Washington guide

Washington Compensation Disclosure Requirements Under WAC 308-124

In Washington, your buyer's broker must put their compensation in writing before you sign a buyer-agency agreement or purchase and sale contract.

Reading as buyer.

TL;DR

In Washington, your buyer's broker must put their compensation in writing before you sign a buyer-agency agreement or purchase and sale contract. Since the settlement, sellers can no longer advertise offers of buyer-broker pay through the , so you negotiate what your broker earns directly with them. You may owe that fee yourself, ask the seller to cover it in the offer, or split it — but every dollar must be documented.

Before you start — 7 things to know

  • Your buyer's broker must give you a written compensation disclosure at or before you sign a buyer-agency agreement under WAC 308-124-240. A verbal promise about fees is not enough in Washington.

  • After the settlement, listings on the in Washington cannot advertise an offer of pay to your buyer's broker. You negotiate your broker's fee in your own buyer-agency agreement.

  • You can still ask the seller to cover some or all of your broker's fee, but the request must be written into your purchase and sale offer. The seller is free to accept, counter, or refuse that term.

  • If your buyer's broker is getting a referral fee from another licensed broker who sent you their way, WAC 308-124-240 requires that referral arrangement to be disclosed to you in writing.

  • Your broker cannot legally accept a kickback from an inspector, lender, or title company in exchange for sending you to them. RCW 18.85.431 and federal RESPA both ban that, even if the provider is a personal friend of the broker.

  • Read the compensation section of your buyer-agency agreement carefully before signing. It should state the fee amount or percentage, who pays it, and what happens if the seller agrees to pay part of it.

  • If your broker works on a team with internal splits, that does not change what you owe. Your written agreement controls the fee you are responsible for as the buyer.

The timeline — step by step

  1. Before touring homes, your buyer's broker presents a written buyer-agency agreement that spells out their compensation, as required by WAC 308-124-240.

  2. You review and negotiate the fee amount, the term length, and whether you can ask the seller to cover the fee in an offer. Sign only after the numbers match what you discussed.

  3. When you write an offer on a Washington home, your broker can add a request for the seller to pay part or all of your broker's fee as a concession in the purchase and sale agreement.

  4. If the seller agrees, the agreed-upon compensation is documented in the purchase and sale agreement and confirmed in a separate cooperative compensation agreement between the two brokerages outside the .

  5. At closing, the escrow company pays your buyer's broker based on the written agreements. You will see the fee broken out on the closing disclosure you sign.

  6. If your broker received a referral fee from another licensee for sending you over, that arrangement is disclosed in writing before closing under WAC 308-124-240.

Common questions

Do I have to pay my buyer's broker out of pocket in Washington?
Not always. You owe whatever fee your written buyer-agency agreement says, but you can ask the seller to cover all or part of it in your offer. If the seller agrees, the cost is built into the deal at closing instead of coming straight from your wallet.
Why can't I just see the buyer-broker fee on the [[MLS]] listing anymore?
After the settlement, systems in Washington stopped advertising offers of compensation to buyer's brokers. Your broker's pay is now negotiated directly with you in writing, separate from the listing.
What if my broker promises a different fee verbally than what is on the form?
The written buyer-agency agreement is what governs in Washington. WAC 308-124-240 requires the compensation disclosure to be in writing, so make sure the form matches what you were told before you sign.
Is it legal for my broker to take a fee from the lender they recommended?
No. RCW 18.85.431 and the federal RESPA law both prohibit a broker from accepting compensation from a lender, inspector, or title company in exchange for referrals. A personal friendship with the provider does not create an exception.
What happens if my broker forgets to give me a written compensation disclosure?
That is a violation of WAC 308-124-240 and you can report it to the Washington Department of Licensing. Ask for the written disclosure before signing anything, and do not rely on a verbal explanation.

Glossary

2 terms
NAR — National Association of Realtors
The national trade group for real-estate agents. The 2024 NAR settlement is the legal deal that changed how buyer's agents get paid.
MLS — Multiple Listing Service
The shared database agents use to list and find homes for sale. Most homes you'll see online started here.

Sources

  1. [1]
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