# Real Estate Agents Commission Sharing



## milanonyc (May 20, 2017)

Hello, we are new to Portugal and currently staying in temporary housing, but wish to find a long term rental and possibly purchase real estate if we see a good opportunity. 

We are confused about how real estate agencies work. Apparently there is no Multiple Listing Service like in the US. Does this mean that an agent of company X will not show me a property listed with company Y? Or do all (or most) of the agencies have some type of agreement to share commissions?

Thanks in advance.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

milanonyc said:


> Hello, we are new to Portugal and currently staying in temporary housing, but wish to find a long term rental and possibly purchase real estate if we see a good opportunity.
> 
> We are confused about how real estate agencies work. Apparently there is no Multiple Listing Service like in the US. Does this mean that an agent of company X will not show me a property listed with company Y? Or do all (or most) of the agencies have some type of agreement to share commissions?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


Normally, agents will only show you properties they have on their own books. However, you may find the same property listed on more than one agent's list, sometimes at differing prices. Commission is only due to the agent clinching the sale.

The MLS and commission sharing in the US can be disadvantageous to the seller especially if a greedy agent wants to have all the commission and not share so do not refer potential buyers. We experienced this in Florida when a greedy agent cost us maybe 180,000 when prices fell in 2007


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## Strontium (Sep 16, 2015)

Hi, Here, in Portugal, different estate agencies work in different ways but particularly with older properties many deal only with their local area only and a lot of their offerings are not on the internet. This stems from them realising that each request for property details costs them money to answer and often there is a low conversion rate as, from experience, many foreigners are just "fishing" for information and not actively looking to buy. Thus if you are interested in living in an area it is better to go there in person and visit the agencies then they realise you are serious and will reciprocate. There are some "umbrella" organisations but these are a bi random as every estate agent member uses a different style and standard for their listing. There are also a few agents who will 
work for you and trawl the estate agents for your specifications and arrange all the viewings.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

milanonyc said:


> Hello, we are new to Portugal and currently staying in temporary housing, but wish to find a long term rental and possibly purchase real estate if we see a good opportunity.
> 
> We are confused about how real estate agencies work. Apparently there is no Multiple Listing Service like in the US. Does this mean that an agent of company X will not show me a property listed with company Y? Or do all (or most) of the agencies have some type of agreement to share commissions?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


Which area and how many bedrooms are you looking for?


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

I'll add that the best deals take a bit of squirreling out because they'll rely on an independent website rather than either estate agents or sites such as airb&b etc because they're not willing to pay the commission.


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## milanonyc (May 20, 2017)

Thank you for the replies. The real estate business sounds very random here! 

Baldilocks I'm sorry you had a bad experience in the US but I do not understand. If your listing agreement states there is an exclusive listing and it will be put on the MLS, every other agent has access. If your agent, however, was not cooperative in showing the property, that is something else unrelated to the MLS structure.

We are looking in Lisbon, if that makes a difference in how the market works. Here we have seen several Smart cars belonging to agents, and wonder how they show properties if the client is a couple. Is it more common to meet at the property rather than to be driven around?

By the way, we are not seeking solicitations through this forum, thanks.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

In my area, it's unusual for the agents to drive you to the properties even if you're buying let alone renting but I have no idea if that applies to all areas of the country. 

One problem you will face in any coastal or near coastal area is that long term lets will probably be expensive in the summer months because landlords can get more per week from tourists than a long term let will bring in a month.


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## Strontium (Sep 16, 2015)

Apart form the quagmire of government officialdom the Portuguese generally work at a personal level. They will be willing to deal with a person rather then with an email, so, just as every person has a different personality each local Estate Agent has a different "personality". When (if?) you go visit the local Estate Agents offices there will be some you will got on with personally and some you will not, if you pose the same question to three people in the office you will get three different answers, BUT do not try any of this at lunch time as lunch time is for lunch. I have been asked to go from an office to meet an agent by a prominent local round about and would i take these cabbages seedlings in a couple of buckets of water to him - the agent, as usual, was parked on the roundabout not in a parking space. A typical saying is " everything here takes 10 times as long as you think it will" so you may as will relax and enjoy discovering the diversity involved in living here otherwise you will just turn into yet another whinnying frustrated expat starting every second sentence with "back in in states/UK/Mongolia*" Good luck.


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## milanonyc (May 20, 2017)

Thank you for all the comments

As a follow up we have begun to actively look for a rental apartment and have found it to be as stated above. Agents we have spoken with seem to be reactive rather than proactive. I am not saying it is better or worse than in the US from a client's standpoint, just a different way of doing business.


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