# What's the meaning of the real estate phrase "courtesy to buyers brokers"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 24, 2024, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-meaning-of-the-real-estate-phrase-courtesy-to-buyers-brokers/1004745 "2024-07-24T17:48:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-meaning-of-the-real-estate-phrase-courtesy-to-buyers-brokers/1004745/1 "2024-07-24T17:48:55Z")
A house for sale near me contains the phrase “Courtesy to Buyers Brokers” on the For Sale sign. What does that phrase mean? Thanks, J. p.s., Yes, I tried googling, but all I get are places selling the sign. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-meaning-of-the-real-estate-phrase-courtesy-to-buyers-brokers/1004745/2 "2024-07-24T18:21:10Z")
Willingness of a seller to pay a commission to any broker supplying a suitable buyer\*\* ; or the willingness of a listing broker to share the commission with any broker supplying a suitable buyer. from here > **[Courtesy To Brokers - Real Estate Definition](https://www.realestatedefinition.com/courtesy-to-brokers)** > > Willingness of a seller to pay a commission to any broker supplying a suitable buyer; or the willingness of a listing broker to share the commission with any broker supplying a suitable buyer. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-meaning-of-the-real-estate-phrase-courtesy-to-buyers-brokers/1004745/3 "2024-07-24T21:06:01Z")
Another phrase you’ll see which means the same thing is “Brokers protected”. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-meaning-of-the-real-estate-phrase-courtesy-to-buyers-brokers/1004745/4 "2024-07-25T00:13:51Z")
Where that gets really big / important is if he seller is trying to sell-by-owner. Many such sellers are motivated mostly by spleen and are trying to find a buyer who has no agent so all the middlemen are cut out and zero commission is paid to anyone. Conversely, a FSBO seller who recognizes that in their local market buyers often come with agents and those agents expect to be paid, and who says up front that they’re willing to do that, won’t find buyers agents steering their clients away from this property, but rather towards it. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-meaning-of-the-real-estate-phrase-courtesy-to-buyers-brokers/1004745/5 "2024-07-25T01:36:44Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Many such sellers are motivated mostly by **spleen** and are trying to find a buyer who has no agent so all the middlemen are cut out You might say that they get filtered out. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-meaning-of-the-real-estate-phrase-courtesy-to-buyers-brokers/1004745/6 "2024-07-25T13:32:56Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Conversely, a FSBO seller who recognizes that in their local market buyers often come with agents and those agents expect to be paid, and who says up front that they’re willing to do that, won’t find buyers agents steering their clients away from this property, but rather towards it. Is there an implied understanding how much they’ll pay in that situation? 3%, or is it negotiated? ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-meaning-of-the-real-estate-phrase-courtesy-to-buyers-brokers/1004745/7 "2024-07-26T12:05:05Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Is there an implied understanding how much they’ll pay in that situation? 3%, or is it negotiated? In the US, it used to be that the buyer’s agent’s commission had to be fixed & spelled out in order to be listed on the major real estate sites. There was a big class-action lawsuit about this earlier this year, with the upshot that [sellers no longer have to specify the buyer’s agent’s commission](https://www.npr.org/2024/03/22/1239486107/realtor-fee-commission-homes-for-sale) to be listed. I actually met with a real estate agent yesterday and he basically described it as “now it’s part of the negotiation process.” However, if I’m going to sign with him as my agent, he would still need to get paid. So in the representation contract, I agree to pay him a percentage commission (TBD, though he mentioned 2–2.5%), with the understanding that they’ll try to negotiate a shared commission with the seller’s agent. If the seller’s agent tells him to go pound sand, then either we (the buyers) have to come up with the money for his commission, or we can’t buy that particular house. Which would suck for us.