You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
-
Approximately 3 months ago, I made a BAD decision of listing a property with a Realtor. She has showed the property twice in the last three months. (By the way, it’s a $80K house in Oklahoma on which I owe about $45K.)
I have asked her to cancel the listing and, of course, she will not. I have 3 months left on the listing. She says she has the exclusive right to sell. (This might be a good time to read the short P.S. at the bottom.)
Part of the listing agreement says: “In consideration of the services to be rendered by the Realtor, the undersigned seller hereby exclusively lists with Realtor the following property [legal description] and grants to Realtor the exclusive right to sell the property.”
But then in one of the following paragraphs, it says: “Seller agrees to pay a commission equal to 6% of the total sale price of the property in any of the following events” one of which is, “The sale or exchange of the property during the term of this Agreement, whether procured by Realtor, SELLER, or a third person.
To me, those two paragraphs are contradictory to one another. The second paragraph, to me, indicates that as the seller, I can sell the property, but that I would owe the 6% commission. (Is that how you read it?)
As I see it, these are a few of the options I have:
1. Do a highest bidder sale on the property myself and pay the 6% commission on the $80K or whatever I sell the property for.
2. The property is just in my name, so I could sell it to my wife for a very token amount (say, $100) and pay the Realtor commission on that amount, at which time my wife could do a highest bidder sale.
3. Offer to pay the Realtor “X” number of $$$ to release the listing.
4. Wait 3 more months until the listing expires, during which time, I would have to cover the holding costs.
There’s probably other options, but those are the first few that come to mind. I don’t usually like to play ‘hard ball’, but her lack of results makes it necessary for me to consider my options. In the last few days, I have advertised the property in FaceBook and Craigslist and already have over 30 people interested in the property on a highest bidder sale for the down payment, starting at $7K.
I do have access to an attorney to get a legal opinion, but wanted to get some thoughts as to what my options are from my fellow CFD friends..
Okay, thinking caps on? Great! Let me know what you would do.
P.S. What makes this even more interesting is that I acquired the property by a ‘Contract For Deed’. There’s even a question as to whether the Realtor could have even entered into a Listing Agreement with me since I am not actually on title.
big big big mistake to list with an agent… especially one who does not have a proven track record of doing aggressive marketing.
Never give an exclusive right to sell.
It is better… If they sell, they get a commission. If you sell, you owe them nothing (provided it was not one of the people they showed the house to)
There are also terms in the listing agreement which state what the realtor will do for marketing. Find the errors in all the things she has not done. She probably had her assistant put it on MLS and that’s it ( typical realtor). Most listing agreements have a “way out” … look for that.
Do not do a highest bidder sale then pay a commission to the agent. She has not earned it.
Mike,
I think it’s a waist of time to dwell on what is instead of what could be.
It’s listed for three more months, what is the market like for that type of house in that area?
Some would call this a learning experience(read: SEMINAR), so be it. Sell the place by the
fastest means possible and get on to the next one with a fresh understanding of marketing.
It’s events like this that produce the “battle scars” that add to the ambiance of the networking events.
Might even get you a free beer! All the Best.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
