I have taken over payments of a home for my brother because he could not make the payments any more, I have listed with a realtor to sell but now wish to sell myself, what are the consequences for breaking the agreement with the realtor, also there is no equity in this home so wouldnt a lease option be a good idea? Thanks ahead of time for any replies (bear with me as I am new)
Hi Mark,
Not knowing the terms of the agreement that you have with your realtor it’s somewhat difficult to provide a definitive answer but I will simply take a guess at it.
If you have signed an agreement for the realtor to sell, the property and I assume by your question that you have yet read the agreement that you signed as you would know the consequences for breach of contract.
I can only assume that your contract terms calls for the realtor to be paid out of the sale of the subject property even if you sell the property.
Look at it this way, you gave your word, honor that word as a professional.
You will gain little by trying to weasel out of the contract.
You asked if a lease option is better. This is yet another question lacking the details to provide a definitive answer!
You need to determine what the average property like yours rents for in your market area.
You need to determine what other investors in your area are looking for as a down payment for a LOP or OF in your market area.
This will determine the feasibility of your project and any profit ratios you can expect.
Thanks,johnmicheal for the reply as I will do more market research to make a more informed decision. And yes I agree as to honering the agents .I would not want to start in tne investing arena on the wrong foot.
Hello Folks,
First post to this website and it looks like a good place to learn.
I would ask the Realtor if there is a buyout of the Listing Agreement. I would offer to reimburse them whatever marketing costs they have incurred to date, as long as they have been actively marketing the property.
I don’t think you would be weasling out of anything, the question I have for you is what kind of agent takes a listing knowing there is not enough equity in the property to get paid from the proceeds without the seller coming out of pocket?
You have nothing to loose by asking. They may ask you to honor any potential buyers they may bring from their marketing. The bottom line is unless you get a full price offer based on your listing price, you have no obligation to sign a contract.
If they will not release you from the listing agreement, you can simply ride it out and only accept a full price offer. How long is the listing agreement for?
Hope this helps, take care and God bless.
Clyde G.
Lake Mary, FL
i had an exclusive listing agreement with an agent for an out of town investment.
she had one of her unlicensed employees do everything while she was on vacation.
during the first 8 weeks, she didn’t put a sign outside the house. she didnt tell me that
i needed to get someone to mow the grass outfront.
she had 3 other listings on the same street all of which had signs outfront.
the directions on the mls listing were completely wrong.
after 8 weeks i told her broker that i wanted to cancel the agreement. he agreed but
told me that if i went with another broker i’d owe him a commission. after a lot of
shouting at his office he agreed to cancel the contract which was wise since bad publicity
travels very fast.
if you’re not satisfied, you should always be able to get out of the listing agents agreement.
but it depends on your local laws and the contract.