Well, the fact that you made a counteroffer has nothing to do with you
agreeing with a contract provision that says you should pay the broker.

We are talking about two different things. The FIRST t item we are
talking about is the final price of your house. They made an offer, you
made a counteroffer. They can accept, or reject, or make another offer.

The SECOND thing we are talking about is one of the sub-issues of the
overall contract. That issue is one of which who pays the broker. There
is no law that says you have to pay THEIR broker. You can choose to enter
into a contract whereby you DO contract to pay their broker, but you don't
have to, and should not do it , as the broker has no allegiance to you and
you did not hire him. BTW, the fact that you made a counter-offer is not
indicative that you hired the broker. You simply presented a counteroffer,
transmitted to the agent of the potential buyer , the broker. You did
not HIRE the broker, as he has already been hired by the potential buyer.
The broker acts as a conduit for the person who hired him, in this case the
potential buyer. You made your counteroffer and communicated it to the
potential buyer by going through HIS broker.

The negotiations should continue until you **think** you have the
contract the way you want it. But **before** you sign it, I would also
recommend that you have it reviewed by a competent real estate attorney in
you area. It is possible there are other cost items in the contract that
are assessed to you (by custom, not by law) that should not be your
burden. Only your attorney would know these details and customs. He might
charge $150-200 for the review, but it would give you peace of mind and also
might well save you even more money.

Good Luck !!

--James--