Technically, your new realtor can't/shouldn't give you one bit of advice while you have a signed agreement with someone else. You need to get a hold of your old realtor and have her sign a mutual termination agreement.
Ok I wrote the letter to my old realtor and plan on faxing it over today. As Codell mentioned, I need her signature in order to terminate the agreement between me and her. Since she is a friend of my step-mom's, I decided to bend the truth a bit for the reason Im not going to use her. Basically Im not going to tell her that I wanted to work with someone else, but that Im going to wait for a while to find a place. Hope this works out. I think my step-mom is pissed at me or something, and what sucks even more is that my dad is kind of taking her side. How the hell is this my fault?
You're not being up front. Why weasel? There's nothing to be ashamed of. Just tell her the truth - you decided you didn't want to work with her, and you thought you should try and find someone else.
Great...... I faxed her over the letter and this is the response I got: Drew, I got your request. I don’t really understand. After all of my work, you are going to fire me? Cindy Any ideas guys? Im kinda freaking out......
She showed me quite a few condos, but I did all the research. Id say a total of 12 properties. (all in the same general area). FYI - she lives in Katy and was showing me properties in the Galleria I think Im going to come clean, I just feel bad because its my step-mom's friend.
Ah, the guilt trip card. Another reason why realtors should get per hour fees instead of commissions, imo. This lady probably does deserve something for her effort, but Drew shouldn't be stuck using a realtor he doesn't want.
No wonder she is balking. Thats alot of work for her and shes not going to get anything out of it. I'd come clean. If she refuses, then tell her you'll just wait till the buyer's rep expires (if there is an expiration date on it). But if you keep lying to her, and go out and buy a property a few days later, she is going to know about it. Trust me. Of course, you can always just bite the bullet and continue to use her. Or, you can reach a settlement with her and agree to pay her a fixed fee for the work she has done.
Ok, I don't mean to derail your thread Drew. I've asked this before though and never really got a good answer, and it's kind of on the same lines as your topic. If I'm selling my house on the southeast side of town, I plan to use the same realtor that helped me find the house a few years ago. I have a good relationship with him as he has helped many family members sell/buy houses. I'm planning to move to the west side of town, so do I have to use him to help me find a house? Shouldn't I use a realtor that is more familiar with that area of town? I just wanted to see what common practices were on something like this.
This is how I replied: Cindy- I appreciate your work, but I am reconsidering my options at this point. I did not realize that when I signed the buyer’s agreement that it was an exclusive 6-month contract. I was under the impression that it was for that particular unit. At this time I would rather not be under any contractual obligations. Thanks for your cooperation, Drew Thats part of the truth, the other part is brutal..... She empathized with seller ("She is losing money on this deal, you should offer more.") instead of working in my interest. Felt pressured to buy a property. Felt like she didnt want to show me any more properties (impatient) I was doing all the research. Basically, I dont think she should be working with first time home-buyers like me. Im new to all of this..... condo fees, financing, etc.
You're doing the right thing. Realtors understand part of the process is showing properties a person may or may not buy. Always trust your gut instincts. This happened to me as well. We had a realtor. We did all the research and he showed us 10 houses over a 5 month period. Since we were new to the area, we started looking at one particular town. Once we saw the houses, we decided we'd rather live in a more suburban neigborhood. Unfortunately, he was not very fluent in that area. He wasn't bad but just not what we needed. He provided no insight other than unlocking the door. We felt bad because he had already showed us 10 houses but he didn't know the neighboring town really well. I was looking at the map while he was driving. Also, when we did decide to make an offer on one house, he told us we should pay full price even though it had been on the market for months. Finally, we decided we had to dump him. Our new agent knew all the builders, knew the neighborhoods, the schools, lived in the town. Even though we continued to do all the research, she emailed us the listing which was eventually the one we bought. In her email she wrote "This is the one. I know it". She was right. There were 3 offers on the house we wanted. She helped us negotiate the price we needed to pay to get the house without overpaying. In the end, you have to go with the person who you feel most comfortable with and who is looking out for your best interest. Not someone who wants to close the sale.
Thanks RIET. That story made me feel a bit better. Still waiting to hear back from the old realtor..... anxiously....
Some new drama to add to the mix..... So I didnt hear back from my realtor after I faxed her the termination letter last Monday 4/11. On Monday she emails me this: Drew, I found a mortgage company that will lend 100% on non-warrantable condo’s if you have good credit. Do you want the name and number? Cindy Holy WTF!?!?!? What does that mean? Obviously she doesnt understand that I dont want to use her at this point, so I emailed her this: Cindy- Thank you for the offer, but I'm not interested in those financing terms. I am still waiting for a response on the buyers agreement termination letter I faxed to you last week. Please sign and fax it to me at: 713-***-****. Again, since I'm not going to buy for the foreseeable future, I do not want to be in a contract with a Realtor. I hope you understand. Thanks again, Drew I dont think Im ever going to get out of this stupid agreement........
Drewdog, the only bad part about lying to her is ...she'll easily find out once you buy your new place ...then youll have that whole mess to deal with should have just been honest with her up front
I know... It sucks But Im just not good with confrontation..... I just hope she doesnt say anything when I buy something down the road.... If I was totally honest, it would have come off cold and harsh I think.....
not necessarily ..if you are honest with her and then maybe offer her a small fee to compensate her for the work she has done, shed be more quick to release you its bad enough when a realtor doesn't get paid a dime for alot of work....but it makes it worse when someone lies to them ....trust me
I understand. I think I'll see how or if she responds, then maybe offer her some type of comphensation for her time. I dont know whats reasonable..... A hundred bucks or something? I dont have alot of money.
