How to split the fee between the agent with the property and the one with the buyer

The answer, straight away

In a collaboration between two agents the split is agreed in writing and before the first viewing. It is the only moment when both are thinking without a figure on the table.

In Italy the most common practice is that each agent is paid by their own side, seller and buyer, keeping their own fee. Where a single fee is divided, an even split is the usual reference point, and it moves when one side has done considerably more work.

The five lines to write

Who represents whom. It sounds obvious, and stops being obvious the moment the buyer already knew the property.

How it is split, with the percentage and the basis of calculation.

Who invoices whom, and when relative to completion.

What happens if the buyer buys a different property from the same agency within a defined period.

What happens if the deal collapses and revives months later. That is the one that generates almost every dispute, and a date solves it.

The three situations to anticipate

The buyer says they already knew the property. It happens, and sometimes it is true. It is settled by recording the introduction in writing when it occurs, with date and channel. Whoever has the record does not argue.

Two agents have the same buyer. The first documented introduction on that property wins, not the longer relationship with the person.

The property is not exclusive and three agencies hold it. The sensible rule is that whoever brought the buyer counts, and whoever holds the owner relationship runs the negotiation.

What does not work

Verbal agreements between people who respect each other. They hold while the deal is small. On the first significant one respect is not enough, because neither party remembers the conversation the same way.

And agreements written afterwards. One signed when the offer is already on the table is not an agreement: it is a negotiation between colleagues with a client waiting.

Why splitting is worth it anyway

Half a fee on a deal that closes is worth infinitely more than a whole fee on a property that sits unsold for a year.

The calculation almost nobody does is how many deals they failed to close because they would not share.