Posted by JohnBoy on February 19, 2002 at 09:39:40:
If you were to use an agent at this point where you got an agent involved to help you find a buyer to sell your contract through, then YOU would owe the agent the commission since YOU would be the seller in this case between you, the agent and your buyer.
The agent(s) involved with your getting the contract would be paid a commission by the seller. Any agents involved after that where they helped you find a buyer to sell your contract to would be paid a commission by you as the seller. There would basically be two separate sales taking place in this case. One between the seller and you. One between you as the seller and your buyer you sell your contract to. So you would not want to get an agent involved to help you find a buyer unless you want to pay a commission to your agent as the seller.
Any agent involved that brought the deal to you where you entered into a purchase contract would be paid the commission by the seller, regardless of who you assigned your contract to.
Assigning Contract: Agent commission problem? - Posted by Joe, Detroit
Posted by Joe, Detroit on February 18, 2002 at 15:58:55:
Hey all,
I searched through the archieves, but did find exactly what I was looking for.
IF a real estate agent helps me find and contract a property, and then I assign the contract to a buyer, what happens with my agents commission at close? Does he/she still get their percentage, even though the buyer won’t actually acknowledge MY agent as THEIR agent in this deal? Couldn’t there be an instance where I bought a property via agent, assigned the contract, and then have that invalidate my agent’s share because they have no actual relationship with the new buyer?
Wouldn’t a double closing avoid this whole question?
Re: Assigning Contract: Agent commission problem? - Posted by Nate(DC)
Posted by Nate(DC) on February 19, 2002 at 09:43:21:
If your agent wrote the contract, they would remain eligible for a commission even if the contract is later assigned to another buyer.
If you are using a standard (Board of Realtors) contract, it will state that the buyer’s agent is to receive a commission. If that same contract is then assigned, that language doesn’t go away. It’s still there and still effective, just like all the other language in the contract. The only change is that the name of the buyer changes.
I am assuming it was a listed property and you are talking about the commission for the sale?
That commission is the Sellers responsibility, not yours or the person you are flipping the contract to.
The seller will owe the commission out of his/her proceeds from the sale.
Re: Assigning Contract: Agent commission problem? - Posted by JohnBoy
Posted by JohnBoy on February 19, 2002 at 10:05:37:
Also, the buyer is probably listed as “buyer and/or assigns” which means anyone that closes on the contract is considered a buyer procured by the selling agent.
Posted by Joe, Detroit on February 18, 2002 at 18:46:43:
Yeah, I guess I should clarify. I know the listing agent and selling agent split the commission, given to them by the seller. BUT, if I contract my property through Agent A (who found it for me on the MLS) with Agent B (the seller’s listing agent), then I assign the contract BEFORE closing, the new buyer is coming to the closing table NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENTED BY AGENT A. Could the seller and his/her agent, with agreement of the new buyer, bilk my agent (A) out of his commission?
(i.e. “Well, Agent A, you represented Joe, but it’s Tony buying the property, so you are entitled to nothing!”)
Re: Assigning Contract: Agent commission problem? - Posted by Brent_IL
Posted by Brent_IL on February 18, 2002 at 18:36:26:
Brian is right; it’s the seller’s payment. Even if you had your own RE agent, the entity that is receiving your assignment assumes all of the rights, and all of the responsibilities of the contract.
Posted by Ralph Taylor on February 19, 2002 at 04:55:07:
Under normal circumstances, the selling agent and the listing agent both represent the seller. The selling agent is a sub-agent of the listing agent. Unless you have signed an agreement with the selling agent making him a buyer’s agent, you are not legally represented in the transaction. As a practical matter this does not affect the commission payout, ( although it should IMHO ) but many people, and indeed, many agents are not aware of this fine point.
i think what you do with the contract is irrelevant Joe. you (and your agent) contracted with the seller for the sale of the property. the bottom line is the sale of the property was procured so the commission is due and your agent is entitled to his/her split.
Posted by Redline on February 19, 2002 at 22:37:04:
What you said about the selling agent and listing agent both representing the seller is only true IF both Realtors are from the same office.
In NJ most brokers don’t allow subagency for liability reasons, so another Realtor from another office DOES represent the buyer he/she is bringing to the table and NOT the seller.
Posted by JohnBoy on February 19, 2002 at 09:31:02:
I don’t think it should matter. Bottom line, the agent procured the buyer. The contract the buyer entered into is because of the agent bringing the deal to the table. Otherwise no deal would have ever been made. The buyer you assigned to would be closing under the same contract you procured through the agent. So the agent would still be entitled to the commission which is paid by the seller anyway! If you closed the agent would get paid. Why should it make a difference if someone else came in and closed in your place? It’s still the SAME contract that was procured through the selling agent! Same contract, same rules, only the players have changed!
Ditto Brian’s point. If your agent brought you the deal and you contracted for it, then your agent is entitled to his/her share of the commission. I do not think the assignment makes any difference. Your buyer steps into your shoes under the contract and is responsible for everything you would’ve been responsible for if you had remained in the deal.
Please correct me if I am wrong - Posted by Kristine-CA
Posted by Kristine-CA on February 19, 2002 at 09:21:28:
My assumption is the same here. The person taking over my contract is now obligated to everything that was in my original purchase contract, right? So that includes closing costs, and anything else I said I would do as a buyer.
Please correct me if I am wrong, because I am trying to sell a house and assign my contract. And I have told all the potential buyers that this is the case–that they close instead of me and take over the purchase contract. I also assume that if I use an agent at this point to help me find a buyer, I would have to add that to the original purchase contract so that the responsibility of the commission gets assigned as well.