Have you EVER had to ask your Buyer to pay your commission for a FSBO???

People are not who they seem to be most often.

Never had to ask the buyers for commission.  Too sad.

You know what.....do what's right for the buyers.  You will earn your pay 100 times over from the referrals.  As for the sellers, they will probably have some major crisis that causes them to spend this and more. 

Good luck with what you decide.

Never, never, never ask a FSBO to pay a BA commission. 

When we arrive for a tour of the home, have the owner (they're not seller's yet) sign a showing agreement (not a listing agreement) and give them an Agency Notice so they know you are representing the buyer.

Then, if your buyers want the house simply write the contract with a credit to the buyers, from which the buyers pay your fee.

That way, you never have to ask anyone for anything.  If the sellers don't agree, the buyers don't buy the house.

I'm with Lenn on this one.    I now have all my buyer's sign an agency agreement with me and that mark what they are willing to put forth for my commission should I find that home and it's a FSBO. 

Your mistake was not having all parties on the selling side sign that little piece of paper. 

It's a hard lesson to learn.

I have sold a couple of FSBOs and have written my commission into the contract which the sellers had no problem signing. The people you describe sound like ********.  Move on and sell the buyers a different house. JMO.  Life is too short.  Good luck.

Holly~ I guess the lesson we all should learn here is without a signed buyer's agreement, you (we) are out of luck! Apparently a signed one-time showing doesn't really mean anything after all!

Hi Holly, The commission should really be a non-issue. Just present the offer. The buyer can pay your commission on their side of the HUD if necessary. If you really want to get technical the buyer ALWAYS pays the commission since they are the only ones bringing the money to closing.

Yes I have had a FSBO pay my commission but the whole thing turned out to be a nightmare - just the situation. I think the fact the FSBO reneged sucked. I would definitely not show the property until i got the signed agreement in advance.  Good luck  - you are really stuck in the middle and  I am not sure you will make out here.

If you go that route, you go early to tour the home and present the agreement to ALL decision makers.

Your agreement with the one seller would probably hold in small claims court, I would ask your team leader about that.  In the end, write the offer with seller contribution that will ultimately end up as commission like Lynn suggested or just make sure you do right by your buyers...I've done a few deals with no pay in it because it was "right". 

27 years in this business and I have never sold a FSBO......I never tried and don't plan to - they did not list for a reason.....

If the sellers want X amount, that is what they want.  Shouldn't matter to us one whit.  (Whether they have lots of money or own their home free & clear isn't any of our business.  After all, would you want someone to tell you that you are being greedy with what you feel is a fair profit from your home sale?)

Write the offer again, asking for a seller credit to buyer at closing.  Then your buyers will bring less $$ to the table, and have the $$ to pay your fee.

Holly, I came back to add that the seller should only care about their NET. They need to understand that this is the only figure that matters. Who pays closing costs and commissions is really just a manipulation of numbers. When presenting offers to a seller always present the net figure. The actual purchase price doesn't matter that much. The "Net sheet" is the REALTORS(R) best negotiating tool when talking with sellers. 

Holly,

I think Lenn mentioned this and probably others too.  I simply ask the sellers to pay some toward closing costs.  Commision is part of closing costs!  Good luck!

Holly,

If buyers want it bad enough I think they will understand that you need to get paid and if they have the cash, they will pay it.  Are you trying to just get 3%?  If they can't do it, hopefully they will agree to keep looking!

Three words are the solution to this issue: "Buyer Agency Agreement"

If you make your fee part of the buyer's offer to a seller it's set in stone and if the seller refuses or counters it's usually pretty easy to get your buyer client on your side.