Sacramento Listing Brokers Are Not Required to Pay All California Agents

Sacramento listing brokers are not required to pay every California agent.

Working for one of the top Sacramento listing brokers in the area as a top producer, I see it all due to the volume I deal with. Many agents in Sacramento real estate seems to have their own peculiar way of doing things, and especially those who are unsupervised or think this is still the Wild, Wild West and operate like outlaws. And there are quite a few of those kinds of agents, both inside and outside of the city. Usually smaller mom-and-pop operations, but I’ve also seen agents at larger brokerages try to do crazy stuff.

There was the rouge property manager / agent who refused to close out MLS correctly under my name because he noticed there were two agency disclosures returned with the RPA. That’s because we follow real estate law, and when an agent shows a property, that agent gets an agency disclosure signed. Agency disclosures have no bearing on the California Residential Purchase Agreement. Since I am the agent of record, he is required to report the sale the way the cooperating brokerage stipulates, and this turd flat-out refused. MetroList doesn’t care the agent ignored MLS rule 10.1. This is why some agents believe they can do whatever they want. Lax enforcement.

Then there are the guys (and women) who have a real estate license but rarely use the license. They think holding a California real estate license entitles them to a commission anywhere in the state, and it doesn’t. Further, there are also the agents from the Bay Area who think Sacramento listing brokers are required to pay them a commission, which is incorrect if they don’t belong to our Board. Compensation is authorized only to other Board members.

Fortunately, I know many great agents in the Bay Area, and I am a Bay Area-friendly Realtor. Not every listing agent in Sacramento is, though. Nor do they necessarily promote their listings to Bay Area agents like I do.

Now obviously, we want our sellers to win. We generally work out some kind of agreement with outside agents because we don’t want our sellers to lose a potential offer. However, if the out-of-area agent does not have a lockbox key, that presents other issues. How will they access the home for a home inspection? How will they conduct the final walkthrough? Do they even stand a chance in a sea of multiple offers among local agents with proven track records?

Then, just when you think you’ve seen it all, along comes a bombshell. An agent who thinks all Sacramento listing brokers will pay him a commission to buy his own residence because he possesses a California real estate license. The only little snafu is he never placed his real estate license with a broker, so he cannot sell real estate and receive a commission, even if he bought a home in his own city. Sacramento listing brokers pay commissions only to other real estate brokers. Yet, we will still try to find a way to help him.