It’s 9 p.m. on a Friday. Your buyer just walked out of the house they want, and they want the offer in tonight. The listing agent isn’t answering, and nobody has discussed how your brokerage will be paid.
A few years ago, that question rarely slowed an offer down. Today it can shape the offer itself. Florida Realtors and The Florida Bar created two riders for situations like this one, Rider FF and Rider GG, and the Florida Realtors Legal Hotline keeps fielding questions about how to use them.
The confusion makes sense. Both riders deal with buyer’s broker compensation, and both live in the same checkbox section of the contract. But they work completely differently. Rider FF is a credit. Rider GG is a contingency. Attaching the wrong one, or one the deal doesn’t need, can confuse the parties at the exact moment you need everyone aligned.
Knowing that both riders exist is the easy part. The skill agents need is recognizing which problem each one solves, so they can present the right options to a buyer before the offer goes out.
Why Compensation Became Part of the Offer Conversation
Practice changes now require Realtors and MLS participants working with a buyer to sign a written agreement before touring a home. In most cases, that agreement obligates the buyer to compensate their brokerage. The obligation is clear. How it gets paid is a separate question, and the answer often has to be worked out during the offer.
Florida Realtors describes four paths. The buyer can pay their brokerage directly, usually at closing. The buyer can negotiate a credit from the seller inside the purchase contract. The listing broker can sign a separate compensation agreement with the buyer’s broker. Or the seller can sign that separate agreement directly.
The first path barely touches the sales contract. The second is where Rider FF comes in. The last two create a timing problem: if the buyer signs the purchase contract before the compensation agreement is executed, the buyer is committed to the house without knowing whether that agreement will ever be signed. Rider GG was built to close that gap.
One principle sits underneath all four options. Compensation is fully negotiable and not set by law. The riders don’t decide what anyone should pay. They give the parties a structured way to document what they negotiate.
That’s also why this conversation belongs at the buyer consultation, not at 9 p.m. on offer night. A buyer who already understands the four paths can make a quick, informed decision when the moment arrives.
Rider FF: A Credit Negotiated Inside the Contract
Rider FF is titled Credit Related to Buyer’s Broker Compensation. It lets the seller give the buyer a credit, written as a dollar amount, a percentage, or a percentage plus a dollar amount, that the buyer can use to cover some or all of what they owe under their buyer broker agreement.
The most important thing to understand about FF is what it is not. It is not a contingency. It doesn’t create a waiting period or a right to cancel. It’s a negotiated term, much like price, and once both parties sign, it’s simply part of the deal.
That changes how you should present it. To a seller, an FF credit reads as a reduction in net proceeds, the same way a lower price or a closing-cost credit would. Offers that frame the credit inside the seller’s bottom line tend to be easier to evaluate than offers that treat compensation as a separate argument.
Loop in the lender early
Whenever money moves from seller to buyer, the lender needs to know. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA cap “interested party contributions,” meaning what a seller can contribute toward costs normally paid by the buyer. After the NAR settlement, all three confirmed that seller-paid buyer broker compensation that is customary in the local market, and reasonable in amount for FHA, generally doesn’t count against those caps.
That’s reassuring, but it isn’t a blanket rule for every loan or every structure. Before the offer goes out, ask the buyer’s lender how they will treat the credit and how it should appear on the closing disclosure. A two-minute call now can prevent a surprise during underwriting.
If the purchase contract isn’t a Florida Realtors/Florida Bar form, the same language exists as a standalone addendum: Seller Credit Related to Buyer’s Broker Compensation (SCCA-1).
Rider GG: A Contingency With a Clock
Rider GG is titled Seller’s Agreement with Respect to Buyer’s Broker Compensation. It makes the purchase contract contingent on the seller or the seller’s broker signing a separate compensation agreement with the buyer’s broker, on terms acceptable to the buyer.
The rider creates a window to do that. If the parties leave the blank empty, the window is 3 days after the Effective Date. If no agreement is executed by then, the buyer can cancel the contract.
Go back to the Friday-night offer. The buyer doesn’t want to wait for the listing agent to call back, but they also don’t want to commit to the house before compensation is settled. GG lets the offer go in now while giving the buyer a defined way out if the compensation conversation fails.
What GG is not
The most common misunderstanding is treating Rider GG as the compensation agreement itself. It isn’t. GG is a clause in the sales contract, signed by the buyer and the seller. The compensation agreement is a separate document between the buyer’s broker and either the seller or the seller’s broker, which Florida Realtors forms CABB-1 or CASB-1 can document. Because the parties are different, that agreement does not become part of the sales contract once it’s signed.
Treat the window like any other deadline
A contingency only protects the buyer if someone is watching it. Decide on the number of days deliberately instead of leaving it blank, put the deadline on your transaction calendar, and make sure the listing side understands what they are being asked to sign and by when.
If the buyer does decide to cancel, follow the contract’s notice requirements exactly. As we covered in our recent article on deposit disputes, an improper termination notice can turn a clean exit into a deposit dispute.
For contracts that aren’t Florida Realtors/Florida Bar forms, the same language is available as the Buyer’s Broker Compensation Contingency Addendum (BBCCA-1).
Choosing the Right Tool, or None at All
The Legal Hotline’s guidance clears up three habits worth unlearning.
First, neither rider is required. No Florida Realtors form is mandatory, and GG in particular exists for a specific purpose: adding a contingency when no compensation agreement was signed before the offer. Attaching it to every offer by default misses the point.
Second, the two riders would not be used together. They solve different problems, and if an FF credit already covers how the buyer’s broker gets paid, GG has nothing left to do.
Third, if the compensation agreement is already signed before the offer goes out, GG is unnecessary. Adding a contingency for something that already happened doesn’t protect anyone. It only gives the other side a reason to ask what you meant.
In practice, the choice usually follows from one question: where is the money coming from, and has that been agreed yet?
| Situation before the offer | Typical tool |
|---|---|
| Buyer will pay their brokerage directly | Neither rider |
| Buyer wants the seller to contribute through the purchase contract | Rider FF |
| Buyer wants a separate agreement with the seller or listing broker, but it isn’t signed yet | Rider GG |
| A compensation agreement is already signed | Neither rider |
Presenting the Options to Your Buyer
Buyers don’t need the rider names. They need to know which options exist so they can decide how they want to handle compensation. With FF, compensation becomes one more term the seller weighs alongside price and other credits. With GG, the offer moves faster, but part of the deal stays open for a few days.
Your role is to understand each form well enough to present those options accurately, fill them out correctly, and track the deadlines that follow. Questions about what a clause legally means for the buyer belong with a licensed Florida real estate attorney. Knowing where that line sits is part of what makes an agent credible.
The listing agent deserves the same clarity. An offer that arrives with an unexpected rider invites suspicion. A short note identifying the rider and what you’re asking the seller to consider usually keeps the negotiation focused on the deal, not the paperwork.
The Agent Who Knows the Toolbox Writes the Cleaner Offer
Rider FF and Rider GG were created because compensation stopped being a background detail. Each one answers a different question. FF asks whether the seller will help cover what the buyer owes. GG asks whether a separate agreement will be signed in time, and gives the buyer an exit if it isn’t.
When you understand that difference thoroughly, you can present the right option quickly, the listing agent reads your offer with less suspicion, and the paperwork supports the negotiation instead of complicating it.
Ready to Go Deeper?
Knowing what a rider does is one thing. Knowing how it interacts with the rest of the contract, from deadlines to notices to closing, is what lets you use it with confidence. Inside CCC Society, we work through the FR/BAR contracts and riders line by line so you understand every option and its consequences before the offer goes out.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Rider FF and Rider GG?
Rider FF is a seller credit written into the purchase contract to help the buyer cover what they owe their broker. Rider GG is a contingency that depends on the seller or listing broker signing a separate compensation agreement with the buyer’s broker within a set window.
Do I have to use Rider GG with every offer?
No. No Florida Realtors form is required. GG is meant for offers where a compensation agreement hasn’t been signed yet, and the buyer wants the contract to depend on it.
How long does a buyer have under Rider GG?
The parties fill in the number of days. If the blank is left empty, the window is 3 days after the Effective Date. If no compensation agreement is executed by then, the buyer can cancel.
Is Rider GG a compensation agreement?
No. GG is a clause in the sales contract between buyer and seller. The compensation agreement is a separate document between the buyer’s broker and the seller or the seller’s broker, and it does not become part of the sales contract.
Can Rider FF and Rider GG be used together?
They would not be used together. They solve different problems: if an FF credit covers how the buyer’s broker will be paid, there is nothing left for GG to do.
Does a seller credit for buyer’s broker compensation affect the buyer’s loan?
It can. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA have said customary seller-paid buyer broker compensation generally doesn’t count toward their limits on seller contributions, but the buyer’s lender should confirm how a specific credit will be treated before the offer is submitted.
Disclaimer: Content provided by Contract Closed Champagne is for educational purposes only and does not constitute formal legal advice. Always consult a licensed Florida real estate attorney for specific guidance.
