Can I fire my realty agent without penalty?
Posted on January 19th, 2010 by admin
I’m in contract with a realtor to sell my home. The contract expires in 2 months, but I don’t have that much time to wait. Long story short, I am having problems with the realtor and no longer wish to be represented by her… I want to fire her.
My contract verbage is as follows:
"Said listing agreement shall be for a 6 month period. Owner agrees to pay {realty firm’s name} a fee of $$$$ or 5.0% of the selling price of said property"
The contract lists the agency as who I need to pay, it does not list the individual realtor’s name. The only time my realtor’s name appears on the contract is her signature.
My question is, am I permitted by this contract to request another agent from the same agency to represent me without penaly?
Yes.
Technically, as you’ve noticed, your contract is really with the brokerage, not with the individual broker. It’s usually a pretty simple matter to change agents within a brokerage. As a courtesy, inform your current broker. However, you should contact the managing broker and explain the situation. Without being confrontational, explain those things you’re looking for in an agent, and why the first one (who might or might not be good with other properties or other clients) didn’t suit your needs. Work with the managing broker to identify an agent who should better be able to serve your needs.
One other thing: In the future, try for a 3 month listing agreement. Realtors like 6 months, but that’s a long time to be stuck with an agent or brokerage that isn’t working for you. What I’ve done (before I became a Realtor) is said: "Look. I’d like a 3 month agreement. Hopefully, you’ll sell the property in that period. However, if I can see that you’re doing a good job, I’ll be glad to extend my agreement."
Also, check to see what other agents are charging as commissions where you are. All commissions are negotiable. However, in some areas 5% is a bit on the low side. Since the commission gets split betweeen the listing and selling agent, the thing you want to make sure of is that the agent who sells your property gets whatever is customary in your area. Hypothetically, for instance, if the average commission is 6%, then that would be split 3%/3%. If my agent were only charging me 5%, I’d want to make sure that the selling agent would receive the customary 3%, so the split would be 2%/3%. That’s just something to look into.
Good luck.
January 19th, 2010 at 11:12 pm
Yes, you can request representation by another agent, and still be within the bounds of the contract quote that you gave above.
References :
January 19th, 2010 at 11:44 pm
Yes.
Technically, as you’ve noticed, your contract is really with the brokerage, not with the individual broker. It’s usually a pretty simple matter to change agents within a brokerage. As a courtesy, inform your current broker. However, you should contact the managing broker and explain the situation. Without being confrontational, explain those things you’re looking for in an agent, and why the first one (who might or might not be good with other properties or other clients) didn’t suit your needs. Work with the managing broker to identify an agent who should better be able to serve your needs.
One other thing: In the future, try for a 3 month listing agreement. Realtors like 6 months, but that’s a long time to be stuck with an agent or brokerage that isn’t working for you. What I’ve done (before I became a Realtor) is said: "Look. I’d like a 3 month agreement. Hopefully, you’ll sell the property in that period. However, if I can see that you’re doing a good job, I’ll be glad to extend my agreement."
Also, check to see what other agents are charging as commissions where you are. All commissions are negotiable. However, in some areas 5% is a bit on the low side. Since the commission gets split betweeen the listing and selling agent, the thing you want to make sure of is that the agent who sells your property gets whatever is customary in your area. Hypothetically, for instance, if the average commission is 6%, then that would be split 3%/3%. If my agent were only charging me 5%, I’d want to make sure that the selling agent would receive the customary 3%, so the split would be 2%/3%. That’s just something to look into.
Good luck.
References :
January 20th, 2010 at 12:08 am
Yes, just call the broker and ask for another agent. Your contract is never with the agent, they are just sales people, but with the broker. It will have no effect on your contract, I highly recommend dumping the duds, most of them are.
References :