Should I have apprehension about firing my realtor? I think she is almost begging for it.?
I signed the represetation agreement and after that it has been all down hill. She has not provided me with ANY information except when I ask for it (and I have had to ask for everything at least 4 or 5 times before I get it), and when I do get the information that I have to request upteen times, she doesn’t give me what I ask for, she always removes/excludes some vital piece of information to render her reply almost useless. She has not given me a single lead on a house. She always says that the lower priced homes that I am interested in are already sold but they just have not changed the MLS status yet, however, when I am interested in a higher priced house, it is always active and I should move quickly on it because it won’t last long. The list goes on and on (and I have been keeping a list). I know she must have other clients but …
How hard would it be for me to terminate my agreement with her? What would I need to do? Any advice and comments are welcomed.
She is an independent broker with her own business. She works for herself and has no others working for her. I wouldn’t owe her anything unless I agreed to give her something. Do you all think that I should offer some money for showing me 20 houses? I made an offer on one of the houses but she held the counteroffer until 4 hours before it expired knowing that I was at work and could only check during the lunch hour? The time stamp on the counter offer showed that it was sent at 8am that morning and she normally responds to my emails that early so, why didn’t she inform me earlier. I think that she thought that I would just accept without review for fear of losing the deal but I did not.
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Your rights are specific to the agreement you signed. However, representation by a buyer’s agent is usually pretty easy to terminate. Even if you do terminate, there will be a commission due this agent on any property you buy that she showed you. In many places, if you find a home by yourself even while in an agreement with her, you would owe her no commission if she does not take part in the process. Read your agreement carefully. If there is any part you are not 100% sure of, ask a lawyer to look at it, or at the very least, another real estate professional. Last, check the laws of the area in which you live. Many jurisdictions restrict the types of contracts an agent can have a client sign. Someone at the state real estate commission could help answer those questions for you.
UPDATE; You don’t need to pay her anything. Her job is to successfully find you a house you wish to buy. If she fails to do so, she has not lived up to her end of the deal. Agents expect to be paid by commission – they don’t expect to be paid in a situation like you describe, or at least they shouldn’t.
If you signed a contract, you are out of luck until it expires. I would quit bugging her and let it quietly expire so that I could find someone else.
But this agent sounds like a buyers agent??? You don’t sign a contract with a buyers agent. So I don’t understand.
I would think, if you are not getting the service you expect, you should be able to terminate.
This is a business agreement – don’t worry about offending her. (If she does get upset, tell her WHY you are leaving.)
I haven’t signed a representation agreement before – I’m sure you’ll get lots of other input – but I suspect that if you can’t get out of it you can complain to her manager . . .
Best of luck!
Based on your agreement, you will most likley have to ride it out. If you back out, there may be money due. Your best bet is to call and speak to her supervisor/boss/owner of the company, and tell them what is happening, and can they please give you a different agent to work with as you are totally unsatisfied. Make complaints to the BBB and Consumer Affairs, and see what happens. Usually when you speak to the management, they will straighten her out, or allow you to use another agent under the same contract. Good Luck!!
Is she independent? Or does she work in an office that is overseen by a broker? If possible, have a meeting with her boss, and complain and see if they can re-assign you without your having to terminate the agreement.
Some (not all) realtors are only interested in selling you the most expensive house they can sell you. Keep in mind, she makes a % of the sale price. If she has done nothing for you, what is the point is staying with her. Given this is the best time of year to buy or sell a home, she would proably not put up too much of a fight. Real Estate Agents don’t want their name dragged through the mud. It would more harm to her career than an any commision is worth.