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Advice needed re: switching realtors
DH and I were house hunting last summer and explained to the realtor that we had a deadline. I was eight months pregnant at the time, so we wanted to either have an accepted offer or renew our lease by the time the lease was up. We assured her that if we weren't able to get into a house before the end of our lease, we would certainly use her again in a few months to resume our search and she seemed perfectly okay with this. At first, she was great and very dedicated. She asked us to sign a buyer's contract with her, acting very nonchalant and saying it was mostly for a real estate class she was taking. Since things were going well and we had every intention of buying a house with her help, we signed it.
Well. Long story short, we were waiting on a short sale but had heard nothing from the bank. Other offers had fallen through, so we had to make the decision to sign a lease. She became very pushy and unprofessional toward the end, said some very rude things, and even continually pushed us to consider a house that she was the listing agent for (even though we'd repeatedly said we weren't interested in the house after viewing it). DH and I will certainly NOT be using her again after the difficulties we had in the end with her.
My dilemma is that I don't know how long the buyer's agreement was for and I don't have a copy of the contract (next time, I will certainly ask for a copy of everything I sign - lesson learned). Would you attempt to contact her directly to ask? Try to figure out how to contact the broker and ask them? The problem is that the contract was related to her class, not to the real estate company so I'm not sure they can help. I really don't want any contact with her, but I also don't want to run into legal problems if we go with another realtor.
Sorry for such a long post! Any advice? What would you do?
Re: Advice needed re: switching realtors
"mostly for a real estate class she was taking"
Huh? So, was it a pretend contract? Did the contract actually have anything to do with her employer? Did ithave their name and corporate logo on it? That's weird.
Typically, the longest contract we've seen as sellers is 6 months. We'd never sign a buyer's contract - there are so many agents out there that don't make you sign one as a buyer (at least in our area) that still work for really good companies that have national recognition.
It would seem to me that you should be fine moving forward with another agent. But, if you have doubts, I'd call her agency and speak with a sales manager or the broker.
Bummer Hun! I would ask for a copy of the contract, you should have gotten it anyway. Just call her and tell her you are getting all of your paper work together. And then contact another agent and have them take a look at it.
Next time sign a brokers agreement, that's what we had with our agent while looking at houses until we started to bid on a house. Then we signed the buyer's agreement.
I'm so very sorry for the experience you have had with your Realtor.
Even though she said 'it was for a class', the Broker-Buyer Agreement is between you and her/her broker. Not for a class (she may have brought it as an example or for discussion but it is between you and the broker).
Also, a copy is due to you after signing. You can call and ask her to forward a copy, you can also ask when it expires. If you signed last summer, it is probably expired but you want to make sure.
Again, I am so sorry about all the difficulties you have had. You deserve better and there are numerous Realtors out there who will do a great job for you!
Good luck!
Lighthouse State Beach, Santa Cruz.
I'll probably get flamed for this, but how would she seriously know if you start working with another REA, especially if it's a different agency?
There's really no way she can find this out or verify it, is there?
Besides, all bets are off when your agent starts being an.***.
I would imagine the contract is 6 months.
Sorry about the bad agent. She sounds awful.
I am a real estate agent in Chicago and things might work differently here, but in my market you would not really need to worry about the agreement you signed. Most likely it has already expired. If it has not, any potential issue would involve your new agent and your old agent, not you. In other words, the two agents might both claim that they are owed a commission on your home purchase, but the issue would be between the two of them.
When you decide on your new agent, let her know that you already signed this agreement with the other agent. She can call and talk to your first agent and make sure that the prior agreement is no longer valid. If it hasn't expired, the new agent can work with you to make sure it gets cancelled.
Good luck!
Thanks so much for all the advice! I just spoke to our new realtor, who was very nice and supportive. She seemed to think that the agreement wouldn't be an issue at all, but is going to contact the broker for us. I'm feeling much less uneasy about the whole situation. Thanks for the responses!