Hi, I'm a realtor here with an active real estate license in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In most cases, you as buyer, do not pay your realtor's commission. How it works is, the seller pays commission to listing agent, then the listing agent splits (it is not always 50-50) it with your realtor. However, if you decide to buy a "for sale by owner" and the seller refuses to pay your agent's fee, you may or may not be responsible to cover the fee yourself. Always give your realtor the chance to approach the FSBO and negotiate his/her own commission. Do not go behind his/her back to try to cut his/her out of the deal because there is a clause in the buyer agency agreement (if you had one executed) that protects realtors from this type of thing.