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My husband and I did one of the three day stays at an active adult community during a recent trip to Florida. We were shown model homes and given a tour by a salesman/agent (Agent #1) - however, he seemed to be only interested in selling us new construction. When we asked about resales, he showed us only a couple of properties that were in the high-end range.
While still in Florida, we decided that we were seriously interested in this community, however only in resales.So we drove back and contacted an outside real estate agent (Agent #2) who did an MLS search and showed us about a half dozen resale homes that were in our price range, but nothing that we absolutely loved enough to make an offer on right now.
Then it occurred to us that there must be other homes for sale in this community that are not on MLS, so we called the sales office and asked for the resale department. They then referred us back to the original salesman/agent (Agent #1) and we were told that any salesman can sell both new and resale homes.
We now have two agents looking for homes for us in this community. They are both very pleasant to work with and seem to be competent. My question is whether there is a conflict here - can we have more than one agent looking for us or do we have to pick one or the other at this point? What happens if the second agent wants to show us a house that we've seen already? Do I need to disclose to both agents that we are working with someone else simultaneously? Are there any other implications that I am not aware of?
Thanks for your imput.
Last edited by tresjolie3; 06-07-2008 at 08:04 AM..
Reason: First draft was ambiguous
Not if you didn't sign a contract with any of them. Sometimes builders are giving higher commisions to agents (up to 11%) for new construction so that might be the reason why agent # 1 wants you to see the new construction, he makes more money of you....Choose the home that suits you the best and is financially the best for you, and whoever showed you that home will probable be your agent...as long as you haven't signed anything you should be fine. I'm not a lawyer and in different States there migth be different rules so check it with the state rules, or ask a real estate lawyer what you should do.
Ahhh...ya just gotta love Florida. Did either one of them have you sign a representation disclosure? Meaning did they explain the differences in the representation and explain to you which type of representation they work under? If not, both SHOULD have and are REQUIRED by law to do so, although that is changing in August, I believe. It will then be an assumption statewide that the Realtor® is behaving in transaction broker status unless they have you sign something stating otherwise.
Yes, you can work with two agents or as many you would like to up until someone asks you to sign a buyer's rep form which will either lock you to them for a particular area or just particular properties. I'm not sure why you would except it seems, in your situation, that you have already picked the community you want. Agent A either didn't listen to you well or you didn't communicate to him that you wanted a resale. Because he's inside the community, it's not unusual for them to have resales as exclusives that they don't put on the MLS. He may very well have more listings than the outside Realtor®. You may want to stick with him.
If you work with two Realtors® and Realtor®A shows you a home but you write up the contract with Realtor®B, since you are working with both, you've set them up for a procuring cause fight. It won't do anything to you, but, while the deal is going on, A will be calling B letting them know...that's my customer, that's my commission, either split it or I'm taking you to arbitration. After the deal closes and the property is yours, to arbitration they will go. It's not a good situation to set up. So, yes. Tell both Realtors® that you are working with someone else and tell them WHY. They may have a solution for you which will allow you to work with only one. Since you know what community you want, you know you want a resale, pick the one you feel more comfortable with that can show you everything available and stick with them.
And..if they didn't give you the representation disclosure? Ask them where the heck it is.
Ahhh...ya just gotta love Florida. Did either one of them have you sign a representation disclosure? Meaning did they explain the differences in the representation and explain to you which type of representation they work under? If not, both SHOULD have and are REQUIRED by law to do so, although that is changing in August, I believe. It will then be an assumption statewide that the Realtor® is behaving in transaction broker status unless they have you sign something stating otherwise.
Yes, you can work with two agents or as many you would like to up until someone asks you to sign a buyer's rep form which will either lock you to them for a particular area or just particular properties. I'm not sure why you would except it seems, in your situation, that you have already picked the community you want. Agent A either didn't listen to you well or you didn't communicate to him that you wanted a resale. Because he's inside the community, it's not unusual for them to have resales as exclusives that they don't put on the MLS. He may very well have more listings than the outside Realtor®. You may want to stick with him.
If you work with two Realtors® and Realtor®A shows you a home but you write up the contract with Realtor®B, since you are working with both, you've set them up for a procuring cause fight. It won't do anything to you, but, while the deal is going on, A will be calling B letting them know...that's my customer, that's my commission, either split it or I'm taking you to arbitration. After the deal closes and the property is yours, to arbitration they will go. It's not a good situation to set up. So, yes. Tell both Realtors® that you are working with someone else and tell them WHY. They may have a solution for you which will allow you to work with only one. Since you know what community you want, you know you want a resale, pick the one you feel more comfortable with that can show you everything available and stick with them.
And..if they didn't give you the representation disclosure? Ask them where the heck it is.
Does thast mean that after August, if you call a listing agent to show you a home they immediatly are your realtor or just in that 1 case if you make an offer on that home...like we always have worked with the one who showed us the home we made an offer on..or do you mean that the realtor can claim you if you go and see another home and they find out although, except for that one home, you never had any contact with that realtor?
I don't understand your question.
Right now, in the state of Florida, sales associates and brokers must present you with a form that explains the type of representation they are giving you. I'm a transaction broker. So, that means, BEFORE I show you properties, I am required, by law, to hand you a transaction broker notice, which explains my duties to you and ask you to sign it. You are not 'locked' into me or anyone else unless you sign a buyer's broker agreement. I can be a transaction broker and still have you in a buyer's broker agreement which would 'lock' you to me for either particular properties or particular areas depending on how it's written up and what we agree on.
After August (I think it's August, I have to check again, but definately this year), I will no longer be required by law to have you sign the representation notice UNLESS I am acting in a capacity other than a transaction broker. It will be assumed that licensed real estate people in Florida are acting as a transaction broker until they tell you otherwise and you agree to that type of representation.
If you call the Realtor® on the sign that has the listing, she either should be having you sign a transaction broker notice or a non-representation notice according to the law now. When the law changes, she wouldn't have to do that...it would be assumed she's a transaction broker.
You and I have had this discussion in the past. You kept saying you weren't represented, I was letting you know you were...by a transaction broker..unless of course you had signed a non-representation notice. You may not have known it but she had duties to you by law unless you gave them up in writing.
So what you are saying (aside from the disclosure issue) is that I may use as many transaction brokers as I like until I find a property that I wish to buy.
Presently, I have not signed a buyer's broker agreement, nor has the subject come up.
However, in the case that one agent wishes to show me a property that I have been already shown by another agent - I am not sure how to handle it ethically, even if I am legally entitled to have someone else show me the property a second time. I do not want to start a "procuring source" war.
Would it be better to say that I have already been shown that property by another agent and have decided not to buy it because (price too high, poor location, etc.) OR would it be better to say that I do not want to view that property and keep silent about the other agent?
I feel like I am two-timing - the Agent #2 showed us more resales but Agent #1 has access to properties that are not on the MLS.
Yes. You can work with as many agents as you would like until or unless you sign a buyers broker agreement. That buyers broker agreement would then control the transactions from there. Unless of course, you fire them, lol.
But, yes, you can use whoever you would like. Me, as a Realtor® and a fair person would want to know and would tell that another sales associate or Realtor® was also at work on the same task. So, yes, I would suggest you tell whoever you are working with that you are working with someone else. Let them explain why you should work only with them. It may be that they both have access to the same listings.
Again, I'm not quite sure why you are working with more than one, other than it is a possibilty that the person inside the complex might have exclusive listings that aren't shared outside the community. That can happen. But, you can tell him that you only want to see those that aren't on the MLS, nothing else and work with the other agent for everything else. OR, you can tell the outside agent of the exclusive listings and let her call and see if he will co-broke with her. OR, you can just work entirely with the inside agent.
I'll tell you one thing...both have already broken the law by not showing you the notice and asking you to sign it and explaining what representation (if any) you have. That's incorrect. Be careful of the inside guy..if he has exclusive listings, unless he's signed them up with him being a transaction broker, you have no representation and he has no responsibility to you at all. This all seems complicated but it isn't...and it only appears so because neither of them have done their jobs properly. And they just started, lol.
Edit: When you see a property with one agent and you are still working with them, then yes, tell the other agent you've already seen it with someone else. And yes, explain to which ever agent why you didn't like the property or haven't put in an offer. As for 'cheating'...if you are upfront about it, you aren't cheating. Be prepared for one of the agents to walk after you tell them you are working with someone else or to ask you to sign a buyers broker notice. And as for legally...yes, you can have another agent show you the property the second time. Is it prudent to do so? That's up to you. Could there be a procuring cause issue? Sure, but that's really between the agents, not the buyer/agent. You've signed nothing. You would be out of it. One of them can ask you to write a letter or come to the arbitration meeting but you are under no obligation to do either.
Last edited by palmcoasting; 06-09-2008 at 12:59 PM..
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