GSA: Adding eligibility for those related to a purchase does not change the eligibility for those related to a sale. Image: Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe GSA has broadened eligibility for federal employees to be reimbursed for brokers and real estate agents fees or commissions during a relocation, further making the policy retroactive to August 17.
In a bulletin to agencies, it noted that prior to that date, the customary practice in residential real estate transactions was for only the seller to pay such a fee or commission, and the seller’s agent would then split it with the buyer’s agent. However, that changed with a preliminary approval on that date of a settlement agreement in a class-action suit against the National Association of Realtors over that arrangement, it says.
As a result, “homebuyers now sign an agreement with their agent specifying the amount or rate of compensation the agent will receive, or how this amount will be determined. While sellers and their agents can still offer to pay a buyer’s agent fee/commission, that exchange must be separately bargained for. This means that in some transactions, homebuyers will be required to pay the full buyer’s agent fee/commission,” it says.
However, the Federal Travel Regulation states that while relocating federal employees are reimbursed for a broker’s fee or real estate commission they paid in the sale of their residence at the last official station, they are not eligible for reimbursement of such costs incurred in the purchase of a home at the new official station, it notes.
In a change it designated as temporary—but “will remain in effect until explicitly canceled or superseded”—the GSA said agencies may now reimburse employees for either type of cost, stressing that adding eligibility for those related to a purchase does not change the eligibility for those related to a sale.
It adds: “The settlement required NAR to implement the practice changes prior to final court approval; the final approval hearing is scheduled for November 26, 2024. Agencies should direct employees to their real estate agent for questions regarding the impact of the settlement agreement on the employee’s residential real estate transaction(s).”
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