Unlawful broker commission?

Almost all of them are self-employed... that is also no reason not to belong to an association. But he probably already knows why not ;-) Anyway, unfortunately there are always some bad apples everywhere.

Unfortunately, this broker does not seem to be a member of any association and is self-employed.

Self-employed and constantly working, they all are. But also depending on how seriously they practice their profession. A notification to the responsible trade office "could" therefore lead to a change of mind in the "broker's" head: **When can the permit be revoked? A revocation of the permit comes into consideration, on the one hand, if the authority based its decision on a circumstance that turns out to be incorrect, e.g., because in fact a reason for refusal (unreliability, disordered financial circumstances) existed or if the applicable law was possibly misapplied. On the other hand, doubts about the reliability of the business operator may arise during the exercise of the brokerage activity, which can lead to a prohibition of the trade. **Any homepage of any municipality Rhine regards

I don’t know if the presentation might be somewhat one-sided. A minimum commission seems not uncommon among brokers (as in other industries), since they have the effort for the mediation regardless of whether the property costs €20,000, €200,000, or maybe only €1. While browsing various broker websites, I mostly came across a minimum value for properties around €50,000. Depending on the amount of the commission (in %), this resulted in a minimum commission of €1,500.00 (at 3%) to €3,000.00 net (at 6%).

If it had been clearly stated from the beginning that the brokerage fee in that amount would be charged to me, okay, either it would deter me or I would accept it. But he has two websites, on one there is a figure of 3.57%, on the other the offer was initially not stated. Only after I expressed interest did the amount of 3570€ for the brokerage fee suddenly appear on this page. His terms and conditions state a maximum brokerage fee of 7.14% and a flat rate is not mentioned with a single word.

Exactly. And the maximum commission refers to both parties together, which is usually split 50/50 each.

Exactly. And the maximum commission applies to both parties together, which is usually shared 50/50.

That is not correct. There is also a north-south disparity here: up here in the north, it is absolutely common for the buyer to pay the commission.