What to pay a buyer's broker — if anything. It's entirely your call. Plus a free fill-in agreement.
Free seller's tool · Updated June 2026 · General information, not legal advice
You're selling your boat by owner — no listing broker, no commission in the price. Then a buyer
turns up with their own buyer's agent. Do you owe that agent anything? No. Their contract is
with the buyer, not you — the buyer hired them, so the buyer can pay them. But here's the smart move: offer a
modest buyer's-broker commission (we recommend about 2.5%) right in your listing. It's optional and the amount is 100%
up to you — but it's what makes agents bring you buyers instead of skipping your boat.
The math — your $500,000 boat, a buyer's agent brings the buyer:
• Offer the buyer's agent 2.5% = $12,500 at closing — you keep $487,500.
• A full-service brokerage would have charged about 10% = $50,000 (both sides). You're paying one
side, voluntarily — roughly a quarter of that.
• Prefer to pay $0? You can — the buyer hired the agent, so logically the buyer pays them out of pocket. Just
know most agents then won't bring you their buyer.
Why offer anything at all?
Because buyer's agents quietly skip for-sale-by-owner listings — in the trade it's "twice the work for half
or no commission." A FSBO boat with no co-brokerage is close to invisible to the agent community; they steer their clients to
listings that pay them. Post even a small commission and that flips: now an agent has a real reason to put your boat in
front of their buyer. And 2.5% is still a fraction of a full ~10% listing commission — you keep most of the by-owner savings.
The whole play
Decide your number — your call. We recommend ~2.5% (or a flat fee). You can offer more,
less, or nothing. As a by-owner seller, 2.5% goes a long way because the agent keeps it all — no split with a listing broker.
Put it in your listing. One line tells every agent there's a paycheck here. Copy-paste the blurb below.
Paper it before the showing. When an agent brings a buyer, sign a one-page commission agreement —
who, how much, paid at closing from proceeds, and only if that agent's buyer actually closes. The fill-in
agreement below does exactly this.
Remember whose side they're on. The buyer's agent works for the buyer and negotiates
against you on price. The commission gets them to bring the buyer — it does not make them your ally. Don't hand them
your bottom line.
Pay it at closing, through neutral escrow. From the sale proceeds, on the closing statement — never up
front, and never to an agent whose buyer didn't close.
📋 Copy-paste into your listing:
"🤝 Buyer's brokers welcome — 2.5% co-brokerage to the buyer's agent, paid at closing. For sale by owner;
buyer's agents bring your client."
When to offer it — and when to skip it
Offer ~2.5% when you want maximum exposure, the boat's been sitting, or you'd rather have agents actively
shopping your boat to their buyers. The wider net usually pays for itself.
Offer $0 when you're already getting plenty of direct buyer interest, or you're confident in your own
marketing — let any buyer's agent simply be the buyer's cost. You give up some agent-driven reach, but you keep every dollar.
Use this the moment an agent says "I have a buyer." Fill the blanks (saved in your browser), then print or download a clean
PDF for both of you to sign — before any showing. It ties the fee to this agent's buyer actually closing, paid from
proceeds through neutral escrow, and makes clear you're unrepresented.
✍️ Type into the blanks — your entries save in this browser — then download a filled PDF or print it.
✎ Editing the wording. Click any clause to reword it; changes save in this browser and flow into the PDF/print/.txt.
Reset wording · Done editing
BUYER'S-BROKER COMMISSION AGREEMENT
For-sale-by-owner seller · buyer-introduced-by-agent · commission earned only on closing
Re (Vessel): Year , Make
, Model ,
LOA ft, HIN ,
asking price $.
The buyer this covers. This agreement applies only to the specific buyer the Buyer's
Broker introduces — (buyer name) — and to no one else. The Buyer's
Broker represents the Buyer; the Seller is unrepresented and the Buyer's Broker owes the
Seller no agency duties.
Commission — Seller's voluntary offer. Seller is not otherwise obligated to pay the Buyer's Broker, but
agrees to pay a commission of % of the final gross sale price
(suggested 2.5%) — or a flat $ if filled — to the Buyer's Broker for
introducing the buyer above.
Earned only on closing. The commission is earned and payable only if and when that
introduced buyer completes the purchase and the sale actually closes. No fee is owed if the sale does not close, if the
buyer withdraws, or if the Vessel sells to anyone the Buyer's Broker did not introduce.
Paid at closing, from proceeds, through neutral escrow. The commission is paid at closing
out of the Seller's sale proceeds by the neutral escrow / closing agent ()
— not in advance and not directly between the parties — and appears on the closing statement.
Not a listing agreement; non-exclusive. This is not a listing or brokerage agreement
and grants no exclusive rights. Seller keeps the boat for sale by owner, may sell it directly or work with other agents,
and owes nothing to any agent who did not introduce the buyer who closes.
Buyer pays nothing extra here. Any separate fee arrangement between the Buyer and the Buyer's Broker is
between them; this agreement only sets what the Seller will pay.
Validity. This offer of commission is open until
(date), and applies only to a sale to the introduced buyer that closes on or before .
Seller signature / date
Seller printed name
Buyer's Broker / Agent signature · date
Brokerage name
Free template from YachtBazar.com for educational use — not legal advice, and not an IYBA/YBAA broker
form. Commission rates and splits are negotiable, not fixed by law. Use a neutral escrow / closing agent you choose, and have
a maritime attorney review anything significant before you sign.
Do I have to pay the buyer's agent if I'm selling by owner?
No. The buyer's agent's contract is with the buyer, not you — the buyer hired them, so the buyer can pay them. As a FSBO seller you owe a buyer's broker nothing unless you choose to offer a commission. Offering one just gets more agents to bring you buyers.
How much should I offer?
About 2.5% of the sale price is plenty as a by-owner seller — the agent keeps the whole thing (no listing broker to split with). You can offer less, a flat fee, more, or nothing. A full brokerage charges ~10% for both sides; you're voluntarily paying one side.
What if I offer nothing?
Totally fine — the buyer pays their own agent out of pocket. The only downside is reach: many buyer's agents won't bring their client to a listing that pays them nothing, so you'll see fewer agent-represented buyers.
When and how do I pay it?
Only at closing, from your sale proceeds, on the closing statement — and only if that specific agent's buyer actually closes. Paper it in writing first (the agreement above), and pay it through a neutral escrow / closing agent, never up front.
List your boat free — by owner.
No listing fee, no listing-broker commission. Add a buyer's-broker co-brokerage line if you want the agent reach.
Important: General information for U.S. used-boat sales, not legal, tax, or
financial advice. You are never obligated to pay a buyer's broker as a for-sale-by-owner seller; any commission is a
voluntary offer you set. Commission rates (~10% full-service) and splits are industry norms, not fixed by law, and vary by
brokerage and region. Put any commission in writing before a showing, pay only at closing through a neutral escrow you choose,
and have a maritime attorney review anything significant. Nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship.