If you want to sell your home, then you probably know that you will give your real estate broker a commission once they sell the house. However, there are cases where you may be required to pay your broker their commission even if no sale is made. Below are a few examples of such cases.

Change of Mind

The broker should still get their cut if you change your mind about the sale after you have reached an agreement with the buyer. If you are selling the property as a couple (meaning your spouse also signed the listing agreement), then you also have to pay the broker if your spouse changes their mind and refuses to sign the deed. The only exception is if the change of mind is based on a clause contained in the sale agreement. Otherwise, if you just "don't feel like" going through with the transaction, then you have to pay your broker.

Uncorrected Title Defects

As the property owner, you are liable for correcting title defects that might hinder the sale of the property. Examples of common title defects include errors in public records, boundary disputes, third-party liens, and outstanding property taxes, among others. If you fail to clear the title defects and the transaction falls through, then you still owe our broker their commission. This is because the broker has done all the work, and they shouldn't lose money just because of your failures.

Fraud

Any fraudulent action on your part that hinders the sale also entitles your broker to their commission. Say you inherited the property alongside your two other siblings, but you forged the estate documents and excluded your siblings from the sale. If the fraud is discovered and the sale is stopped at the last minute, your broker still needs to be paid for the work they put in.

Delivery Complications

You also need to pay your broker if you cannot deliver possession of the property to its new owner as agreed. Take an example where you are supposed to take care of a few repairs and vacate the property within a month so that its new owner can move in. If you fail to do this and the prospective owner cannot move into the property a couple of months later, you still owe your broker their commission even if the buyer pulls out of the deal.

Extra Terms

Once you sign a sale agreement with the buyer, you make a legally binding contract that both of you should adhere to. You are not allowed to insert further terms into the agreement. You owe your broker their commission if you attempt to do that, for example, by demanding more money, and your buyer pulls out of the deal.

Talk to your selling agent for more information.