Realtor Question
 

Have 2 houses for sale and the brokers really are not doing such a great job.

So house 1, the listing was expiring 2 weeks ago. Broker calls on next to last day, she has someone that has seen the house before and wants to come back for another look. So we extend listing for 10 days to allow her to bring prospect by.

Get an email from broker last week. Prospect has a death in the family to deal with and had an issue with a weeping wall in the basement. She does not ask for another extension.

I get home from business trip on Saturday and the brokers sign has been removed from my front yard.

Prospect stops by the house yesterday asking if it's still for sale? He saw the sign missing and thought we sold it.

He is still interested.

Contract says that original broker still gets paid if someone she brought by buys the place within 180 days of expiration of contract unless I relist with another broker.

What are my options? If any?

Get the old broker involved, sell the house.

If it's past 180 days and you're under no obligation, why not simply do it as a FSBO?

More money in your pocket.

If the broker was the one who originally showed the house to your prospect, during the contract period, you owe the broker a commission (assuming this prospect purchases). As mentioned above, I would bring the old broker in just to keep things civil. Lawyers will charge you more than the broker's commission.

It's only been two weeks since expiration.

Ahh, okay then. In that case I'd say bring the broker back in, as has been said.

Or you can wait 6 months and save yourself a few grand. . .

If you think the market sucks now, just wait six months (not to mention, this property is on Long Island NY and six months is the middle of winter) :eek:

Good point - better off eating the commission now then waiting - from a seller's perspective.

I have to wonder why the buyer is so eager, given the same factors though. . .

Exactly.

My problem with original broker is that she did nothing to earn her full commision.

Fair is fair, if I thought she really hustled and made the sale I'd be more than happy to give her every penny she was due.

During one open house a friend of my wifes stopped by to drop something off.

Front door was open, she rang the bell for 5 minutes before going around back to find the broker sitting in a lawn chair listening to her iPod and catching some rays.

My wife and I brought more people in to look than the broker did.

For perspective we are talking about $20k

You should have fired the broker for non-performance as soon as you realized she was a slouch. Now you're "married" to her, so to speak, as long as this buyer is viable.

Do they ever?

Have a sit-down with the broker. See if you can negotiate a reduced commission to move the property, with this buyer only, and offer the discount to the buyer. Explain that you will list elsewhere, and 1/2 of something is better than nothing at all. In this market, everyone needs to work together to close deals.

I'd give this a try, then fall back to full commission if it doesn't work out.

None that I've ever dealt with. When we were looking at houses, we spent the first 30 minutes of every appointment sitting their while the realtor did an MLS search.

We essentially paid a realtor $6k to do some Google searches and drive us around town. :rolleyes:

This is a good idea. Comissions are negotiable and probably should be in this situation.

You should have fired the broker if you were unhappy. I don't know why anyone puts up with poor service in such a competitive industry.

or... list with a flat fee company. Do not offer a co-broke initially and you have met the intent of the contract.

Uh, were do you think the realtors find their listings? Unless they know someone who is about ready to list and haven't yet, they sell the MLS inventory.

Technically, the seller paid for your agent. I would love to see the buyer have to pay for their agent's fee.

Absolutely incorrect. Real estate agents on each side generally get 3% per side. I do not know a single lawyer getting paid 3% to review real estate documents (and I know a lot of real estate attorneys).

No, that's not what I meant. Read: Lawyers fighting over the breach of contract will run up the bill to exceed the amount of the commission. So, it will be cheaper for him to pay the agent her commission vs. hiring a lawyer and duking it out in court.

Like the supposed "competing offer"? Get the buyers to bid more if you know they like the house and can afford it. everyone but the buyer wins.

I see your point Danny. My apologies for my misinterpretation. :D