Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York

I am a new licensed real estate salesperson in NYC. I have an aquaintence who is a citizen of another country, where he is an investment manager. He apparently has clients/investors that are interested in buying a multi-unit property in NYC. He would like a pretty significant referral fee. He is not a licensed sales person or a broker, but apparently he has an LLC in Florida that is for Real Estate Marketing.

Is it legal for the brokerage firm to pay him a referral fee or any other type fee?

Is it legal for me to pay him a referral fee, split my commission, or any other type of fee?

If it is legal, what are the tax ramifications? Anything else I should consider or be concerned about?

Everyone I've asked has an opinion, and thinks they know the answer, but no one can tell me definitively, or show me what the law says.


Asked on 12/22/09, 7:29 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Robbie L. Vaughn, Esq. The Law Firm of Vaughn & Weber, PLLC

Here is what the law says:

Splitting commissions. No real estate broker shall pay any part

of a fee, commission or other compensation received by the broker to any

person for any service, help or aid rendered in any place in which this

article is applicable, by such person to the broker in buying, selling,

exchanging, leasing, renting or negotiating a loan upon any real estate

including the resale of a condominium unless such a person be a duly

licensed real estate salesman regularly associated with such broker or a

duly licensed real estate broker or a person regularly engaged in the

real estate brokerage business in a state outside of New York; provided,

however, that notwithstanding any other provision of this section, it

shall be permissible for a real estate broker to pay any part of a fee,

commission, or other compensation received to an unlicensed corporation

or an unlicensed limited liability company if each of its shareholders

or members, respectively, is associated as an individual with the broker

as a duly licensed associate broker or salesman.

Furthermore, notwithstanding any other provision of law, it shall be

permissible for a broker properly registered pursuant to the provisions

of article twenty-three-A of the general business law who earns a

commission on the original sale of a cooperative or homeowners

association interest in real estate, including condominium units to pay

any part of a fee, commission or other compensation received for

bringing about such sale to a person whose prinicipal business is not

the sale or offering of cooperatives or homeowners association interests

in real property, including condominium units in this state but who is

either: (i) a real estate salesman duly licensed under this article who

is regularly associated with such broker; (ii) a broker duly licensed

under this article; or a person regularly engaged in the real estate

brokerage business in a state outside of New York.

Except when permitted pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this

section no real estate broker shall pay or agree to pay any part of a

fee, commission, or other compensation received by the broker, or due,

or to become due to the broker to any person, firm or corporation who or

which is or is to be a party to the transaction in which such fee,

commission or other compensation shall be or become due to the broker.

Hope this helps.

Rlvaughnlaw.com

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Answered on 12/28/09, 9:11 pm


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