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We currently have a house for sale by owner Moderator cut: ... We are using an MLS agency, and if we sell through a broker who brings our buyer, a commission will be paid to that broker. If that is the case, can we count on that broker doing the closing paperwork or would we still need to hire a real estate attorney? Seems to us since the broker would be paid the commission we wouldn't have to worry about that but not sure. Thanks for any insight!
I personally would only handle the paperwork for the buyer.That is what I am being compensated for and I do not want to be liable for any problems from the seller. By doing what you ask, I may be putting myself into a Dual Agency role. Acting as a dual agent has the potential for a number of problems.
We are in a litigious society and you will be asking the selling agent to jeapardize their role in the transaction.
It would be best for all parties for you to find someone, other than the selling agent, to represent your interests in the transaction.
Belmarin is 100% correct with regard to the agency relationship. The buyer's agent does NOT have an agency relationship with you, even though you are paying the commission. Creating what is called an accidental agency relationship by word or deed sets us up for a liability that most professionals are NOT willing to take on without compensation.
I don't mean to sound harsh, but that is the problem with "limited representation" contracts in real estate. If you WANT or NEED a professional to represent you, you are going to have to compensate them (all the great advice in this forum notwithstanding). This is one of the reasons I refuse to use the phrase "For Sale By Owner" or FSBO. What you really are in a case like this, is a "Seller Without Representation."
That may be absolutely the right decision for some people and I'm not inferring by any means that everyone NEEDS to have a real estate professional to sell your home...only that, if you choose not to pay for one...you are going to get what you pay for.
I wish you good luck and hope you get a good buyer...
Now get out there and VOTE in that Primary tonight...help pick us a winner!
Well I don't mean to insult realtors in any way, but if I am doing all the work, and the buyers agent just happens to get lucky because the seller calls them and says I want to see this house, what would be a good reason to pay this agent 7-8K? Just trying to understand.
Well I don't mean to insult realtors in any way, but if I am doing all the work, and the buyers agent just happens to get lucky because the seller calls them and says I want to see this house, what would be a good reason to pay this agent 7-8K? Just trying to understand.
I presume NH is a heavy lawyer state. Get your attorney in place before you go to contract and pay him to review the offer with you before signing. You can still get screwed on pricing and such but that is the FSBO risk.
We currently have a house for sale by owner Moderator cut: ... We are using an MLS agency, and if we sell through a broker who brings our buyer, a commission will be paid to that broker. If that is the case, can we count on that broker doing the closing paperwork or would we still need to hire a real estate attorney? Seems to us since the broker would be paid the commission we wouldn't have to worry about that but not sure. Thanks for any insight!
Moderator cut: no advertising, please
That buyer is going to be paid for bringing the buyer to you. That's it. His job, his efforts, his loyalty & all his skills, belong to the buyer.
If you're listed through an MLS listed agency, how is that still considered by owner? Why isn't that agency working for you?
And when you say the closing paperwork, what do you mean? Her ein central NJ, most transactions are closed by a pair of attorneys, one representing the buyer, another representing the seller. But that's very diffferent from the contract paperwork, and all the stuff that happens before you ever get near a closing table.
Well I don't mean to insult realtors in any way, but if I am doing all the work, and the buyers agent just happens to get lucky because the seller calls them and says I want to see this house, what would be a good reason to pay this agent 7-8K? Just trying to understand.
You're paying them for the buyer. That's what a buyers agent fee is always for, when paid for by the seller or the sellers agent. It's not for the work done by that agent. In practice, it ends up paying for that, or technically it pays him for the buyer representation, regardless of the work he does. That's not your concern though. We, (by we I mean real estate agents who list houses) offer to pay the fee so that we can attract those buyers. As an unrepresented seller, you go ahead & feel free to offer or not offer whatever you want. I don't believe anyone can force you to pay the buyers agent. Of course, without that offer of compensation, I don't know how many agents will be bringing buyers to see yoru house, because most buyers don';t want to hear about having to pay their agent, they expect that it is included in the price of the house.
If you're listed through an MLS listed agency, how is that still considered by owner? Why isn't that agency working for you?
And when you say the closing paperwork, what do you mean? Her ein central NJ, most transactions are closed by a pair of attorneys, one representing the buyer, another representing the seller. But that's very diffferent from the contract paperwork, and all the stuff that happens before you ever get near a closing table.
This is what I'm not sure about. We signed a NH standard listing agreement form agreeing to pay a buyer's agent a commission. I don't think it says anything about assisting us at closing.
Well I don't mean to insult realtors in any way, but if I am doing all the work, and the buyers agent just happens to get lucky because the seller calls them and says I want to see this house, what would be a good reason to pay this agent 7-8K? Just trying to understand.
Dina, you're doing all the work of marketing the home, and that is your job as the seller; or the job of the listing agent, when one has hired one.
The buyers agent has spent a lot of time and money in procuring a buyer for your property. All you're aware of is that the agent sees your listing and brings a buyer, so it appears to you that the agent really only fills out a few papers. That's the way a lot of people see it, and it is not a true picture.
The agent brings a lot of knowledge and experience in working with buyers to the table. The agent has business overhead, and each buyer prospect that he or she obtains costs that agent a lot of money in advertising and marketing expenses. Not to mention the overhead of running a business.
When s/he establishes an agency relationship with a buyer (or seller) s/he assumes a very large risk for which he must be compensated. The agent understands how to negotiate the sale, and to get it through escrow with minimum risk of having the deal fall out of escrow. The agent is doing a lot of work in the background that you are never awar of.
I see that you don't understand the value of realtors, because you chose to use an MLS listing service only. Consequently, it's understandable that you don't understand the value of the buyers agent.
At this point you are at the situation where you don't have anyone representing you, and you don't want to pay the Buyers agent because you don't understand the value.
There are many threads in the forum on the subject of what realtors do for their clients, and if you spend some time searching those threads perhaps you'll have a greater understanding.
What you've done at this point is to apparently try and get everything at no cost. You have hired an MLS listing company to list the home, but are not having them represent you, probably because you don't want to pay their fee. The only thing wrong with that is that you apparently don't have the knowledge to carry out the seller side of the transaction on your own. That is very risky for you.
Now you've come to the real estate professionals forum to ask for free advice from the people here, and we will provide that, but we will also tell you in a polite way what you really need to know.
You also advertised your home on the site, and the moderators deleted the advertising because the TOS prohibits advertising.
Next you want the buyers agent to do the paperwork for you.
However, you don't want to pay the buyers agent.
I'm not trying to be harsh, I'm simply restating what I see.
I would recommend that you go to the company who listed you on the MLS and discuss this with them so they can explain their fees for representing you in the sale. I assume they did not do this in the beginning, and that is unfortunate because it has left you in an uncomfortable position.
By not having representation, if you run into an unscrupulous buyer and an equally bad buyers agent, then you could end up with a very bad transaction. It's because I would hate to see you get into a losing situation that I have been very candid in my response.
I do hope things work out for you, and that others on the forum will be able to provide more guidance for you.
This is what I'm not sure about. We signed a NH standard listing agreement form agreeing to pay a buyer's agent a commission. I don't think it says anything about assisting us at closing.
The buyers agent is not there to assist YOU. He's there to assist the BUYER. And at a closing, at least here in NJ, the real estate agents do next to nothing, as most of their work was done long before.
Maybe I'm missing something here. You are listed someplace, on an MLS, with a standard listing form. There has to be a professional someplace on your side of the equation. Where are they? Aren't they going to be doing the stuff about which you're worried? If not, can't they at least give you the information about who does what for whom?
Last edited by Bill Keegan; 01-07-2008 at 06:28 PM..
Reason: typos
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