does that not interfere with the contract and possibly there paycheck…
I don’t know the law… I simply heard this I believe first from Ron Legrands course… he was thinking the same as you until he was sued… best of my recollection…
I’m trying to right or wrong… Often in court it doesnt matter either… It matters what is percieved…
Go ahead take your chances… It just not something I would do… I would make sure the contract is canceled of their on volition before I did business with them…
So, with that said… I avoid listed property… again… your results may be different and you can do as you see fit…
Is it possible to negotiate good deals with a seller who has or her property listed with a real estate agent? Is there away around dealing with the agent? Because it seems to me that the RE agent will only have his best interest at heart. In essence, should we stay away from sellers that have an agent?
Posted by Mike Daly on January 29, 2002 at 05:43:04:
An alternative is to make a verbal agreement with the seller, but wait until their listing agreement expires before doing a written contract. Or the seller may may be able to get out of their listing agreement agreement early by paying a fee. If you enter into a written agreement while the listing is still active, you can be sued for contract interference if the agent is not paid their commission.
Posted by Al-So Cal on January 28, 2002 at 16:57:59:
Should be looking for great deals and it doesnt matter if its listed or not. I just entered escrow on a deal
I bought 24 months ago taking a gross profit of over
$200,000 after putting $26,000 down.
It was listed-but by out of area realtor. Seller was
also out of area.
The only important thing to consider is the deal
itself.
Posted by Al-So Cal on January 28, 2002 at 16:57:21:
Should be looking for great deals and it doesnt matter if its listed or not. I just entered escrow on a deal
I bought 24 months ago taking a gross profit of over
$200,000 after putting $26,000 down.
It was listed-but by out of area realtor. Seller was
also out of area.
The only important thing to consider is the deal
itself.
Posted by Brent_IL on January 28, 2002 at 10:52:01:
What you say is correct; the RE agent will only have his best interest at heart. Well, don’t we do the same?
The agency cost is only one cost factor. A deal being sold by a RE agent can be great. A deal being sold as FSBO can be garbage. It’s deal specific.
I’m terms-oriented, so dealing with a FSBO is easier. However, a listing agent can be your biggest cheerleader.
The key to dealing with real estate agents is to eliminate any doubt they may have that the sale will close quickly, and they will be paid.
The purchase contract that I use lists the RE agencies, and the amount and split of the commission as the first item, before the identity of the parties or the address of the property, for just this reason.
Posted by Wayne (MD) on January 28, 2002 at 05:40:48:
You can negotiate with any seller you wish regardless of whether they have an agent. If the seller sells you his house, he has one of two options: Pay the agent his contracted commission and be done with it; 2. try and beat it out of town without paying the commission. Happens all the time. As for you, there is no legal obligation to anyone except to pay for what you bought. They made the contract with the agent, not you.
Depends on how good the deal is. If the price is right, it won’t matter. An agent will have his/her interest in trying to get the commission due, but the fiduciary duties of the agent will have them working for the seller and their interests.
Example1: Home is valued at $200k, seller has it listed for $150k; is this a deal?
Example2: FSBO has a house valued at $200k and they have a sign on the front yard; For Sale $150k, is this a deal?
It’s the same deal and everything is negotiable. The seller is the one paying for the agent’s fee. If you are getting creative with the financing with an agent involved; get creative with their fee if it will help you make the deal go through. Again, everything is negotiable.
Don’t let a seller having an agent stop you from persuing the deal if the numbers make sense.
Posted by Wayne (MD) on January 28, 2002 at 12:16:25:
OK David, my memory is a little fuzzy here, but I do recall from my agent days 12 years ago something about the interference you describe, however, I don’t think this situation comes under such a category. Torturous interference (I think) would be when I attempted to interfere with a deal you and another person made. The fact that I merely offer to buy a house from a person is not interference at all. It is just that . . . an offer to buy a house. I did not try to interfere with the contract. Such an instance might be if I, as a broker, tried to get you to cancel your contract with company A and sign with me for a lesser percentage. In this case, however, the commission is not the purchaser’s responsibility, rather it is the responsibility of the person who contracted to pay it . . . the homeowner. I, as a buyer, am not. So, re-think your response and/or give me an example of where a buyer has been (or I’ll concede “could be”) sued for torturous interference for simply offering to buy a house from someone without going through an agent.