Home Selling Details
A. If you signed an Exclusive Right to Sell agreement, you must pay a commission to the real estate agency, even if you find the buyer. If you signed an Exclusive Agency agreement or an Open Listing, you have the right to sell the property yourself without paying a commission.
If you know you have a potential buyer before you sign a listing agreement, you can ask the agency to exclude him from the agreement. If an excluded buyer makes an acceptable offer, you don't owe a commission, no matter what type of listing you signed.
The agency will probably not agree to exclude the buyer for the full term of the listing, but might agree to a short exclusion to allow him time to make a decision. It doesn't hurt to ask!
Read more details about Different Types of Listing Agreements