Cory SalisburySimple Choice Real EstateRead the actual contract · Utah
Since August 17, 2024, a buyer who tours homes with an agent signs a written buyer agreement first. In Utah that is almost always the Exclusive Buyer-Broker Agreement & Agency Disclosure (UAR Form 6, revised June 20, 2024), the Utah Association of REALTORS® form. It is the contract between a buyer and the buyer’s brokerage. The blank copy is below so you can read it yourself.
The buyer-broker agreement is between the buyer, the buyer’s agent and the buyer’s brokerage. In Section 2.1 the buyer agrees to pay the brokerage fee. The seller is not a party to it, and it creates no obligation for the seller. A seller can choose to contribute toward that fee in an offer. They do not have to.
Section 2, Brokerage Fee
The whole question lives in three paragraphs on page one. Quoted from the blank form, with what each one means in plain English.
Section 2.1 · Buyer’s Obligation to Pay Brokerage Fee
“the BUYER AGREES TO PAY to the Company a brokerage fee in the amount of $____________ and ______% of the gross acquisition price of the property (the “Brokerage Fee”).”
Plain English: The buyer sets the fee with their own agent, and the buyer agrees to pay it. The seller’s name is nowhere in this sentence.
Section 2.2 · Satisfaction of Brokerage Fee by a Third Party
“If a seller’s brokerage and/or the property owner is compensating the Company on a property acquired by the Buyer, then the compensation paid ... shall satisfy the Buyer’s obligation for the Brokerage Fee shown above provided that the compensation is equal to the Brokerage Fee. ... In the event the compensation paid by the seller’s brokerage and/or the property owner is less than the Brokerage Fee, the Buyer shall pay any remaining difference at Closing.”
Plain English: Read the first word: “If.” A seller’s contribution, when there is one, counts toward the buyer’s fee. It does not say the seller owes it. If the seller pays less than the agreed fee, the buyer pays the difference.
Section 2.3 · Brokerage Fee Due and Payable
“BROKERAGE FEES ARE FULLY NEGOTIABLE AND ARE NOT SET BY LAW, ANY BOARD OR ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE (the “MLS”), OR IN ANY MANNER OTHER THAN BETWEEN THE COMPANY AND BUYER.”
Plain English: The form says it in capital letters: the fee is negotiated between the buyer and the buyer’s brokerage. Nobody else.
Buyer agent commission negotiable on every Smart Seller Program plan. You decide it with each offer: offer it up front to bring in more agents and their buyers, offer it only when an offer asks for it, or offer nothing. Each choice tends to do something to your offers in today’s market, and I walk you through that before you decide.
If you do agree to pay something, it gets written down: in the offer itself, or in the Utah Association of REALTORS® Real Estate Brokerage Compensation Agreement. Nothing happens by default. What you never owe is a number written into someone else’s contract.
My fee is separate from all of this: as little as 1% on the Smart Seller Program. You're never locked in. Cancel anytime. See the three plans.
You and your agent agree on the fee before you tour. You can ask the seller to cover part or all of it in your offer. If the seller covers less than the fee you agreed to, Section 2.2 says you pay the difference at closing. So agree on a number you would be fine paying yourself, and get it in writing.
UAR Form 6 · revised June 20, 2024
Three pages. Section 2 is on page one. The Utah Association of REALTORS® keeps the current version in its Forms Library and publishes its own settlement FAQ. Open the PDF
Reproduced for consumer education. This page is not legal advice; commissions are negotiable and not set by law, any board or association of REALTORS®, or the MLS. Cory Salisbury, REALTOR® with Simple Choice Real Estate. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Common questions
No. No Utah law requires it, and the buyer-broker agreement does not make the seller a party to it. The buyer agrees to pay their own agent (Section 2.1). A seller can offer buyer agent compensation as a negotiated term, offer by offer, or offer nothing.
No. The buyer agrees to a brokerage fee in Section 2.1 before touring homes. At closing it is paid by the buyer, by a contribution the seller agreed to in the offer, or a mix of the two. If the seller’s contribution is less than the agreed fee, the buyer pays the difference (Section 2.2).
No. Since August 17, 2024, offers of compensation to a buyer’s agent are not allowed on the MLS. If a seller agrees to pay something, it is negotiated directly and written down in the offer or in a separate compensation agreement.
Whatever you decide. On every Smart Seller Program plan the buyer agent commission is a separate line you set with each offer. Some sellers offer it up front to bring in more agents and their buyers, some offer it only when an offer asks, some offer nothing. I show you what each choice tends to do to your offers in today’s market before you choose.
Because sellers get told they have to pay 2.5% or 3% to the buyer’s agent, and the contract that supposedly says so does not. I would rather you read it and decide than take anyone’s word for it, including mine.
No. It is the blank form and a plain reading of it. Commissions are negotiable and not set by law. For advice on your situation, talk with a Utah real estate attorney.