I want to use a new realtor, but signed a buyer's agreement with my old realtor when I made an offer on a condo, then decided to back out. How the hell do I use a new realtor now? Any help is appreciated.
have you talked with the realtor and told them you would like to cancel your agreement? if you don't do it right, your new agent will end up getting screwed ....so dont hire a new agent before you have a written termination signed by both parties
Its my step-mom's friend and I basically told her that I was going to hold off for a while and reconsider my options. I started using a new agent, but didnt realize the litigious situation I had gotten myself into. Its my understanding that I have to write her a letter terminating the contract, then I can work with my new realtor. I just wanted to get clarification if that was right.
Not necessarily. Its not as simple as just telling your realtor they are fired. You have a written agreement of representation with her. Unless she added an "out" addendum, whereas both parties have carte blanche to terminate the agreement, then you need to have a seperate termination agreement written up and signed by both. Since this is sort of a family friend, I would doubt that she would hold you to the agreement and would more than likely allow for a mutual termination of the buyer rep. But be up front and honest with them. Just tell them you didn't "click" or something like that and would rather work with someone else. In short, you are in a very litigious situation since you are already working with another realtor. Does your new realtor know that you have a signed buyer's rep agreement with another realtor? If not, then you need to let them know ASAP. Most realtors won't touch a client that already has an active buyer rep agreement with another realtor. Worst case scenario, if you buy a house with this new realtor without goinging through the proper channels to terminate your old buyer's rep agreement, then your old realtor can sue (and win) the commission your new realtor earns on your house.
btw ..here is the website for ABRs and explains Buyer's Representation: http://www.rebac.net/Home.aspx
Thanks for the great info! I informed my new realtor after she had shown me 1 property and she said that legally she could not show me others until I was out of the contract I signed with my former realtor. I really dont think she would make that much fuss about it since I was looking below $100,000, and the comission wouldnt be worth a legal battle. Regardless, I need to get out of that contract in order to start looking with this new realtor. Hopefully a letter will suffice, and I dont think she will have a problem signing and returning it. Its weird because Im sure this happens alot. People not wanting to work with a realtor because of differences....... You would think it wouldnt be so complex.
Next time you sign with a realtor, make sure there's a clause that allows you to terminate the contract (I believe it's common for these clauses to exist). -- droxford
Why even sign with a realtor? Ive had 3 realtors. The one that asked me to sign an exclusive agreement was the one we liked the least and ended up firing. The other 2 knew we were serious and were confident in their abilities. They knew as long as they provided the best service, we woud stick with them.
I had to because I made an offer on a condo, and had to have representation when I bought the thing. I backed out of the deal because of bad vibes from the seller and bad vibes from my realtor (who was pressuring me to buy something so she wouldnt have to show me any more properties). At least thats my theory.
Protection for both the realtor and the buyer. By signing a buyer rep, the buyer has the protection that the realtor will work for them, and them only (i.e. won't work both sides of the deal). The realtor has the protection that they won't get screwed at the last moment by a buyer that tries to cut them out of a deal where the realtor found them the house.
I can't imagine any ethical realtor would work both sides of the deal just because someone didn't sign an agreement. And if they did, they'd probably still do it even if an agreement was signed. There's an inherent understanding of good faith when you're working with a realtor. To avoid all the BS, I'd tell the realtor that until an offer is made, I refuse to sign a buyer exclusive agreement and if that precludes them from exclusively representing me as a buyer, then I'd have to move on. Unless they come over and cook and clean, 6 months in bad relationship is way too long, especially if it's the biggest purchase you'll ever make.
The problem is, many realtors are unethical. And if a buyer doesn't have signed representation, then technically, his realtor can work for whoever they want, including the seller. It happens more often than you might think. Not necessarily. Especially if you decide to work with the seller's realtor, which happens all the time. And where's the realtor's written protection to prevent you from not signing that agreement once you decide to make an offer? Thats the point for realtors. They want the protection that if you make an offer on a house that they find you, they will be compensated. No signed agreement means there is nothing to prevent you from cutting them out of the deal at the last moment. Any realtor who works with someone without that agreement is risking losing days, weeks and months worth of work. A good realtor will add an "out" addendum to give both parties the ability to terminate the relationship, regardless of whether the 6 months has passed or not. My wife always does this just in case there is a personality conflict or whatnot. She never wants to force someone to work with her if they don't like her style or personality. But on the same hand, she wants protection so she doesn't get screwed.
Why do you need an agent to show you houses? This person will be paid $10,000 just for driving you around. If you buy without an agent/broker, you could probably negotiate a better price with the seller.
Great info Codell. This has definitely been a learning experience for me...... Still havent heard from my new realtor on what I need to do...... Hope she hasnt blown me off.....
If she has, there's always someone else - probably hundreds of people who want to represent you. This is one of those industries where the client has almost all the leverage.
I can't speak for buying existing homes, but when buying a new home, it would probably be flat out dumb not to use a realtor. Case in point : I called up a builder and told them I'm willing to sign a contract within the month to build a new home for a floor plan I was interested in. I told them they'd have to come down on their price or throw in incentives. They came up with something like $3000 in upgrades and $5000 off if I built in their "Phase II". I never could get them to budge off of that figure. I got a real estate agent to talk to them. In the end, I ended up getting something like $15000 - $20000 in discounts and upgrades. And in the case of a new home, the cost of the agent is built into the price of the house - you don't pay them. No way in hell do I go out looking for a new home without an agent. The builder has doesn't have much of an incentive to give you a discount. The builder has a lot of incentive to give a real estate agent's client a discount because the realtor can bring in more potential sales whereas you're pretty much the only sale you'll bring in.
