closing with no realtor fees
 

OK, getting closer to buying a house and found one that we are very close to working a deal as long as we don't use realtor fees. (yes, all the inspections, title searches etc will be done). I just have always used a realtor and make one call and everything is done and I just show up at closing.. lol.

Referencing this thread http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1087390-been-trying-buy-house-ugh.html

Has anyone bought/sold/closed on a house without using a realtor? I will be getting a real estate attorney to handle the legal stuff but just wondering if there are any gotchas I need to be aware of?

I have done it three times. We have escrow here to be the referee. The handle all the legal like title and so on. No lawyer needed out here in CA. We agree with a said price and fill out the form at the escrow company and done after 30 days.

Yes. Last summer we bought the 140 acre parcel north of our 1/4 section from our neighbors.

The deal got complicated because they had to do a boundary adjustment on the 20 acre parcel they had previously subdivided out because their water well wound up 10’ into the 140 acre parcel.

We used the same lawyer and we merely adjusted the transaction date (about 4 times) as the county and the surveyors and the utilities drug things out needlessly.

In the end, both parties were happy with the handshake deal made at our kitchen table.

I think the key was using the same lawyer, which prevents eith party from using that lawyer to sue the other party. This kept everything honest and moving forward in everyone’s best interest.

We have no regrets in a deal like this.

I've bought & sold without realtors. Sold twice, bought once.
Wrote my own Purchase & Sale Agreement, brought it to the Title company once we all signed.

That being said, I've been through enough real estate transactions that I know what it needs to contain, and I'm familiar with the jargon.

Edit: Forgot about an airplane hangar I sold myself. That's three times.
All of these transactions were done on very friendly terms. Nice handshake deal where everyone is happy.
If there is ever the slightest hint of an "us vs. them" attitude, I'm not writing a deal.

Marc...as long as you have a real estate attorney, there is no need for a realtor. You’ve already done the realtors job.

Real Estate Agents don't do much in the way of closing. The closing agent (aka attorney) handles that.

Another option - contact a local title company - they will/can do all the paperwork required. Have does FSBO twice - and title company did closing both times.

Edit- didn't see Dantilla's comments prior to my post.

This. Lawyers for the contract if you aren't comfortable doing them and Title companies do the rest of the work. Like prorating taxes, utilities, assuring clear title etc.
Most sales forms are now standardized so even those are fairly easy.

Not quite a complete question.

(Assuming one or both of you has a realtor that assisted in finding / marketing the house because otherwise no need to ask)

Whose realtor is getting stiffed?

If they want to stiff theirs that's fine. Their problem if the realtor pops up at closing looking for their cut.

What will happen is the seller and realtor will leave the room, there will be lots of loud heated discussion and after some time they will return with the realtor smiling and the seller pissed.

Ask me how I know.

Was not my problem so I rather enjoyed the whole thing mostly because I got a deal when the seller thought they could short the realtor to meet my offer.

Do realtors lift a finger without a signed agreement to represent the buyer or seller, which states the realtor gets paid no matter what, if the buyer/seller completes a deal within the next year? I might do it for a friend, but I'd not make a phone call for a stranger without something like that signed.

Once a realtor is involved, it is very unethical to try to cut them out.

Though I have done a few transactions on my own, I have done far more using a good realtor.
In the early 2000s, I flipped a few fixer-uppers, and I made far more by using my realtor than buying/selling myself.
She knew the market far better than I. She actually talked me out of more houses than we bought. Her advice was worth far more than her commission, and she wanted to keep me happy, because she gets her commission on both ends- When I buy, and once ready to sell, I will list it with her.
We had fun, and both made good money.
I was sad when she moved away to be closer to family.

If buyer and seller meet with no realtor, most title companies will have a "For Sale by Owner" packet ready to go.
Fill in the blanks, sign it, and the title company takes it from there.

The title officer will make it clear that they are NOT an attorney, and cannot give legal advice.
They will help with the paperwork, but any questions about how to structure a deal, and their lips will seal up tight.

realtors have good lobbies, so state law usually requires you to not cut them out or else

but that's only if one was involved before and sounds like OP was able to avoid that

I agree with this.. to a point. I have one that I reached out to and has been sending me the MLS listings daily. (automatic emails). I picked out 4 houses and he came by one day and we spent @ 2 hours looking at them and then I bid on one of them and lost it. When I bid on that one, he required me to sign an exclusive contract with him for 6 months. The house I am working to buy now is a friend of a friends and is not listed for sale so he has no agent obviously. My agent has not been involved with this at all in any way. I found it on my own and all of the negotiating, etc, has been with the owner and myself. The pending deal we came up with, will only work if there are no realtor fees.

So, yes, ethical dilemma, but I really don't feel like he is owed anything? Am I wrong here?

I have decided that if I do go this route, that I will gift him something for his time he has spent with me.

No!
Never!
Not gonna happen!

Lousy realtor tried this recently with my daughter & son-in-law (who just graduated from law school and passed the bar exam).
He was the listing agent for a house that interested them, so he shoved an agreement in front of them that he was their agent for any purchase in the county for the next six months.

Absolutely not!

If they bought that house, he gets the commission, Otherwise, they part ways.

In this case, the deal was goofy from the start, lots of unanswered questions, failed promises, and eventually their lender threw up their hands and said they would not lend on that property. killing it once and for all.
That realtor got in hot water with his broker, and may not be a realtor for much longer. 'Nuff said bout that.

They found another (better) house, and closed quickly, everything falling into place as it should.

ANY realtor that tries to "claim" you as a client is a lousy realtor, in my opinion.
Be a good realtor, and people you've treated well will call again.

I would not gift him anything.

Do not advertise that you bought something.

The time he spent with you was his bet that he would
find you something.

You don’t feel like you owe him anything, (and i agree with you) but our opinion is not the only one that matters and that could turn out to matter more than you may think.

Best reread your agreement carefully.

Does the contract stipulate 'any' house you purchase, or does it refer to any house he finds for you? The wording here matters. And my guess is the wording is in his favor. Or maybe he's the only realtor you can use, in which case you are probably fine.

Does he deserve anything? No. But that's not the root of the issue, you may be legally obligated to pay him.

I doubt the contract applies to you finding a fisbo and purchasing it yourself, just prohibits you from working with another relator, but I d read it carefully


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In at least some states if you haven't spoken with your agent for a certain length of time (sometimes no more than a few-to-several days) you can claim Abandonment and terminate your contract on that basis. I think it's often employed as a weasely tactic, but like so many other loopholes the person taking advantage of it didn't create it.

Another tack is to simply be honest with your agent. Tell him you want to go another direction and won't be using him for this transaction, even if it means waiting until your contractual agreement (remember that?) has expired. I'd venture that most agents would rather walk away from certain people than to work with what amounts to a hostile client. Further, it is the rare agent indeed who wants to be known as the guy who sues his client so, again, almost all will be willing to cut ties.

Like everything else in life, agreement or no agreement, contract or no contract, it boils down to one thing: doing the right thing.

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In this case, the right thing would have been for the realtor to have not slid in an exclusive 6 month clause.

And he agent probably brought his personal version of Luka Braci to the meeting where the contract was read and signed ... just to make sure everyone understood the deal, right?

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