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2021 Op. Tenn. Att'y Gen. 1 (2021)

handle is hein.sag/sagtn0182 and id is 1 raw text is: STATE OF TENNESSEE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
January 15, 2021
Opinion No. 21-01
Disbursement of Real Estate Commissions
Ouestion 1
Does Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-13-312(b)(11) allow for any person or entity, other than an
affiliate real estate broker who is affiliated with a licensed principal real estate broker, to disburse
a commission, or any valuable consideration, for the performance of the acts specified in the
Tennessee Real Estate Broker License Act?
Opinion 1
Yes. Nothing in Title 62, Chapter 13, prohibits a licensed principal real estate broker from
delegating to a title company or other party the authority to disburse commissions.
Ouestion 2
Does an agency relationship created by Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-13-401, or by common
contractual or agency law, allow a licensed principal real estate broker to contractually delegate
the broker's duty to disburse a commission, or any valuable consideration, for the performance of
the acts specified in the Tennessee Real Estate Broker License Act?
Opinion 2
Yes. A licensed principal real estate broker may contractually delegate the broker's duty
to disburse a commission or other consideration for a real estate transaction.
ANALYSIS
Taken together, the two questions posed may be restated as asking in essence whether the
principal real estate broker must personally disburse the commission(s) associated with a real
estate transaction or whether the principal broker may contractually delegate the disbursement of
commissions to a third party. The short answer to that question is yes, the principal broker may
contractually delegate to a third party, such as a title company, the duty and authority to disburse
the commission in a given transaction.
The Tennessee Real Estate Broker License Act creates a licensing category for a real
estate broker and a separate licensing category for an affiliate real estate broker. The Tennessee
Real Estate Commission (TREC) is the state agency responsible for administering the Act's
licensing provisions. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-13-203(a).

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