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I saw a house for sale on Zillow . I asked an Agent I know to show me the house . I made an offer through this agent . The listing agent then presented the offer to the owner . It was 38k below the asking price . The owner refused . He counter offered taking 5k off the asking price . One month later the owner reduced the asking price 15k . Now one month after that he has let the contract with the listing agent expire and is selling the house on his own . He has reduced the asking price another 15k . So it is now 30k below the original asking price . We could agree on 35 below the original asking price ... BUT the original listing agent says she , and the agent I had show me the house ,are entitled to a full comission if we sign a deal within two months of the expiration of the seller's contract ,because I made an offer that she presented . I feel that neither the agent I used nor the seller's agent tried hard enough to get the owner to accept what I felt was a fair price . The owner of the property feels that not enough people were brought to look at the house and the only two offers received were too low (considering he had to pay a comission) . My question is : Are either of these Real Estate Agents entitled to any money if I buy this house from the owner ? This is in NJ and both agents work for major agencies . Thanks for your help !
I saw a house for sale on Zillow . I asked an Agent I know to show me the house . I made an offer through this agent . The listing agent then presented the offer to the owner . It was 38k below the asking price . The owner refused . He counter offered taking 5k off the asking price . One month later the owner reduced the asking price 15k . Now one month after that he has let the contract with the listing agent expire and is selling the house on his own . He has reduced the asking price another 15k . So it is now 30k below the original asking price . We could agree on 35 below the original asking price ... BUT the original listing agent says she , and the agent I had show me the house ,are entitled to a full comission if we sign a deal within two months of the expiration of the seller's contract ,because I made an offer that she presented . I feel that neither the agent I used nor the seller's agent tried hard enough to get the owner to accept what I felt was a fair price . The owner of the property feels that not enough people were brought to look at the house and the only two offers received were too low (considering he had to pay a comission) . My question is : Are either of these Real Estate Agents entitled to any money if I buy this house from the owner ? This is in NJ and both agents work for major agencies . Thanks for your help !
Did you sign an agreement with the agent who presented your offer? If you did, read the agency papers you signed when you made your offer and you will find whether your agent would be owed a commission.
If the Seller reads the listing agreement, Seller will find whether Listing agent would be owed a commission.
If it doesn't guarantee the Seller a specified number of showings, or a specified number of offers at a specified minimum price, then showings and offers are irrelevant.
This is a clear case of procuring cause - and this time I'd have to agree with the agents involved. If the seller was unhappy with the listing agent he should have addressed that prior to receiving 2 offers. The agents did their jobs. What, I wonder makes you think the respective agents didn't do "enough" to get the owner to accept? I strongly suggest to EVERYONE entering into ANY business transaction to know what your agreements say - and ASK questions up front. TOO many buyers and sellers walk into the largest investment of their life with out reading the fine print and asking sometimes sensitive questions. Good luck - and I'll be looking forward to hearing how this works out.
I don't know about in New Jersey, but here, both the buyer's rep and the listing agreement have protection clauses that specify a certain number of days after they expire that the agents are still owed a commission on houses that they brought to the attention of the buyer or for a buyer that saw the house during the listing agreement, under certain conditions, one of which is that the listing agent give the names of the parties that have seen the house due to their actions to the seller. In this case, I'd think bringing a contract from a buyer would qualify as notifying the seller of that party's name. The number of days after the listing agreement expires varies, anywhere from 30 to 90, usually. See what yours says.
I really don't see where it was "the agents' fault" that the home didn't sell. It's obvious that the seller was overpriced. He's now dropped his price $30k in order to get a buyer. You're now willing to offer $3k more than your original offer. All that's happening here is that the seller doesn't want to sell his house at market value (what buyers like you evidentally feel it's worth) if he has to pay a commission. As others have said, the seller needs to read his listing agreement, and you need to read your buyers broker agreement if you signed one. That should pretty much spell out what's owed to the agents.
I saw a house for sale on Zillow . I asked an Agent I know to show me the house . I made an offer through this agent . The listing agent then presented the offer to the owner . It was 38k below the asking price . The owner refused . He counter offered taking 5k off the asking price . One month later the owner reduced the asking price 15k . Now one month after that he has let the contract with the listing agent expire and is selling the house on his own . He has reduced the asking price another 15k . So it is now 30k below the original asking price . We could agree on 35 below the original asking price ... BUT the original listing agent says she , and the agent I had show me the house ,are entitled to a full comission if we sign a deal within two months of the expiration of the seller's contract ,because I made an offer that she presented . I feel that neither the agent I used nor the seller's agent tried hard enough to get the owner to accept what I felt was a fair price . The owner of the property feels that not enough people were brought to look at the house and the only two offers received were too low (considering he had to pay a comission) . My question is : Are either of these Real Estate Agents entitled to any money if I buy this house from the owner ? This is in NJ and both agents work for major agencies . Thanks for your help !
Chances are, the sellers listing agreement had a protection period built in. What it said is something to the effect of, "If this house is sold to someone who saw it while it was listed with us, within a certain period of time after the listing expires, then we shall be due the full commission."
The fact of the matter is, the listing agent did his job by getting offers made. The seller refused those offers. So now the seller acknowledges that his price was too high, and is willing to sell it for less, and wants to cut the listing agent out. That's just not right, nor is it in keeping with the agreement he signed. Is this the buyers fault? No, of course it's not. the buyer made an offer, and wasn't willing to go higher.
Now, if I were the buyer, or the potential buyer, I would make the offer of what you are willing to pay for the house, and not worry much about where that money would be going. If you manage to buy the house, then the seller has an obligation to pay their listing broker, but that's not for you to worry about. (I'm not sure if that sellers broker would be obligated to pay your agent, if you didn't actually use their services from this point forward. That's an interesting question I'll have to ask people about.)
As to your agent; Did you sign a buyers agency agreement? If so, look at how you agreed to pay them. Ddid they agree to take whatever co op is offered by the seller or sellers broker? Or did you agree to pay them a certain fee? Did you discuss the possibility of buying from an unrepresented buyer, or where the offered co op was too low?
Based on the info you provided, both agents would be due a commission if you buy that house. The details will be in agency agreements which I don't have access to.
Sounds like you need to read closely both agreements. How do the agents even know about your current interest, unless you called them. Why would are you now concerned about the commissions? Seller is one to decide and incur the fees, and timing is everything when offers are made, and evidently the seller tried to sustain their asking price, but finally decided to adjust. If its the house you want, then do not worry about the fees, and let the seller decide on paying. You said you found it on Zillow, and the listing agent did their job, as estimates say about 75 to 80% all start on the net. Good luck, and get your good deal.
I feel that neither the agent I used nor the seller's agent tried hard enough to get the owner to accept what I felt was a fair price . The owner of the property feels that not enough people were brought to look at the house and the only two offers received were too low
Feelings don't matter, not at all. Judges don't ask how people feel, they want to know what the agreements were, if they were in writing, and what they say. Then, did everyone do what was agreed.
Read your buyer rep agreement and see what you agreed to and ignore what you feel. Same with the seller.
Sounds like you and the seller simply want to cut the agents out of the deal and are looking for justification to do so.
Good luck.
Steve
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