10.26 Misrepresenting that Commissions Are Not Negotiable

Company policy is to always disclose that commissions are negotiable. While the Company may have specific fee requirements, brokerages cannot agree among each other to a specific fee schedule. The area of fixed fees is of such great concern that most State laws forbid the printing of the commission rate in the preprinted listing agreement form which a brokerage may use, as that could lead a seller to believe that the fee is not negotiable. Most states require that the following language (varies by State) be included in all listing agreements in bold type: "NOTICE: Law does not fix the amount or rate of real estate commissions. They are set by each broker individually and may be negotiable between the seller and broker." Only use approved State documents for any listing which includes this text.