As the Broker my agents know the minimums.  And that is what keeps us in business.

I set brokerage guidelines.  Beyond those guidelines it comes only out of their part of the slip unless they get my approval.

No but, I will give myself permission if it is warranted!

Kevin J. May took the words right out of my mouth.

in theory yes because it is not my commission 

Not with our agency.  Each agent negotiates their commission.

No I don't need permission. My broker and I are on the same page. 

Only if it is a tie..... I expect the other agent to share the rest ....

I talk to my broker about it first, but she treats it like my business decision.  

 It depends on who you are representing I feel

Only from myself.

My broker allows me to make my own decision..since I rarely reduce my commission they are not concerned.

There are guidelines in place which are self imposed that never exceed those of my Broker as agreed. 

The agents in my brokerage use me all the time to keep their commission where it should be.  "I have to ask my Principal Broker" often keeps the seller from pushing too hard to reduce a well earned commission.

Barbara,

I am with Kevin J. May  on this one.  A

No.  I don't do it.  Once you start down that path it is all too easy to fall down the slippery slope and do it all too often.  Joy Bender had a great example many, many months ago about this and how her office responded.  I've taken it to heart.

Only if it's absolutely necessary, but mostly resist. Why is it that out commission is immediately on the table?

As an independent broker I only need my permission.  When I was affiliated with a big box brokerage, I did need to get what they called an "off the top exception." Without approval it came from my split. 

No, I cam empowered to do this if I should want to.

As the owner/ Broker I set my own commission.

No permission just the good common sense to know when and when not to

Barbara Todaro My company policy is to ask permission with justification for reducing the fee.

Do you mean by the broker/brokerage? My office's P/P manual does require that before you cut commission below x you get my approval. Which is usually "uh-uh" . . . but it depends.

From my bride, yes. 

From Common Sense, YES!

From my Broker, NO! 

No.

Not at all!

Nope, I'm my own boss thankfully

no

Not for many years! And, not often!

I do not at this time since I am owner of the company. Just close the deal.

I do not.

No.  We understand sometimes it needs to be done to save the deal and or the relation.

No. We want to make the deal work.

No official permission required here.  My broker trusts my judgement to get the job done.

No I don't need permission but to get a short sale closed after 2 years I did throw in some $$ & my broker did ask me questions on it. After that long, I really no longer cared Barbara!

It's been so long since I've had a 'split' I guess it would make a difference to your broker. 

Yes, the brokerage requires an approval from management.

No , we can nego our transactions

Since it's not technically my commission, any reductions need approval. It seems as long as the brokerage's commission remains the same, they don't care if the agent reduces their share.   

If you work for a broker, you sure may unless it is in your contract to be able to do so without approval. 

I like Inna's answer.

I don't discuss such business practices on a public question.

We have overall permission to reduce by a certain amount, and we know what it means if we reduce by more. So the answer is yes, we need overall brokerage permission, but no, we don't need permission on a transaction-by-transaction basis.

You mean to ask your broker permission? or lender? We are contractors, we always negotiate our pay, but if you are talking about a large discount, i'd definitely get my broker permission. 

Barbara Todaro - I do not think so. 

In my brokerage, yes, any commission adjustments must get the ok of the broker.

From what I have heard in most firms the broker sets the rates, need permission from the broker to modify the listing agreement.

I'm not clear on what you are asking - are you asking about reducing a commission to make a deal work?

Off the top of my head, yes, unless it's a cash deal. And if I read this question right, even then, you have to disclose that you are an agent participating.