1:
I don’t know the legality of it but that is a normal practice.
Recently, I had to secure special permission from the seller (my client) to show their side to the buyer.
I had no problem showing it but the buyer’s agent did not want his client to see his commission.
Weird.
2:
Most escrows these days (though certainly not all of them) are owned by title insurance firms.
That means their fees and practices have to be posted with the insurance commissioner (or so I am told).
As far as the buyer agent commission, that is technically not your right. If your agent wants to show you his commission authorization then he can but the HUD shows a financial arrangement between seller and buyer’s broker. If you pay him, then you get to see it.
That is why a buyer agent needs seller permission to give a buyer rebate through escrow.
Its technically the seller’s money and only he has rights to say what happens with it (and who is privy to that info).
As a practice, I find it best to show the client ANY info they want.
