Can a Dead Man Pay a Commission?

Stuff Happens... Last week's Dispatch, Commission Rage, Commission Love (Sep 12), triggered some unusual commission memories. Here are two.

A San Francisco broker writes, "Years ago there was a broker who put together a deal and was supposed to be paid on a Friday afternoon. A snafu held up the closing, and the seller changed it to Monday. Over the weekend, the seller's girlfriend's irate EX murdered the seller. I remember the broker lamenting about how he was going to get paid."

On a happier note, a Minnesota broker writes, "As a young broker starting out in St. Louis I worked three part-time jobs (sitting on subdivision model homes, selling women's shoes and tending bar at a bowling alley) while earning my stripes as a commercial real estate broker. My broker finally agreed to start paying me a draw to help out.

"So driving back and forth to the subdivision I became curious about a farm... I was finally able to get six siblings and their spouses together to sign a listing, a six-month listing that I had to renew three times before Shell Oil agreed to purchase the land, subject to rezoning. My share of the commission was $60,000 in 1970!

"The rezoning passed but was later reversed. By the time Shell persevered and was able to close, my draw account stood at a little less than $60,000. So I received a check for $3,000, and a few months later I also received a 1099 for $60,000!"

-- Peter Pike