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Can a Real Estate Agent Give You a Credit if a Lender Referred You? (Arizona)

Short answer: yes. An Arizona agent can give you, the buyer, a credit at closing no matter who referred you, as long as it is written into your buyer agreement, disclosed to your lender, and shown on your Closing Disclosure. What federal law forbids is the agent and the lender paying each other for the referral. The credit to you is fine; a kickback between the businesses is not.

What the Law Allows and What It Bans

The federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Section 8, bars anyone from giving or taking a fee, kickback or "thing of value" in exchange for referring settlement service business on a home loan. In plain terms:

• Allowed: your lender suggests an agent, or your agent suggests a lender, and nobody is paid for the suggestion.
• Allowed: your agent credits part of their commission to you at closing, disclosed to everyone.
• Not allowed: the agent sharing the commission with the lender for sending you, or the lender paying the agent, covering their marketing, or giving them gifts for sending buyers.

How to Tell the Setup Is Clean

1. The credit is in writing in your buyer agreement, in dollars or as a formula.
2. You can use any lender. If the credit only works with one lender, ask why, and compare that lender's rate and fees with others.
3. Your lender knows about it at preapproval and it appears on your Closing Disclosure.
4. Nothing is paid outside escrow. A check handed to you after closing on a financed purchase is a red flag.

With RebateAZ, the rebate is written into your buyer agreement, you can use any lender, and it is credited through escrow at closing. See Is a Realtor Rebate Legal in Arizona? and how a rebate is paid.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my lender refer me to a rebate agent?

Yes. A referral by itself is fine. What RESPA prohibits is paying for it, in money or anything else of value, between the lender and the agent.

Does my lender have to know about the agent credit?

Yes. On a financed purchase the credit must be disclosed to your lender and shown on your Closing Disclosure, and it counts toward your loan's limit on credits.

Can the agent credit be used for my down payment?

Not on a financed purchase. It can pay closing costs, prepaid items or points. See credit limits by loan type.

Sources (checked November 2026): CFPB, Regulation X 12 CFR 1024.14 (RESPA Section 8).

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