Realtors, what is fair?

[Papa Deuce]

I found someone on my own to buy my mom's condo. I have no contract with anybody ( meaning a realtor ) for the sale of this condo. The buyer is a friend of my wife. She has been "off and on" working with a realtor for 18 months, casually looking for a place to live. I have no idea what her contract is with her agent, or if she even has a contract.

I know that "I" owe her agent nothing. It is up to her to make sure that lady (agent ) gets paid, or if she gets paid.

But if I use my agent who I just bought a home with to help us complete the sale, what is fair? She didn't do anything with the condo; I just would be using her services to do paperwork on the sale.

The sale price will be 135K.

Since I sold it on my own, I am thinking it will be far cheaper just to have a lawyer handle my end. OTOH, I appreicated the help my agent gave me when buying my mom's new home, and as long as the fees are not too high, I would not be adverse to letting her handle it so she can earn more money.

What is "fair"?

 

[lesroi]

Other Realtors may jump in here with more/better advice, but mine is this:

If your buyer was working with a Realtor for 18 months, I hope to Heaven that Realtor has a Buyer's Agency agreement with your buyer. If not, shame on the Realtor. You have to have the patience of a saint to work with someone for 18 months. (I know, because I have, lol!) That's why I always get agreements signed with "shoppers." I don't want to waste my time just like most hard-working Americans.

You are correct that you owe her agent nothing. It is up to her to take care of her agent in this situation. (Again, that is IF she has a signed agreement.)

If you want your Realtor friend to help you with the paperwork, you can generally negotiate that for a fee. (Depending on what Brokerage they work for, that is... some are more strict than others.) However, if your buyer indeed has an agreement with her Agent, I would probably let her do the paperwork. It's no skin off your nose. Then if you want an Attorney to look over it, it is your choice and your $$.

Hope this helps!

Tracy

 

[jfulcer]

Depending on your situation, you may want to check out some of the for sale by owner boards, like forsalebyowner.com and assisttosell.com. They have services that you can purchase that help with closing/etc without having to pay a realtor a percentage. You could also go the attorney route too, I've had quotes on doing all the paperwork for selling my house from $500-1000.

Good luck!

 

[Papa Deuce]

Other Realtors may jump in here with more/better advice, but mine is this:

If your buyer was working with a Realtor for 18 months, I hope to Heaven that Realtor has a Buyer's Agency agreement with your buyer. If not, shame on the Realtor. You have to have the patience of a saint to work with someone for 18 months. (I know, because I have, lol!) That's why I always get agreements signed with "shoppers." I don't want to waste my time just like most hard-working Americans.

You are correct that you owe her agent nothing. It is up to her to take care of her agent in this situation. (Again, that is IF she has a signed agreement.)

If you want your Realtor friend to help you with the paperwork, you can generally negotiate that for a fee. (Depending on what Brokerage they work for, that is... some are more strict than others.) However, if your buyer indeed has an agreement with her Agent, I would probably let her do the paperwork. It's no skin off your nose. Then if you want an Attorney to look over it, it is your choice and your $$.

Hope this helps!

Tracy

Thanks. I think I would want "someone" to represent me and help with the paperwork.

 

[Papa Deuce]

Depending on your situation, you may want to check out some of the for sale by owner boards, like forsalebyowner.com and assisttosell.com. They have services that you can purchase that help with closing/etc without having to pay a realtor a percentage. You could also go the attorney route too, I've had quotes on doing all the paperwork for selling my house from $500-1000.

Good luck!

That is what I was hoping to hear! I gave my wife those exact numbers when I talked to her earlier today.

 

[momrek06]

Papa...we bought a home last year...there were NO brokers involved at all.

Both parties...DH & I and the lady selling us the home had ATTORNEYS do everything...Here in MA...we did not even go to the closing. They representated us.

I would consult your Attorney...you may not need to involve the Broker that is your friend at all. Just your Attorney.

Good Luck, Papa.

 

[lesroi]

Thanks. I think I would want "someone" to represent me and help with the paperwork.

The service you said you were looking for from your Realtor was paperwork, not representation. I suppose I misunderstood your question.

For representation you are going to want to see your Attorney. If you are looking for a Realtor to help you negotiate with this other Realtor, then you should probably just pay her a commission. 1% wouldn't be out of the question for this service.

Best of luck!

Tracy

 

[Ginamarie]

Yeah, you shouldn't owe anything to the realtors. The buyer will be responsible for paying whatever commission was negotiated in their relationship.

I would consult with an attorney on your end, rather than just a realtor. I agree that it shouldn't cost more than $1000 in attorneys fees (probably more like $500-$700).

Congrats on getting a buyer! The market is so tough right now that I know a lot of people are having a hard time selling their homes.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Well we don't know whether the Realtor is representing the buyer at this point or whether the buyer is merely the Realtor's customer who's been looking at the Realtor's listings. It's kind of immaterial at this point. But I can tell ya if she shows up with Realtor in tow, that Realtor will have an agency agreement with teh buyer whether she had one before or not. You might want to call the buyer and ask if she plans to have that Realtor irepresenting her or not. If not, have your lawyer draw up a contract. If yes, she'll make the offer on the Broker's paper. BUT YOU'LL STILL WANT TO RUN IT BY YOUR ATTORNEY BEFORE YOU SIGN. It's money well spent.

You haven't made any agreement, so you owe no commission at this point. But you also have no contract. So agent's commission is fully negotiable along with any other terms of the contract at this point. Regarless of any prior agreements for the buyer to pay the realtor xyz percent, if the buyer buys a house, the buyer is perfectly within her rights to negotiate that xyz percent be paid out of the proceeds of the sale if she wants too. Of course you're free to accept, or not accept, or counter, and they're free to walk if they so choose. What it's going to come down to is whether you feel the amount worth quibbling over.
If you choose to go ahead and pay, make sure it's no more than a half commission. Talk to 3 realtors in your area. Ask em what commission they charge and offer half that at the maximum if you decide to pay. That's what she'd get if she sold their listings. I see no reason you should offer to pay more than that.
If it were me and the bottom line terms looked good, I'd pay it if the amount of the commission weren't worth quibbling over. But who knows. She might not want the realtor to represent her.

Good luck.

 

[Papa Deuce]

Yeah, you shouldn't owe anything to the realtors. The buyer will be responsible for paying whatever commission was negotiated in their relationship.

I would consult with an attorney on your end, rather than just a realtor. I agree that it shouldn't cost more than $1000 in attorneys fees (probably more like $500-$700).

Congrats on getting a buyer! The market is so tough right now that I know a lot of people are having a hard time selling their homes.[/QUOTE]

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Thanks. We are lucky. We were just about to list it. It was all in the timing, as this woman just took a job near where the condo is. Her commute goes from 45 minutes down to 10 minutes or so. And since she was living in the same apartment for 8 years, a condo will seem similar to her. And the condo is like 100 more SF..... I think she will enjoy it there. It is a nice complex!