According to North Carolina Real Estate Commission rules, a licensed real estate broker may only receive compensation for brokerage activities from the broker-in-charge (BIC) with whom they are affiliated. In this scenario, the commission is first paid by the seller to the listing firm (XYZ Realty). XYZ Realty then pays the cooperating brokerage firm (ABC Realty) its share of the commission. Finally, the supervising broker-in-charge at ABC Realty is legally responsible for disbursing the earned portion of the commission to the non-provisional broker who represented the buyer. This ensures proper accounting and supervision of all brokerage compensation.

A. The buyer client: The buyer's agent is compensated through their firm. Direct payment from a client to an affiliated broker is generally prohibited by commission rules.

B. The seller: The seller pays the total commission to the listing firm (XYZ Realty) at closing, not directly to the individual agent from the cooperating firm.

C. The qualifying broker of XYZ Realty: The listing firm (XYZ Realty) pays the cooperating firm (ABC Realty) on a firm-to-firm basis, not the individual agent at the other company.

1. North Carolina Real Estate Commission. (2024). North Carolina Real Estate Manual.

Chapter 8, "Real Estate Brokerage," Section on "Brokerage Compensation": This chapter details the flow of commission payments. It clarifies that compensation is paid to the firm and then disbursed by the broker-in-charge to the affiliated broker. Specifically, it states, "A broker affiliated with a firm as an employee or independent contractor must be compensated for brokerage services by the firm and not by a principal or other party to a transaction."

Reference to N.C. General Statute § 93A-6(a)(8): This statute gives the Commission the power to discipline a licensee for "Accepting a commission or valuable consideration as a real estate broker for the performance of any of the acts specified in this Article from any person except his or her broker-in-charge or licensed real estate brokerage firm."

2. North Carolina Administrative Code. (2024). Title 21, Chapter 58, Subchapter A, Section .0110.

21 NCAC 58A .0110(a) - Brokerage Fees and Compensation: This rule explicitly states: "A broker shall not receive any compensation, incentive, bonus, rebate, or other consideration of more than nominal value in connection with a real estate transaction from any person other than the broker with whom he or she is affiliated for any act for which a license is required..." This directly supports that the non-provisional broker must be paid by their supervising BIC at ABC Realty.