Who gets the commission? (clause, new agent, commissions, sale)

[futurecruiser]

I'm sure this question has been asked on here before but I can't find it.

Have home listed with Realtor A.
Realtor B shows home.
Contract Expires.
With a few days, I list home with Realtor C.
Some time later Realtor B comes forward with offer on home.

If sale goes through, who Gets commision?

A + B?

B + C? ( I think and hope)

A + B + C ? (man, I hope not!)

Thanks!

[jdhall1]

Realtor B & C.

[wilvan]

A and C must discuss how to share the selling commissions?

[Bill Keegan]

Originally Posted by futurecruiser

I'm sure this question has been asked on here before but I can't find it.

Have home listed with Realtor A.
Realtor B shows home.
Contract Expires.
With a few days, I list home with Realtor C.
Some time later Realtor B comes forward with offer on home.

If sale goes through, who Gets commision?

A + B?

B + C? ( I think and hope)

A + B + C ? (man, I hope not!)

Thanks!

Of course, your particular circumstances and any agreements you may have made will override, but...
In general, when you list your property with another agent after the first one failed to get it sold, you no longer owe that first agent anything, even if it is sold to someone who saw it while it was listed with them. Therefore, in your case, you pay your commission to agent B, who pays agent C the agreed co op. Exceptions could include someone who made the offer while it was still listed with A, or anyone you, A & B agreed would be excepted from the new listing agreement with B.

[Silverfall]

What Bill Keegan said. Generally it is B+C unless a buyer was excluded from the listing contract with C, or A has a clause that allows them to get paid. Most contracts are written that once you relist with a new agent, you no longer have any commission obligations to the previous agent.

You'll have to read the fine print on listing contract with A to be sure.

[futurecruiser]

Okay, followup question.
Why would a new listing agent ever agree to exclude a customer and still pay the first listing agent for a customer?

here's the situation. My contract with Agent A expired a few weeks ago.
(agent A's sign is still in yard, and still has it in MLS but our contract expired and not renewed). There's this one buyer that A has been in contact with since October about our house but they haven't actually seen our house yet. Only seen pictures on the web. That buyer is travelling to the area in a couple of weeks. That buyer got a job and their company has provided them with a buyers agent (Agent B). They plan on looking at our house among probably 20 others. My personal feeling is that with so many houses on the market and this buyer being somewhat of a flake (I've seen some of her emails) that the chance of her buying our house is about 1%.

I told agent A that I'm going to relist with Agent C, and to please take it off MLS and come get her sign/lockbox. No hard feelings, I was nice about it. There are numerous reasons why we've been unhappy with agent A and this wasn't a real surprise to her, shouldn't have been anyways when we didn't renew our contract. But, then she got all angry and said she was insisting on an exclusion in the contract for this one buyer.
I was surprised (as we actually have a few other buyers that I think might pan out before this flake ever does) and I said I'd have to ask the new agent.

New agent says no, basically, these people haven't even seen the house yet, why would they be excluded? They don't even have an appointment to see it yet just said they would sometime around the end of the month. They have their own buyer agent now, agent B. Why would we pay A anything...yeah, she spent some time talking to them about our house but isn't that the way the cookie crumbles??

I'm kind of in the middle now, as if trying to sell our house isn't frustrating enough....

[Bill Keegan]

Originally Posted by futurecruiser

Okay, followup question.
Why would a new listing agent ever agree to exclude a customer and still pay the first listing agent for a customer?

here's the situation. My contract with Agent A expired a few weeks ago.
(agent A's sign is still in yard, and still has it in MLS but our contract expired and not renewed). There's this one buyer that A has been in contact with since October about our house but they haven't actually seen our house yet. Only seen pictures on the web. That buyer is travelling to the area in a couple of weeks. That buyer got a job and their company has provided them with a buyers agent (Agent B). They plan on looking at our house among probably 20 others. My personal feeling is that with so many houses on the market and this buyer being somewhat of a flake (I've seen some of her emails) that the chance of her buying our house is about 1%.

I told agent A that I'm going to relist with Agent C, and to please take it off MLS and come get her sign/lockbox. No hard feelings, I was nice about it. There are numerous reasons why we've been unhappy with agent A and this wasn't a real surprise to her, shouldn't have been anyways when we didn't renew our contract. But, then she got all angry and said she was insisting on an exclusion in the contract for this one buyer.
I was surprised (as we actually have a few other buyers that I think might pan out before this flake ever does) and I said I'd have to ask the new agent.

New agent says no, basically, these people haven't even seen the house yet, why would they be excluded? They don't even have an appointment to see it yet just said they would sometime around the end of the month. They have their own buyer agent now, agent B. Why would we pay A anything...yeah, she spent some time talking to them about our house but isn't that the way the cookie crumbles??

I'm kind of in the middle now, as if trying to sell our house isn't frustrating enough....

First, you need to look at the listing contract you signed, and check the dates. It's very much agaisnt the rules of most (I would suspect ALL) MLS to advertise a property for sale if you don't have a listing agreement in place for that property. You should pull her sign out of your lawn if the contract is expired & she hasn't taken it away.
Second, in most listing agreements I have seen, the right of the listing agent to collect a comission disappears as soon as another agent lists the property for sale. Check your contract to see if that's the case, but I suspect it is. Let your new listing agent know exactly what's gone on, and have her deal with agent A. She & her broker should be able to work it out, saving you all this greif & aggravation. The agent can certainly ASK for an exclusion for this particular buyer, but that would have to be agreed to by your new listing agent. If the buyer is working with agent A, then agent A will be able to collect the buyer co op if she sells it.

[Silverfall]

Also, ask your agent (Agent C) about MLS rules. My MLS does not allow excluded buyers like in this situation. Agent A would be out of luck. Unless your contract with Agent A gives her the right to collect commissions even when you re-list, go with a new agent and get back marketing your home. Forget about her.

I agree with Bill. Her sign in your yard is illegal. You can't leave a real estate sign up for weeks. Also once it expires on the MLS, Agent C should be able to just enter in a new listing unless that MLS does something weird. Agent C can help you sort through it.

[futurecruiser]

Thank you both, I am so upset right now. I really do appreciate your advice. Agent A just sent me an email with a big guilt trip (and that she "might" get her sign and lockbox tomorrow) and asking for more buyers excluded. (I forwarded email to Agent C).

Yes our contract is the standard one used in NH that states that she's entitled "unless the property has been listed with another licensed broker on an exclusive basis.". It's expiration date is 12/31/08. What has me so upset is that we do have some buyers who are interested in the property but haven't made an offer (in no hurry as so many others) and I'm REALLY worried what she's going to say to them. (Like, don't deal with those sellers, they are jerks, or whatever)...

I really am not trying to screw her out of any commission but she did a really poor job as an agent...obviously if we were happy with her we would have renewed the contract. I could rattle off a list but that's not my point - I was however trying to just exit gracefully on good terms and just list with someone else but evidently she doesn't like that, though in her email she said "I don't blame you...". Geez..

[Silverfall]

If you know who the buyer's agent is, have Agent C call Agent B immediately to tell them they are the new contact.

Move on quickly. The market isn't getting any better as layoffs are continuing to be announced.

I wouldn't worry about the seller being a jerk thing. If Agent C is well regarded in the real estate community that kind of talk has no meaning. Honestly, most agents, I think, take that kind of talk with a grain of salt.