Anybody want to help me with a contract?

[CJ2008]

Fairly small straightforward/easy K but...just want to make sure I'm interpreting correctly.

If after the termination of this Agreement or any renewal period thereof, Client within 180 days, either directly or indirectly through any efforts made by Client, by any other agent, and/or any representative of Client, acquires or enters into negotiations that result in the acquisition of real property of the nature described herein or which otherwise acceptable to Client, which has been physically shown and/or submitted to Client during the term of this contract or any renewal period thereof, whether through the services of the Agent or by Client or by whomsoever, Client shall be obligated to pay Broker’s Compensation without any discount or allowance for any efforts made by Client, by any other Agent and/or representative of Client.

So what I take away is...

that if I cancel agreement or agreement expires, for 180 days after that, if I purchase a property, original broker is entitled to compensation *only* if they submitted/showed me that property during the time/duration of the contract or renewal period.

Do you read it the same way?

 

[telephone89]

Yes, I think that is correct.

"which has been physically shown and/or submitted to Client during the term of this contract or any renewal period thereof, whether through the services of the Agent or by Client or by whomsoever"
Confused at the bolded - that almost sounds like if YOU looked at a house on your own during the contract period (w/o broker) you may still be liable?

 

[CJ2008]

thanks telephone.

YES. That is what that seems to say.

I found another clause in the contract that seems to say the above a bit more clearly:

In addition, compensation shall be due from Client, if within 180 days after expiration or cancellation of this Agreement, Client enters into a contract to purchase a property Client was informed of during the term of this Agreement regardless of the manner in which Client was informed of the property.


"Informed" seems to apply even to just KNOWING about a property...

 

[telephone89]

Yep it does. TBH I hate dealing with real estate agents, I feel like these clauses are so sketchy. I understand wanting to protect what THEY show you, but seriously, if your grandma told you the neighbors were selling their house, they'd try to grab a piece of that!

 

[CJ2008]

I can deal with - and understand - letting my broker know of any property I find out about while I'm working with him / her especially if I feel they're doing a good job and putting time and effort in.

But I want it to be fair to us, too - so I want to make sure that once the K is over for whatever reason - that if I purchase a property within those 180 days on my own that was NOT shown or submitted to me through the work of the Broker that I would not owe them commission.

 

[telephone89]

Are they open to negotiation? If its a good market they will sometimes drop the clauses to get your business. When its a tougher market is when they enforce these, but might still be open to negotiating, or shortening the term.

 

[CJ2008]

That's what I was going to say - I can ask him - and see if we can find something we both find fair.

Although I'm kind of thinking through this right now.

Say grandma tells me about a property during agreement - I tell broker - broker takes me/shows me property - then I would have to be OK with paying commission even if say for whatever reason we don't purchase it during the term but go BACK to that property within 180 days after K expiration.

When I start to think about it I'm thinking that maybe if I find out about a property NOT through their efforts then I am entitled to do what I need to do on my own and not owe them commission - but if I INVOLVE them in any way - then commission would be due, even if I purchase after expiration and within those 180 days.

That seems fair to me. Do you agree or am I missing something?

Would need to include that language if he's willing...and yes, perhaps also shorten the term to less than 180 days.

Does 180 days seem fair or excessive? Not sure.

 

[telephone89]

You should also check to see if the broker restricts changing brokers within that time frame. Sometimes you will also have to just pay a fee straight up for switching within that 180 days.

TO ME 180 days is outrageous. 6 months is way too long for someone who I'm not involved with anymore to have control over my life. I like to think of them as an ex. Once you're done, you have a small mourning period, and then you move on. I would try for 1 month, but extend to 3 months if absolutely required. But I still think 3 months is long for this kind of contract.

What you say sounds fair - and you can argue that if they ever said anything. For example, grandma told you about the property during your contract. It's too expensive, so you don't pursue it. Contract ends. 100 days later, the price drops, property suddenly within budget, and you go to look at it. You could argue that you weren't informed of this property before, and are now pursuing as its within budget. They will not take you to court or anything of the sort unless they have actual PROOF of this, I believe it's meant to a) scare the client so they don't break the contract or b) force the client to show the realtor any properties they are informed of. b) really pisses me off, because that's the realtors job - showing me property. If I happen to find one on my own, then you aren't doing your job very well.

I believe your wording is good, because involving them (even if just asking their opinion) could be considered 'proprietary' knowledge or something.

 

[CJ2008]

You should also check to see if the broker restricts changing brokers within that time frame. Sometimes you will also have to just pay a fee straight up for switching within that 180 days.

TO ME 180 days is outrageous. 6 months is way too long for someone who I'm not involved with anymore to have control over my life. I like to think of them as an ex. Once you're done, you have a small mourning period, and then you move on. I would try for 1 month, but extend to 3 months if absolutely required. But I still think 3 months is long for this kind of contract.

What you say sounds fair - and you can argue that if they ever said anything. For example, grandma told you about the property during your contract. It's too expensive, so you don't pursue it. Contract ends. 100 days later, the price drops, property suddenly within budget, and you go to look at it. You could argue that you weren't informed of this property before, and are now pursuing as its within budget. They will not take you to court or anything of the sort unless they have actual PROOF of this, I believe it's meant to a) scare the client so they don't break the contract or b) force the client to show the realtor any properties they are informed of. b) really pisses me off, because that's the realtors job - showing me property. If I happen to find one on my own, then you aren't doing your job very well.

I believe your wording is good, because involving them (even if just asking their opinion) could be considered 'proprietary' knowledge or something.

Thanks t you're really helping me think through this.

He has a clause that specifies if we're not happy we can end agreement if after 48 hours we cannot resolve whatever issues to our satisfaction - the thing is, it also says that if that happens, he'd refer us to an agent of HIS choice, who would owe him a referral fee. So we would not be responsible for this fee - but I don't want to feel locked in to working with anybody I did not myself choose. What if we don't like the person they refer us to? We might feel obligated knowing this person paid a referral fee to work with us, you know?

Yes, now that you say it, 6 months sounds like a really really long time.

We are not out to be unfair to anybody - we don't have any intentions of purposely going back to a property just to avoid paying a commission, you know? I just want it to be fair to both them, and us.

 

[telephone89]

Exactly, the contract has to benefit BOTH parties.

Again, with the referral, I would get him to add in (or take that out entirely) that you can CHOOSE to go with that realtor and are not tied to him. But, if in fact you do use that realtor and make a sale, that he can get his referral bonus. Just so you arent forced to work with that realtor if you dont love him/her.

eta - kudos to you for actually reading this contract! So many people just sign off and then when a problem arises claim ignorance but really have no excuse. I'm sure that if this guy knows you are knowledgeable and actually read the contract that he will be willing to work with you. Otherwise, I would look for someone who would

eta2 - I've also found that if they know you're serious, they will work a bit harder. For example, an agent who has a 6month hold over you might not care *as much* if you dont find a house. They know that if you go with someone else, they still get a cut. An agent who knows they only have 1 month hold after the contract might try to make a sale during that time. I've dealt with too many agents that are lazy, and I end up doing their job for them (looking at MLS, going through condo contracts myself, etc). That's not fair to me, to do all the work and then they take their commission and go. So, thats another reason why I'm a bit harsh on them haha.

 

[CJ2008]

Exactly, the contract has to benefit BOTH parties.

Again, with the referral, I would get him to add in (or take that out entirely) that you can CHOOSE to go with that realtor and are not tied to him. But, if in fact you do use that realtor and make a sale, that he can get his referral bonus. Just so you arent forced to work with that realtor if you dont love him/her.

eta - kudos to you for actually reading this contract! So many people just sign off and then when a problem arises claim ignorance but really have no excuse. I'm sure that if this guy knows you are knowledgeable and actually read the contract that he will be willing to work with you. Otherwise, I would look for someone who would

eta2 - I've also found that if they know you're serious, they will work a bit harder. For example, an agent who has a 6month hold over you might not care *as much* if you dont find a house. They know that if you go with someone else, they still get a cut. An agent who knows they only have 1 month hold after the contract might try to make a sale during that time. I've dealt with too many agents that are lazy, and I end up doing their job for them (looking at MLS, going through condo contracts myself, etc). That's not fair to me, to do all the work and then they take their commission and go. So, thats another reason why I'm a bit harsh on them haha.

telephone, I am so glad you came back, you have helped me so much...I started to have that feeling of "what will I ask for?" "what if I'm asking for too much" etc etc (and started to feel overwhelmed which usually means I will do nothing and just wait ) but now with your input I have some idea of where to start and can go back in the contract and ask for some of these things and see if we can negotiate.

I don't mind doing some of the legwork (within reason) IF I feel the broker is really doing a good job and for some reason they're super busy or something is going on where if I step in I can keep things moving - to me part of that job is to keep in mind what is important to ME and not try to sell me a house that doesn't meet that criteria UNLESS he/she has valid reasons or numbers (concrete stuff) as to why I should consider it. I don't want someone who just wants to make the sale (I know this is not what you meant either when you talked about trying to make a sale - I know what you meant is work hard to find the RIGHT property, keep things moving, etc.). For example, we were once working with a broker who we really liked, but he was a little bit out of our area - we did not mind going to check out properties from the outside to see if we liked the neighborhood, etc., before asking the guy to show it to us.

Going to work on that contract today.

Thanks again

 

[telephone89]

I'm glad I could help! Best of luck finding what you want!

 

[azstonie]

You would wind up paying the referral fee, it'd come out at least at settlement, I think.

I've bought/sold 3 houses and at work I was part of a team transferring $450 million of property and here is what I learned/did:
Don't sign contracts that aren't in your favor.
Don't sign contracts for large chunks of time. (I sign with any realtor for 30 days only).
Question commissions---example: in 2014 average real estate commission was 5.2%, not 6%.
You can exclude from their commission any buyer YOU bring.
I never do open houses and I tell them this. True long-term professionals are glad to hear that.

When I bought my first house, I spent 2 days with a realtor looking. I had 5 days to find a house. I had 3 must-haves----could not be more than 10 years old, must have double garage, and no more than 4 steps to front door. During the 2 excruciating days he took me to houses with enormous flights of stairs to tge front door, homes with no garage, and homes over 25 years old. At the end of the second day I said he was wasting my time and I'd get an agent who'd address my needs.

*I* found my house the very next weekend. I bought it from the listing realtor. On the settlement paperwork at close I saw $1000 to the real estate agent I fired. I said I wasn't paying that, I'd walk away first. (And I didn't pay the $1k).

I hope you get the deal you want, stay firm!!!!

 

[CJ2008]

Thank you telephone and Kristie!

When I shared my intended changes with DH he thought they made sense too - although he did ask me "does it make a difference this is supposed to be a Buyers Agent and not a regular "broker"? A Buy ers Agent works/is responsible only to the Buyers interests (however, it is the seller of the house we'd buy who pays the commission - unless we buy after termination of the agreement)

Which got me thinking and got me looking through the contract again. And thank goodness I did...

I found another clause (how WEIRD that the several times I looked through the K I did not see it - it is all the way at the top of one page and it is easy to miss, even thought it's under the COMMISSION section and I should have read that with a fine tooth comb).

There is a retainer we would have to pay, of $1,300 whether or not we purchase property. If we purchase, the $1,300 would be credited against the commission at that time.

What do you guys think about this?

I can understand all of the reasons the broker would want this retainer fee - maybe he knows he would work really hard for us, and ensures that if we end up just flaking out he is not wasting his time/effort...but...

Hmmmm...not sure what to think about this.

 

[iLander]

Good luck!

 

[telephone89]

Did the realtor mention this at all? I'm assuming not. I'd ask them to remove that or walk away. There seem to be alot of shady things wtih this contract, and while it is totally, 100% the responsibility of the signee (you) to read this over, trying to hide things in a contract and later pop out like 'Well, you signed it!' is not moral IMO. Also a retainer is usually paid up front - which youd be responsible for pretty quick. Now, again, I can understand their thought process - they might have had clients that they go through all the motions for, client doesnt buy, that realtor just wasted x amount of time and money and got nothing. However, I still wouldn't pay it. If you are motivated and actually want to buy, and the agent is motivated to find you the right place, there is no need for a retainer. I don't think charging a retainer is sketchy, but I think not mentioning anything about it is. USUALLY if there is a retainer involved (IME) its told straight up. 'I charge a $1000 retainer fee, refunded/credited at closing'. Not hidden in a contract.

 

[CJ2008]

No, he didn't telephone.

We spoke on the phone for about 40 minutes, I asked him a bunch of questions about the contract...could it be he didn't say anything because maybe he assumed I saw it and didn't have any questions and/or I didn't object to it?

Maybe this is the way buyer agents work? (although I doubt it I never read anything like that)

I know DH is never going to want to pay that...not because we're not serious...but I just know it...not that I want to pay it, believe me...but there aren't a lot of buyer agents, so I hope we can make it work.

The thing is, now with this retainer thing, I'm starting to feel like I'm going to be asking for so much ETA by asking him to waive this - meaning - it's just too far apart from how he normally works. Or should I not feel *bad* and just ask him and see what happens? I guess the worst that can happen is he'll say no...right? (I feel silly for even feeling this way I guess I just don't want him to think we're planning to put one over on him )

Oh, and thanks iLander!

 

[telephone89]

You should absolutely NOT feel bad! There are some agents that work that way - totally fine, however I feel like it should be upfront and mentioned at the very beggining. This is not how ALL agents work, believe me. You can certainly ask, the worst he says is no, best he says ok, otherwise you comprimise and make both of you happy.

I understand that you don't want to push him too far, but contract negotiations are pretty standard. Bring up a few things at a time if you prefer, I'd rather give my laundry list and get it all done at once

 

[CJ2008]

You should absolutely NOT feel bad! There are some agents that work that way - totally fine, however I feel like it should be upfront and mentioned at the very beggining. This is not how ALL agents work, believe me. You can certainly ask, the worst he says is no, best he says ok, otherwise you comprimise and make both of you happy.

I understand that you don't want to push him too far, but contract negotiations are pretty standard. Bring up a few things at a time if you prefer, I'd rather give my laundry list and get it all done at once

Thanks t I don't know what I'd do without you! I will move forward! Thank you.

(oh, and I'm 100% with you on asking it all at one time - I'd rather hit him all at once so there are no surprises and so he'll know (as we will) right away if he's willing to see if he can work with us whether with our proposed terms or with some compromises).

 

[telephone89]

Awesome! Good luck, hope it all goes well!

 

[VirginiaZee]

Good luck! I'm not sure of the area you're in, but FWIW DH and I bought a house a few years ago in Northeastern MA, and we had a buyer's agent as well. The contract we had with them was very simple - we would only work with them, we would work with them (and no other buyer's agents) for a set period of time (30 or 60 days, I can't remember which... 180 days seems like a really long time to me?), if we bought a house during that time we would owe them commission (doesn't matter who found the house, him or us). There was no retaining fee or anything else. Just wanted to add our experience as an example of how other buyer's agents do things.

 

[CJ2008]

Good luck! I'm not sure of the area you're in, but FWIW DH and I bought a house a few years ago in Northeastern MA, and we had a buyer's agent as well. The contract we had with them was very simple - we would only work with them, we would work with them (and no other buyer's agents) for a set period of time (30 or 60 days, I can't remember which... 180 days seems like a really long time to me?), if we bought a house during that time we would owe them commission (doesn't matter who found the house, him or us). There was no retaining fee or anything else. Just wanted to add our experience as an example of how other buyer's agents do things.

Thanks for sharing VZ.

OK - so you agreed that for during the time period you signed on to work with them you would owe commission regardless of whoever found the house...

Just to make one thing clear - he does not have a "minimum" # of days we need to sign up with him - so we could sign up for 1 day or a week (that may work well if we want to get a feel for how we'd work together) or any length of time - the 180 days I was talking about comes AFTER that initial term expires, where even if we're working with anyone else (for whatever reason) we'd still owe them the commission if that house was shown or introduced to us during the initial contract period.

So that "extension" period is really important...

And of course the initial term we agree to sign for is important too - 30 days seems quick to me but I guess it depends how often we go look at properties of course.

Anybody know the average it takes a person to find a home? Is there such a thing?

 

[partgypsy]

Good luck! I'm not sure of the area you're in, but FWIW DH and I bought a house a few years ago in Northeastern MA, and we had a buyer's agent as well. The contract we had with them was very simple - we would only work with them, we would work with them (and no other buyer's agents) for a set period of time (30 or 60 days, I can't remember which... 180 days seems like a really long time to me?), if we bought a house during that time we would owe them commission (doesn't matter who found the house, him or us). There was no retaining fee or anything else. Just wanted to add our experience as an example of how other buyer's agents do things.

Thanks for sharing VZ.

OK - so you agreed that for during the time period you signed on to work with them you would owe commission regardless of whoever found the house...

Just to make one thing clear - he does not have a "minimum" # of days we need to sign up with him - so we could sign up for 1 day or a week (that may work well if we want to get a feel for how we'd work together) or any length of time - the 180 days I was talking about comes AFTER that initial term expires, where even if we're working with anyone else (for whatever reason) we'd still owe them the commission if that house was shown or introduced to us during the initial contract period.

So that "extension" period is really important...

And of course the initial term we agree to sign for is important too - 30 days seems quick to me but I guess it depends how often we go look at properties of course.

Anybody know the average it takes a person to find a home? Is there such a thing?

The way that it is phrased, sounds like you owe the realtor a commission regardless of who found the house. I finding the wording misleading and sketchy, and way too long for this person to get a commission after the fact. I would ask for that wording to be changed to be more clear: ie if house was found by someone other than realtor, no commission to be paid. I'd also ask for the period of time to be shorter, that's half a year!!!

 

[CJ2008]

Good luck! I'm not sure of the area you're in, but FWIW DH and I bought a house a few years ago in Northeastern MA, and we had a buyer's agent as well. The contract we had with them was very simple - we would only work with them, we would work with them (and no other buyer's agents) for a set period of time (30 or 60 days, I can't remember which... 180 days seems like a really long time to me?), if we bought a house during that time we would owe them commission (doesn't matter who found the house, him or us). There was no retaining fee or anything else. Just wanted to add our experience as an example of how other buyer's agents do things.

Thanks for sharing VZ.

OK - so you agreed that for during the time period you signed on to work with them you would owe commission regardless of whoever found the house...

Just to make one thing clear - he does not have a "minimum" # of days we need to sign up with him - so we could sign up for 1 day or a week (that may work well if we want to get a feel for how we'd work together) or any length of time - the 180 days I was talking about comes AFTER that initial term expires, where even if we're working with anyone else (for whatever reason) we'd still owe them the commission if that house was shown or introduced to us during the initial contract period.

So that "extension" period is really important...

And of course the initial term we agree to sign for is important too - 30 days seems quick to me but I guess it depends how often we go look at properties of course.

Anybody know the average it takes a person to find a home? Is there such a thing?

The way that it is phrased, sounds like you owe the realtor a commission regardless of who found the house. I finding the wording misleading and sketchy, and way too long for this person to get a commission after the fact. I would ask for that wording to be changed to be more clear: ie if house was found by someone other than realtor, no commission to be paid. I'd also ask for the period of time to be shorter, that's half a year!!!

pg sorry I missed your response...but yes, it is phrased that way...and yes, I am going to ask for less time.

 

[CJ2008]

telephone I hope you're checking in these days

(and all others who can help or give your thougths, welcome too!

Wanted to ask your opinion about something...

Realtor came back to my questions/comments...

-He agreed to waive the $1,300 retainer fee (good)

He did not agree to anything else - so we would be agreeing to:

-if we end agreement because we're not happy, if after 48 hours we cannot resolve whatever issues to our satisfaction he'd refer us to an agent of HIS choice, who would owe him a referral fee
-he says finding a home is a "team effort" so whether he finds the home or we do, he'd be entitled to commission, as he would be helping us all the way through closing (obviously this is different than what I was referring to when I said if we found it completely on our own and did everything on our own)
-180 day "extension" after K ends, where he would get commission on any house shown/found within K period, whether he found it or we did

I am not sure what to do...here's what I'm thinking...

-figuring out which provisions we might be able to live with and which ones I should go back to and try again. My feeling is the 180 day extension is the worst out of all the above and I should try again on that one (maybe "upping" to 60 days instead of 30 like I asked for)

-starting to think about a "temporary" way of working with him to see if we even like him enough to do this contract at all. Say, maybe asking him if he's willing to show us homes for a week (or 3 days or whatever time is reasonable) either with no contract OR with a short "extension" (say 30 days) - something, so we can feel like better about moving forward with the above provisions (in case all he's willing to do is change the retainer fee).

I do like him and think he will do a good job for us - which is why I'd like to try to come to terms we can live with...but of course I still want/need to be smart about it in case things go wrong...I need to be clear what I'm signing and what I'm willing to risk.

 

[kgizo]

Hmm, I wonder if he agreed to only waive the fee because he's with a brokerage that will not allow him to change any contract provisions. It would be helpful to understand that so you don't waste any more time in negotiations if he truly can't change anything. Also, usually buyer agents are compensated via the seller agent via a fee split so was the retainer fee an additional fee grab?

My $0.02 is that I would walk away from this as it is far too one-sided in his favor. Regarding his point about him working with you through closing even if you find the house is short sighted. What if you want to terminate because you find him to be slow to respond, you hear him say something shady about another client, or he says something you personally find offensive? Business relationships end for a lot of reasons and you shouldn't be bound to work with someone if you have lost confidence in them.

 

[telephone89]

telephone I hope you're checking in these days

(and all others who can help or give your thougths, welcome too!

Wanted to ask your opinion about something...

Realtor came back to my questions/comments...

-He agreed to waive the $1,300 retainer fee (good)

He did not agree to anything else - so we would be agreeing to:

-if we end agreement because we're not happy, if after 48 hours we cannot resolve whatever issues to our satisfaction he'd refer us to an agent of HIS choice, who would owe him a referral fee
-he says finding a home is a "team effort" so whether he finds the home or we do, he'd be entitled to commission, as he would be helping us all the way through closing (obviously this is different than what I was referring to when I said if we found it completely on our own and did everything on our own)
-180 day "extension" after K ends, where he would get commission on any house shown/found within K period, whether he found it or we did

I am not sure what to do...here's what I'm thinking...

-figuring out which provisions we might be able to live with and which ones I should go back to and try again. My feeling is the 180 day extension is the worst out of all the above and I should try again on that one (maybe "upping" to 60 days instead of 30 like I asked for)

-starting to think about a "temporary" way of working with him to see if we even like him enough to do this contract at all. Say, maybe asking him if he's willing to show us homes for a week (or 3 days or whatever time is reasonable) either with no contract OR with a short "extension" (say 30 days) - something, so we can feel like better about moving forward with the above provisions (in case all he's willing to do is change the retainer fee).

I do like him and think he will do a good job for us - which is why I'd like to try to come to terms we can live with...but of course I still want/need to be smart about it in case things go wrong...I need to be clear what I'm signing and what I'm willing to risk.

THe 180 days is kind of a dealbreaker to ME. I think its wise to go back to the table, and offer 60 days. 30 days is ideal to me, but I did say before that I've gone up to 90 days in the past.

What does the contract actually say about using the broker of HIS choice? Are you obligated? What if he introduces you to this broker and you hate him/her? Are you able to find your own agent after that? This is a bit confusing to me, because if you end HIS agreement, and he refers you to someone else, I don't think you're obligated to sign with them. He's just likely to get a referral out of it, so it's in his best interest to.

I probably wouldn't do a trial period - tbh, thats probably the sort of thing he's afraid of happening! If I were you - I would go back to him with the 60 days. Tell him you really want to work with him, but 6 months is way too long. It's good that he waived the retainer though!

 

[CJ2008]

Hmm, I wonder if he agreed to only waive the fee because he's with a brokerage that will not allow him to change any contract provisions. It would be helpful to understand that so you don't waste any more time in negotiations if he truly can't change anything. Also, usually buyer agents are compensated via the seller agent via a fee split so was the retainer fee an additional fee grab?

My $0.02 is that I would walk away from this as it is far too one-sided in his favor. Regarding his point about him working with you through closing even if you find the house is short sighted. What if you want to terminate because you find him to be slow to respond, you hear him say something shady about another client, or he says something you personally find offensive? Business relationships end for a lot of reasons and you shouldn't be bound to work with someone if you have lost confidence in them.

Thanks kg

He works for himself/is independent so he can do whatever he wants with the contract...so I know that's not the issue...

Yes, he'd be compensated by the seller...although I like to always remember it's really not "free" for us, you know? It comes out of our pocket indirectly...

It's not an additional fee grab because it would given back to us at closing...I guess once he receives $ from the seller?

Right - believe me I get your point about the termination - it's like if we're not happy with him not sure I'd want to work with a referral he chose...(will new agent already be put off by us, thinking maybe we're "difficult"? for example)

The thing about the 180 days or any extension to the contract...I understand that he's trying to protect himself from say him showing us 20 houses, we like 1 house, but we don't tell him...then we go and just buy it ourselves, without him...I guess the 6 months ensures long enough time will pass that we wouldn't be able to do that? (house would have already sold, etc.?) I don't know how to make him feel comfortable that we would not do this on purpose...and unless he did something terrible/illegal we would of course want him to get any commission that he earned.

 

[CJ2008]

What does the contract actually say about using the broker of HIS choice? Are you obligated? What if he introduces you to this broker and you hate him/her? Are you able to find your own agent after that? This is a bit confusing to me, because if you end HIS agreement, and he refers you to someone else, I don't think you're obligated to sign with them. He's just likely to get a referral out of it, so it's in his best interest to.

I probably wouldn't do a trial period - tbh, thats probably the sort of thing he's afraid of happening! If I were you - I would go back to him with the 60 days. Tell him you really want to work with him, but 6 months is way too long. It's good that he waived the retainer though!

t, it doesn't say anything about being obligated...it's vague. So I take it like you do...he'd refer us to someone else, and he'd get the referral fee but what happens after that is out of his hand/concern. But it is not spelled out that there isn't any obligation (because yeah, what if we really don't like him/her?) Maybe on this one it's as simple as asking him to spell out that there is no obligation to sign.

Why do you think he'd be afraid of a trial period? Because even at a minimal # of days it could be a waste of time? (really curious because I really thought he might welcome it knowing if it goes well we'll move forward.)

Yeah I think I'll definitely go back and ask for 60 (although he did sound kind of closed off on that one - but I won't know unless I ask).

 

[telephone89]

I'd confirm that just in case. Good luck with negotiating!

eta- I would stay away from a trial period, because unless HE brings it up, (this is my speculation) I think he would look at it like 'Oh great, they want me to work with no guarantee of compensation'. Which is the complete opposite of what you want to do. So, when realtors charge retainer fees or have that extended contract, its so they don't get hosed in a situation like that. I think bringing it up would make him leery about cutting the contract, because it might sound like you are trying to get a free deal?

Honestly, the easiest part of being a realtor IMO is showing people houses. You have a wishlist, you look at listings, talk to other agents, drive em around. The only part that I require a realtor is for the contracts/closing, as those are long and confusing, and they have insurance should something go sideways. But, i understand their need to protect themselves, this just seems overboard. You might want to talk to some other agents in the area and see if they have similar contracts. That could be a negotiation point that a) you are looking around and have other options, b) you are choosing to work with him if c) he makes his contracts similar to comparable agents.