‘The day before close’: Michigan man buys Detroit house. Then he catches the realtor double-dipping on commission with the oldest trick in the book
Want to sell your home? Get ready for a headache.
Home prices aren’t the only issue in the real estate market. The rising cost of everyday goods—and the cutthroat nature of the real estate business in general—means that getting a house for a good, reasonable price often means a lot of negotiation.
During this negotiation, a realtor may try to slip in some language that secretly benefits them. When they get caught, it can make things a bit awkward, as TikToker Richard Taylor (@hold_my_hand_wholesale) recently shared in a video with over 10.7 million views.
What Went Wrong With This Real Estate Deal?
In his video, Taylor films himself having a conversation with a realtor. During the conversation, the realtor claims that the buyer of the home will be paying “closing costs and commissions.”
In response, Taylor clarifies that the commission should be coming out of the down payment, which Taylor says is industry standard.
“The buyer is assuming that that’s not coming out of the seller’s proceeds,” the realtor states.
To put it in simple terms, when a realtor sells a home, they typically get a commission of between 4 and 6 percent. Generally speaking, this comes out of the sale price of the home, with no additional fees added on for the buyer.
What this realtor is arguing is that the buyer should have to pay her commission on top of the purchase price—something to which Taylor strongly disagrees.
“All I can tell you is that I’m ready to close tomorrow at $58,500 and closing costs,” Taylor states. “If there’s any fee that you need above that, it’s gonna be coming out of the seller’s proceeds.”
What Happened Next?
In a follow-up video that no longer appears on his page, Taylor said that he was able to close the deal by offering an additional $1,000 to the realtor. While this was a difficult decision, he claimed it was important to prove that his method of investment worked.
Naturally, comments under both this and the original video questioned whether the realtor’s request—that the buyer pay the realtor’s commission on top of the purchase price—was even legal.
The short answer is that, yes, the realtor can request this. However, the situation is a bit more complicated than this video would lead one to believe.
Who Pays a Realtor’s Fees After a Home Purchase?
For a long time, it was standard that the commission was paid out of the seller’s payment. However, a recent settlement by the National Association of Realtors in August 2024 means that this arrangement is no longer standard.
In short, the commission paid to a real estate agent now requires that fees are not automatically paid by the seller. While this could mean that the fees are agreed to be paid by the seller, it could also mean that the fees are negotiated between the seller and buyer.
Frequently, this still results in the seller paying the fees. However, a realtor can ask the buyer to pay the fees. If the buyer agrees to do so in writing, they are on the hook to pay the fees.
Taylor Follows Up
In a comment, Taylor explains how he ended up in this situation. “Ultimately what happened was I said I would pay closing costs and in the fine print of the contract she included her commission as a closing cost.”
“The wholesaler tells me she didn’t have malicious intent and was rather just confused by the previous offer,” he continued. “That offer was a seller finance offer in which her commission is paid by the buyer. However, they ended up accepting the cash offer not the seller finance offer.”
Consequently, he made a $1,000 cash offer.
“I can understand where the confusion came from though and I don’t blame the agent,” he stated.
@hold_my_hand_wholesale Neither myself or the wholesaler have ever spoken about buyer paying commissions. Realtor breaks this to me the day before close #fyp #realestate #LearnOnTikTok #entreprenuer #realestateinvesting ♬ original sound – Richard Taylor
Commenters Chime In
In the comments section, users speculated about the motivations of the realtor. Some wondered whether she was getting commission fees from both the buyer and seller—effectively “double dipping.”
“She double dipping on commission,” wrote a user.
Others acknowledged that the practice may be legal, but questioned why any buyer would pay a realtor’s fees.
“Why would I pay a realtor to sell a house im buying??” asked another user.
“As an agent, this is a joke. I would never,” declared a commenter.
The Mary Sue reached out to Taylor via Instagram and TikTok direct message.
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