exchange for a percentage of the sales price as a
commission.
In the offline world this is an acceptable practice in many
industries, while others strictly prohibit it. While I was
working in real estate I received referral fees whenever I
sent a client to someone else. Perhaps one of my clients
was moving out of the area, and needed to purchase a
home once they arrived in the new location. Or maybe it
was a client that wanted to buy a specialized type of
property I was not familiar with, within the geographic
area that I served, and I would then recommend the right
person to work with them.
In both cases, it was the right thing to do to refer them to a
broker who had more experience serving that location or
that type of property. I would do my research to find out
who the best person would be, and then make a phone call
to introduce myself and to explain my client‟s situation and
needs. Once the real estate transaction had closed, I would
receive a check from the escrow company for a percentage
of the commission that had been earned, typically 25% of
the total commission.
I would give referral fees as well, whenever I received a
new client from another real estate broker. This was a nice
stream of income, and everyone accepted it as part of the
way we did business in that world.