Question: How do I get compensated when I represent a buyer who decides to purchase a property in an area that is not covered by MRIS, but serviced by another MLS?

MLS is a forum that not only allows listing brokers to advertise their properties for sale but also provides them with a means to make offers of cooperative compensation that can be reviewed and accepted by other members of the MLS. In order for a broker to accept an offer of compensation, he or she must be able to access the listing and, more specifically, the portion of the listing that reflects the offer of compensation. Those fields are only available to members of the MLS.

What does that mean in practical terms for your business? If you are going to sell real estate in areas in which you are not a member of the local MLS, and you wish to be compensated for your services by the listing broker, then you must establish a separate agreement for compensation. You cannot accept the offer made by the listing broker in the local MLS.

Below are tips to ensure that you will get paid for your cooperation:

• Call the listing broker and ask what the compensation is for a cooperating broker in this transaction, as set forth in the listing agreement.
• Tell them you have an interested buyer, but since you are not a member of the local MLS, both brokers must enter into a written compensation agreement that will outline how much a cooperating broker will be compensated upon successful completion of the transaction.
• Make sure that the agreement is signed by the brokers and not the agents. Agents do not have the right to enter into any agreement regarding cooperating compensation.

If you do not have such an agreement in place, you may well be unable to collect a commission at the time of settlement