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A friend of mine is trying to sell his home. He had tried selling it himself but couldn't (I think he is asking too much for it). He engaged the services of a real estate agent for a 6 month exclusive listing agreement. Well, about a month later, my friend saw someone that inquired of the property. This person knew about the sale of the house from my friend's friend and not because of the listing with the agent. The potential buyer did not know it was listed with an agent (there is/was no for sale sign on the house).
So, my friend likes the offer and he called his agent and told him that he found someone to buy his house who knew about the house from someone else before it was listed with him. The agent apparently told my friend that because he signed the exclusive listing agreement, that he is still entitled to his commission and that my friend has a duty to tell the agent that someone wants to put an offer on the property. Obviously my friend is a bit upset since the agent didn't really do anything to procure this buyer. The agent isn't backing down at this point and is now a bit hostile according to my friend. This isn't a good working relationship now. Anyway, the listing agreement doesn't appear to be so specific but i guess it can be interpreted as being quite broad during the exclusive listing period to encompass all potential buyers. Does this sound correct? He doesn't want to sell it only to have to deal with a lawsuit later on. Can he wait until the period is over and then sell it on his own?
In North Carolina, our standard agreement is called "Exclusive Right to Sell."
That about covers it.
Our agreement says that the Seller will direct all inquiries to the agent.
Is the agreement an Exclusive Listing agreement, or an Exclusive Sales agreement?
It might be worth reading it for comprehension.
I bet it is an exclusive sales agreement, and Listing is only one of the sales tools mentioned.
In the Texas contracts, there is specific verbiage that says the seller won't negotiate a contract without the agent. The seller must refer all inquiries to the agent. The seller can't sell without the agent. The seller can't rent or lease out the house without the knowledge and help of the agent. Those aren't specific wordings, but those are the points and they're listed in the contract. I'm pretty sure your state's listing agreement has something to that effect as well as that's the only way to spell out what a contract is for and what the duties of the listing agent/broker are.
By the way, the Texas contract also says that the Seller will help facilitate the sale and not hinder the agent's effort to sell it. Sounds like your "friend" needs to read his contract line by line.
My listing contract states that the seller is "To inform Broker of any inquiries (including inquiries from other brokers) or negotiations concerning the sale of the property".
I would suggest reading the listing contract and seeing what it says since every state/contract is slightly different. No legal advice given. Best wishes and good luck.
Out here we have Exclusive Right to Sell, which means that only the agent can sell the property regardless of who brings in the buyer.
We also have Exclusive Agency contracts where the brokerage only gets paid if they procure the buyer. This is used by the limited representation firms.
Your friend also needs to read his contract for a protection period. Many agents have a 6 month protection period in which any buyers that expressed interest in the property during which they had the listing are "protected" for 6 months after. The agent would still be owed their fee. So "holding out" for 5 months while the contract ends and then potentially another 6 months seems like a really bad idea.
He hired an agent and had every intention of pay out their fee. I am constantly stymied that people sign things and don't understand what they sign.
I checked it over. it is an exclusive right to sell for 6 months and then it says that 180 days after the expiration of the agreement "to anyone whom the Seller, Broker or a Buyer's Broker had introduced the property during the terms of the Exclusive Listing, the compensation as indicated above shall be earned by the Broker and payable to the Broker by the Seller..." So it looks like for a year, unless the Broker can bring someone for the listing price my friend is liable to pay the commission on whomever puts an offer on the property and closes on the deal. He isn't happy but it's his fault for entering into such an agreement. Thanks to all!
I checked it over. it is an exclusive right to sell for 6 months and then it says that 180 days after the expiration of the agreement "to anyone whom the Seller, Broker or a Buyer's Broker had introduced the property during the terms of the Exclusive Listing, the compensation as indicated above shall be earned by the Broker and payable to the Broker by the Seller..." So it looks like for a year, unless the Broker can bring someone for the listing price my friend is liable to pay the commission on whomever puts an offer on the property and closes on the deal. He isn't happy but it's his fault for entering into such an agreement. Thanks to all!
The way I read it the broker didn't introduce your friend's buyer to the property and he was introduced before the listing agreement which wasn't during the term of the exclusive listing... Of a course a trip to an attorney is also in order.
Just think how bad it would be for realtors if you could just use the "the buyer didn't find out about the house from the agent's efforts" excuse. The seller could always say that. How do you prove it?
Unless the house has literally had zero marketing I think it would be a pretty hard argument to make.
The way I read it the broker didn't introduce your friend's buyer to the property and he was introduced before the listing agreement which wasn't during the term of the exclusive listing... Of a course a trip to an attorney is also in order.
I agree with this.. the buyer has to be brought within the first 6 months.. the additional 180 days is for the purposes of closing (they often take 30, 60 days.. or longer for a shortsale).
In most contracts, if ANYONE brings a buyer in the 6 months, the listing broker gets paid... period.
What you've spelled out above, seems to be consistent... only if the person is brought in the first 6 months.
A friend of mine is trying to sell his home. He had tried selling it himself but couldn't (I think he is asking too much for it). He engaged the services of a real estate agent for a 6 month exclusive listing agreement. Well, about a month later, my friend saw someone that inquired of the property. This person knew about the sale of the house from my friend's friend and not because of the listing with the agent. The potential buyer did not know it was listed with an agent (there is/was no for sale sign on the house).
So, my friend likes the offer and he called his agent and told him that he found someone to buy his house who knew about the house from someone else before it was listed with him. The agent apparently told my friend that because he signed the exclusive listing agreement, that he is still entitled to his commission and that my friend has a duty to tell the agent that someone wants to put an offer on the property. Obviously my friend is a bit upset since the agent didn't really do anything to procure this buyer. The agent isn't backing down at this point and is now a bit hostile according to my friend. This isn't a good working relationship now. Anyway, the listing agreement doesn't appear to be so specific but i guess it can be interpreted as being quite broad during the exclusive listing period to encompass all potential buyers. Does this sound correct? He doesn't want to sell it only to have to deal with a lawsuit later on. Can he wait until the period is over and then sell it on his own?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jdm2008
The way I read it the broker didn't introduce your friend's buyer to the property and he was introduced before the listing agreement which wasn't during the term of the exclusive listing... Of a course a trip to an attorney is also in order.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sigep739
I agree with this.. the buyer has to be brought within the first 6 months.. the additional 180 days is for the purposes of closing (they often take 30, 60 days.. or longer for a shortsale).
In most contracts, if ANYONE brings a buyer in the 6 months, the listing broker gets paid... period.
What you've spelled out above, seems to be consistent... only if the person is brought in the first 6 months.
It is worth reading the original post closer. The inquiry to the owner was made a month after the Exclusive Right to Sell agreement was made. The inquiry should have been forwarded to the agent.
We also have the opportunity in NC for Sellers to exempt a prospective buyer from the agreement, possibly someone who DID inquire prior to the agreement. That does not appear to be the case here.
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