Florida homebuyers sue Compass over $475 transaction fee

Homebuyers in Florida have filed a lawsuit against Compass challenging a transaction fee the brokerage charged them upon the close of their August 2024 home purchase. 

Filed on Tuesday in Palm Beach County, Florida circuit court by plaintiffs Jeff and Melissa Efron, the suit accused Compass of “unfair and deceptive business practices” for allegedly uniformly charging “an undisclosed flat-fee to all Florida purchasing clients.” The plaintiffs allegedly paid Compass $475 when their transaction closed. The Efrons claim that the brokerage told them “that as the agents of the buyers, their efforts would be paid from the commission paid by sellers.”

The plaintiffs go on to claim that the transaction fee they paid violates the Florida Consumer Collections Practices Act and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act because it is “unreasonable, illegitimate, excessive … or were for services which were not performed.” 

In addition, the plaintiffs claim that the purchase contract they signed during their transaction was the standard purchase and sale agreement approved by Florida Realtors and the Florida Bar that had then been amended to include “additional terms.” They argue that “the modification of a contract approved by the Florida Bar by a non-lawyer is the illegal practice of law.” 

The complaint goes on to claim that through these acts, Compass is “scamming Floridians and is engaged in the unauthorized practice of law without a license.”

The plaintiffs are seeking damages in excess of $15,000 and they are seeking class action status for the suit, which would include all buyers who paid such a fee to Compass Florida between June 2022 and June of 2026. 

Compass addressed the transaction fees it charges consumers in the firm’s Q1 2026 earnings report, in which Compass acknowledged them as a revenue stream, however the company did not disclose how much these fees were. Compass expanded these fees nationwide earlier this year, prior to this, they only applied in certain markets, including Florida.

“We primarily generate revenue from our owned-brokerage business when we collect a share of the gross sales commissions that these real estate professionals earn from home sales and certain other fees, such as flat transaction commission fees,” the earnings report states. 

Compass did not immediately return HousingWire’s request for comment. 

The fees and closing costs consumers pay real estate professionals through home sale transactions have come under increased scrutiny in recent years through the commission lawsuits, as well as the examination of referral fees by regulators and pressure on title firms to lower the cost of title insurance.