Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: verbal agreement from real estate agent

I am a real estate broker, in addition to being an attorney. I have always taken the position that it is improper and illegal to split commissions with non-licensed professionals. There are two reasons. First, it is illegal under California law for a licensed real estate professional to split commissions with a non-licensed person or entity. I can't find the citation right now. Second, it is unethical as each member of the National Association of Realtors (also California Association of Realtors and the local MLS) must abide by a code of conduct. I know that code prohibits commissions sharing. As such, I'd say that you may have a hard time, but its worth filing the action as a small claims commissioner may still side with you. You are not at fault for the salesperson promising you a commission split - its her transgresion. Good luck.

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Re: verbal agreement from real estate agent

I'll be interested to see what other lawyers tell you; I'm frankly not sure about this. I know it is legal for real estate professionals to pay non-licensed persons "finder's fees" for referring business, so long as the "finder" doesn't get involved in the buying, selling or negotiating aspects of the deal. What I'm not sure about is whether the finder fee can be tied to the size of the commission. My GUESS is that it's legal, and therefore you might prevail in small-claims court if you can prove the existence of the contract and other facts.