, who's bringing a buyer then?

Thank you NRA!!! You’re worth every dues Pennies!!!!

The cushy jobs are slowly going away.

No seller on earth is going to just give a buyer 3% just because ... They are going to keep the money ... They act like the show American Greed was a fictional tale .... 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

You are a hero

I should sue this lawyer for defaming Realtors!

He should disclose his attorney fees, see how the buyers will save the money 😢

REsidential real estate is basically following the commercial real estate model of negotiating the commission split. "Comminicating the commission split with seller agent and buyers agent only digferrence" without bring on MLS. Plus I believe the buyers agent can make more $ by negotiating commission with the buyer and getting paid commission by sellers agent, double win for buyers agent😂

I have been in lending for 20 plus years. Lawyers are totally worthless !

This didn't eliminate Dual Agency. This eliminated buyers with little money the opportunity to have the proper representation. You're not paying someone to negotiate against you, you're paying an agent to bring a buyer. If you don't want buyers, don't pay a co-op. This lawyer did such a great job creating more lawsuits in the future because the public will be incurring a lot of extra risk.

Buyers want sellers to pay the agent and contribute to closing costs. Heck, dont buy a house if you can't afford it!!😮

Yes they will refuse to show Your listing- they want to keep their 6%.. your told “ I charge 6%” that tells you there is NO negotiation right there !!

Nothing going to happen my real estate agent just told me

Well now we should look at attorney percentages when it comes to settlements. I’m sure it’s far beyond 6%

RE broker: 6% commission RE attorney: $1,000 Also, RE Attorneys : Wait, something ain't right!

holy shit this guy went to law school!? it doesn't take an attorney to realize that he just screwed every buyer in the low and middle income class to shit. i hope this gets shut down as a law. this is horrible.

The seller never pays the buyers agent. The seller cuts one cheque to the listing brokerage, that brokerage then pays the co-operating brokerage.

You can tell who's a realtor in the comments 🤣. Y'all big mad 😡😂

Ah, Open it up for lawyers to represent buyers. Wait til you get that bill!

That 6% is parted between themselves. Reverting to what commission was should stay. Wouldn't disregard the exploit the agents, builders, and lenders are colluding … plus disproportionate local government taxes that exacerbate hardship to homeownership.

In the current system, there is zero incentive for a buyers agent to negotiate pricing because they get paid from the same pocket as the sellers agent. That’s a conflict that f interest. Realtor fees need to be based on services provided and not the sales price of the house. Im all for a buyers agent transaction and a completely separate sellers agent transaction that is never associated with the price of the house but for the services provided.

This lawsuit is going to be one of the worst things for real estate.

I think it already has affected the industry My last 3 deals the buyers were unrepresented which was AMAZING for my sellers who got everything we wanted and then more.

There are no hidden fees. What a fool

He is one of those attorneys who wants to raise his fees so a Realtor can be replaced by him. I’d like to see him take out buyers to see 20-50 homes and try to negotiate against 30 other offers, or spend the money and time to market a home. The list goes on and on. He’s the type of atty that makes a disparaging comment when he has to give the agent their fee for service. Jealously looks very poorly on you. BTW. Any chance we can see what he gets paid for his time. He gets paid no matter what no matter if he’s competent or not. We only get paid for performance.

This is so ignorant. Commissions have ALWAYS been negotiable. If you were so heavily involved in the industry you would know that. All you have done is make this even more complex for consumers, and harder for buyers that aren’t flush with cash( our Vets, teachers, police officers and first responders). But I guess that doesn’t matter when you have lawyer money. Just be honest, this was a money suit, not a morality one. You have HURT people.

The day has come.

Flat fee MLS listing to include recent market comparison. If needed. Paid up front by seller. Show your own house. If you can't answer potential buyer questions, or understand what offer ammount you should accept or reject... then you need to go the 6% commision route. And pay the man Intermediary without appointments. A good one will have a realestate transaction coordinator. Flat fee split between seller and buyer 20/80. But Extremely negotiable Buyers need to pay for their own agent!!! Period!! They must pay for the level of assistance they need.

Commissions have always been negotiable. It has always been negotiable.

Also, with buyers representing themselves in a transaction I challenge anyone to print a Purchase agreement, read through it in its entirety, set is aside and try to remember what it said. Again, they were written by REAL ESTATE attorneys, some representing REAL ESTATE brokerages. Buyers, as a result of this ruling are going to try and represent themselves in a real estate transaction. Do you think the listing agent is going to provide a fiduciary service to the buyer??? Nope. They represent the seller. As a buyer you are on your own without representation. There are going to be thousands of law suits in the next couple of years as a result of this, mostly from buyers when they get ripped off. And do you know who is going to benefit from the lawsuits??? ATTORNEYS!!! The SAME attorneys, and others like them who brought this class action. This was NOT in the best interests of the general public.

The commission is different throughout the US, from town to town, city to city and has always been up for negotiation! The 6% was a standard thats why it is used but is now more like 5% in California. It is disclosed in the LA and the CD and both parties are aware. The fee at a listing is to cover Sellers expenses that include staging a home, marketing, deferred maintenance, list agent fee's and a buyer's agent for bringing a qualified buyer and holding their hand for 30 to 60 days making sure all things go smoothly and timely. Which mind you could be the listing agent who represents both. Imagine if there is a SIP and Seller rents back another 30 days and then doesn't get out. Who is the buyer going to call first? A Lawyer that charges 300.00 per hour or the Buyer's Agent that is receiving 2.5% for the entire transaction? Hmmm. One thing I can't stand is a predatory Lawyer. So a Lawyer makes 33% or more of a settlement an Agent makes around 3% or less. And the last time I checked a Lawyer doesn't drive around for 3 months showing clients tons of homes without getting paid and then hold their hand for another 30 days making sure all proper disclosures are in, inspections are done right and if the home appraisal comes in lower renegotiates that as well. This Lawyer is getting way more than a professional Realtor who has been in the business for 30 years!!! Opportunist! #GIVEMEABREAK!

My husband and I bought a 5 bedroom house from Lennar, but when the house was built, it only had 4 bedrooms. However, we moved here for work and are now paying $3000/month to Airbnb. We are trying to cancel the purchase of this house, but if we sue them, will they give us any money? We chose this house based on our driver's license, our kids' school, etc. Our experience has been awful.

COMMISSIONS NEGOTIABLE??? What a lie! Every time I buy a house, the commission is ALREADY typed into the agreement. This is not subtle. It is implied. It is printed in, stating that I will be paying the stated commission. All these real estate agents commenting on here that commissions are negotiable, is a JOKE. I've yet to have an RE agent tell me the commission is negotiable while I'm reading over and signing the contract. RE agents just don't do that - contrary to all the agents commenting that the commission has always been negotiable.

Typical slimy money grubbing lawyer... "if you offer less than 2.7% buyer brokers will boycott your house." No shit? Hey Doug, try calling your remodeling contractor and say, I know you said you wanted $7,500 to do the job, but I'm only offering $5,000 and see if you get boycotted.

This will only help those with more $$ to successfully buy homes, and those without funds, to lose. Why? Bc many who buy homes barely have the cash for down payment and closing costs and don't have any additional resources to pay an agent to represent them. So they either buy w/o representation and get screwed or have the listing agent assist them, which is a compromised representative.

Ok. Let me get this straight and humor me in the process. Instead of getting buyers'representation to represent on behalf the buyers, he's suggesting for buyers to either represent themselves, while a sellers agent has representation or hire an "attorney"?!?! That's a brilliant idea that's guaranteed a recipes for disaster. Secondly, there is no set rate for commision. In the sellers agreement, it states the seller has the option to pay commision on behalf of the buyer and commisionhas always been negotiable. It's always been a choice. The problem is, ppl don't take time to read. Thirdly, what "hidden fees" was he referring to?!?!? And I suppose the lawyers🎉 represented the sellers pro bono out of the goodness of their hearts?!?! This was a joke.

All of this has always been negotiable, he should know that if he’s been in it for so long. Approximately $256,000,000 to the attorneys and maybe $20-32 to the sellers, call it $100! This is ambulance chasing 2.0. He should also remember when there was a proper change to set this up buyer agency for the buyer.

You sadly still don't know what you are talking about even having been in the biz for 40+ years. 1) No Realtor (in an attorney state) in their right mind will want to work with you. Congrats. 2) The prices were never fixed and they were ALWAYS negotiable. Even good broker knows that and have have trained their agents knowing that. 3) While you THINK you're doing something good for the sellers, what you know done is eliminate the buyer pool for sellers because buyers will choose not to even look at a home because they won't be able to pay their own agent. In doing so, the seller will get less showings and receive less offers and therefore nit getting the most out of their investment. But you already knew all this. You are just trying to look like a hero who truly has benefited no one.

Hilarious, now you can negotiate yourself if you want, with an experienced negotiator... Until the listing agent tells you that you have to pay him 3% to write the contract for you. Now that agent will make twice as much with no competition.

This is horrible. What about the lawyer industry? Its pretty fixed and dominated by a certain price, now about the hospitals or the doctors cant really negotiate that. SIGNATURE well Im pretty certain he has a ARI TIGHT representation form that you can't just get out of.

So these lawyers are very concerned about what's right!! Are they doing it for free!! THINK NOT THEY ARE GETTING SUPER RICH!!!

I think we need a class action lawsuit against attorneys and their completely deceptive ambulance chasing tactics. Their fees are some of the highest in our nation! I certainly hope that attorneys fees are negotiable, because they are the ONLY that will benefit from this case. Real Estate commission fees have always been negotiable, but because of this press, it makes the real estate industry seem like its never been negotiable. So much of this publicity is not accurate and will only hurt the real estate market. Buyers that can't afford to pay a realtor, because they are using all of their money toward down payment and closing costs, will suffer, especially first time homebuyers. There is so much value that a buyers agent adds to the transaction, as far as protection, representation and knowledge of negotations. That will be lost if sellers choose not to pay buyers commission. Most will not be able to pay agents and agents will not work for free. Attorneys don't work for free, so why should realtors have to? This whole thing doesn't make any sense. If there was just one group of realtors breaking the rules, punish them, not the entire industry!

This settlement only hurts buyers. Buyers already struggle to come up with down payment and closing costs. Traditionally that’s been the reason the listing agent shares the commission with a buyers agent. Now buyers will be required to sign a BBA with a buyers agent and be on the hook for more money due at closing. Idk how this settlement happened. Inflation and rates were here to correct the market. The NAR is now going to attempt to tank it, because the buyer pool is going to dry up. It’s ironic that an attorney that took 30%+ on this case is trying to squash a buyers agent from making 2.5% to 3%. They won’t air any of this on the news, though. 🙄

Folks consider the source. Headlines are meant to catch your attention. Download and read the settlement. Pages 7-12. Seems like we get opinions instead of facts. There is a lot of misinformation out there. The settlement will defiantly change the industry. Buyers should and will start interviewing agents. One item of note on the settlement, Buyers and Agents will have to have a written compensation agreement in place prior to showing a home. Smart sellers will still offer compensation, only now it is not going to be published. Dumb sellers will sell for full price and not offer anything.

Your word choice for this video is poor and wrong - commissions have always been negotiable. Just because bad agents in the midwest did not do their job properly does not mean that WA agents can't get 6% commission. You're exactly what is wrong with America

Buyers beware. Your real estate taxes are wrong there lying to you. Whether you build, purchase, or take over a house, your real estate taxes will be much more than you are counting on. Hire a Lawyer upfront to research your taxes. If your taxes are $300 a month over what you think, that changes your buying decision. Remember who told you.

Why would this guy even suggest a buyer represent themselves?? This would not be in a buyers best interest! Would he suggest a criminal walk into court and represent themselves? Purchasing a home is the largest purchase most will make and I would suggest a real estate professional (REALTOR) that knows the contracts. Would he work for FREE? Buyers agents don’t boycott but why would they work and show homes of owners that are not willing to pay them compensation? I am not a realtor but sellers and buyers both get what they pay for and good agents are worth their 3% for sellers agent and 3% for buyers agent. This is not a lot when you get a great agent working for you and all that they do to help sell a home or help negotiate for a buyer to win out and get into their dream home!! A bad agent just like a bad attorney is just not worth paying for so just like you chose an attorney by recommendations or referrals or doing your homework I suggest the same when selecting a great agent as they will be with every penny!!!

I am looking to buy a home under 450K and sell my current home, which has a tax assessment value of 425K. I don't want a mortgage. Any advise?