Commission from Realtor (sale, renter, brokers)

[rmoore5]

If you have a realtor list your house for rent with option to buy, and a renter accepts the contract can the realtor take the security portion of the rent? Is this legal?

[MiamiRob]

^ Well what does your listing agreement say? It should say how the realtor is to be paid. A lot of brokers will subtract their fee from the deposit and return the rest of the balance to you. Otherwise you would have to pay the realtor out of pocket.

[yousah]

Sounds illegal to me. A security deposit is considered escrow money by state law and cannot be commingled with any other funds. Essentially, the Realtor took money that belongs to the tenant and needs to be deposited into an escrow account that is subject to audit by the State.

Other than that, the money you owe the Realtor should be spelled out in your listing agreement.

[linicx]

A security deposit given to the property owner is nothing more than a depost to insure a inhabitable property when the contract is up. A down payment on a house by law must be held in escrow until the closing - at which time it is applied to the balance of the mortgage. The reaotor's commission is a percentage of the sale price. How the realtor is to be paid in the case of Rent with Option To Buy Contract should be spelled out in the contract you AND the realtor signed.

If the realtor is collecting money for you, the owner, a certain percentage of that will be due the realtor for his/her serviuces.