Wholesaling MLS Property as a licensed agent: Commissions

[Brett Johnson]

Scenario: I am a wholesaler, I am also a licensed agent. If I source a property on the MLS by securing a signed offer on that property as my own buyer's agent and then assign that property to another end buyer I will obviously collect my set assignment fee. Question, can I also collect the buyer's agent commission from the seller?

[Jeff Copeland]

You would need to talk to your broker about this, and it will depend on several factors, such as what kind of listing agreement and agency relationship does your brokerage have with the seller?

If your brokerage is a single agent for the seller, you are morally, ethically, and legally bound to get them the highest and best offer for the property, and represent their best interests in a fiduciary capacity. 

You can't do this while also taking an assignment fee. 

Remember, your brokerage (not you, personally) represents the seller. You represent your brokerage. Deals like this often end up in the paper and make the brokerage look bad, for the above reasons. 

To be fair, if you have no brokerage relationship with the seller and full disclosure, it can technically be done. But only with your broker's blessing and full disclosure to the seller. 

But why wouldn't you just charge a higher commission rather than complicate the transaction with an assignment fee, unless you were trying to hide it from the seller or your broker? And is your broker entitled to a split on the assignment fee?