Question:
A real estate broker brought me a buyer for my house. I said ok to their buyer’s price but had to first ask bar metzra. Bar metzra said he wanted it for the same price. I never signed any paperwork at all yet to anyone. the broker is now asking for her commission. Do I need to pay it? I asked her to go back to client to see if they wanted to raise their price and maybe they would want to pay more now that they actually see that the land is worth it for their specific needs, and she already said no, she didn’t want to for whatever reason. If she is counting on getting commission from me and then go sell the client a house by someone else, then she earns double commission, so why should she want to even go back to them to ask them. Therefore, why should I need to pay her commission on my sale to the bar metzra? What is the halacha.
Thank you
Answer:
Thank you for your question.
From what you are writing, it doesn’t seem that the real estate agent did anything for you that would obligate you to pay her, as she didn’t make the sale and she didn’t want to negotiate a higher price, in order to push the sale thru. Nevertheless, without hearing the other side of the story it is not possible to give a correct answer. You can however tell the agent that you don’t see why she is entitled to a commission on a sale that she didn’t make, and see what her rationale is.
Best wishes
