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UGH!!!! I hate it when I hear stories like this. OK, here is my interpretation / summary of your story.
You find home.
You ask agent to write up offer.
At 11th hour agent tells you he/she won't write up offer without exclusive contract.
You sign contract under duress.
Now your 'exclusive agent' is not willing to show you houses (which is her job), and you're screwed.
I had almost a similar situation happen to me a few months ago. I was putting in an offer with an agent, and faxes me over the contract paperwork and includes the exclusive buyers agreement in with the paperwork as if it was part of the contract. I tell her that I'm not going to sign the exclusive buyers contract and if she refuses to write up my offer, I will find another agent to do it. She then asks me to sign a non-exclusive agreement, I refuse. She still writes up my offer.
SC is a written agency state and I make that clear up front as well as go over agency and expectations. I usually spend 3-45 minutes in the office with the buyer before we go look at homes. The ERS is basically a contract where you hire the agent. You can change the terms including making it specific to that one house, or at least you can before you sign it. You still may be able to.
Not sure where you are but it sounds like a written agency state. It sounds as if she did a really poor job of counseling you up front but I don't know if she's a good agent or not. If you like her and think she's alright let it go. If you don't like her, don't trust her, or don't think she's a good agent then do what you need to.
Jeeze,
In NC, the NC Bar and the NCAR cooperate to offer forms for Realtors.
I use the Standard Exclusive Right to Represent Buyer, Non-Exclusive Right to Represent Buyer, and the Exclusive Right to Sell forms all the time.
Of course, the Buyer's Agency Forms are harder to ignore since we are compelled to establish a baseline expected compensation with the client. The form documents that and lets us avoid "he said, she said" regarding compensation issues.
Agreed, except for I'm in SC and the contract can indeed be enforceable to get a commission if the buyer tries to go around the agent. If a buyer wanted out, most agents I know would let them out, but it's good for the two timing buyer. After all, if I'm willing to commit my time, isn't it fair the buyer make a commitment back to me?
I think it comes down to just like any other business dealing. If your agent is good and meets all your expectations, there is no need to be duped into a loyalty contract.
Some agents think because they pass off a few MLS listings, you must sign anything they want in blood.
As a buyer, if my agent is truly paying attention to get the home I want and trying their best to find it for me and not out for their own good, I'm going to be far more loyal to them, then any contract might be.
I have seen agents shove that crap document into buyer's faces within 2 minutes of meeting them. Usually first time home buyers who don't know any better.
I think realtors need to have SOME faith in decent minded people. If you're doing them an honorable service, chances are they will stay loyal to you too.
It depends on what state you're in. I never ask a buyer to sign a buyer's rep upon first meeting - like I said, I break out in hives if someone signs something they haven't read - but if we've worked together a bit, then, yes, there does need to be a written document - if nothing else, some brokers in Texas will not pay subagents, which means that I wouldn't get paid for the work I've done even if I worked all the way through to closing, and while my responsibility is to the buyer's best interests, there is a limit if I intend to stay in business at all.
In some states, the document is required by law if the agent is to work with you. So you wouldn't be using an agent in those states, not legally, anyway.
It's not a "crap document" unless you, the buyer, feel that for some reason it is not in your best interests to put in writing your responsibilities to the agent as well as their responsibilities to you (and trust me, most such documents have a LOT more about the agent's responsibilities to you than vice versa). You can talk about loyalty all you want, but when push comes to shove, if you really are afraid to sign such a document to the point that you call it "crap" AND want the agent to work for you and uphold the responsibilities to you of a buyer's agent, one has to wonder why.
I think it comes down to just like any other business dealing. If your agent is good and meets all your expectations, there is no need to be duped into a loyalty contract.
Some agents think because they pass off a few MLS listings, you must sign anything they want in blood.
As a buyer, if my agent is truly paying attention to get the home I want and trying their best to find it for me and not out for their own good, I'm going to be far more loyal to them, then any contract might be.
I have seen agents shove that crap document into buyer's faces within 2 minutes of meeting them. Usually first time home buyers who don't know any better.
I think realtors need to have SOME faith in decent minded people. If you're doing them an honorable service, chances are they will stay loyal to you too.
You can't force someone to love ya. Same concept.
The only problem with this concept is the myriad of threads that start something like this...
"I listed my house with an agent but now someone approached me directly, how do I get out of the contract?"
or
"I went with my agent to look at a home in a new development but now I found out I can get 2% off if I didn't have an agent, how do I get out of my agreement?"
I think it comes down to just like any other business dealing. If your agent is good and meets all your expectations, there is no need to be duped into a loyalty contract.
Some agents think because they pass off a few MLS listings, you must sign anything they want in blood.
As a buyer, if my agent is truly paying attention to get the home I want and trying their best to find it for me and not out for their own good, I'm going to be far more loyal to them, then any contract might be.
I have seen agents shove that crap document into buyer's faces within 2 minutes of meeting them. Usually first time home buyers who don't know any better.
I think realtors need to have SOME faith in decent minded people. If you're doing them an honorable service, chances are they will stay loyal to you too.
You can't force someone to love ya. Same concept.
After hearing that a few time and spending 20 or 30 hours on someone and then get burned you'll change that tune. It is part of the business that some clients never close but it's a business choice of the agent how they want to work. Contractors, attorneys, doctors...they all have paperwork and so do Realtors. The mistake is often on the part of the buyer/seller hiring the first warm body to come along.
Jeeze,
You would think someone could devise a contract in TX that outlined each party's rights and responsibilities.
How challenging can that be?
There is a form, but it doesn't really mean anything. It does outline who works for whom and what the rights and responsibilities are for the agent and blah blah blah.
But the bottom line is, and it's proven time and time again, if a buyer signs this form and decides to turn around and buy a house on their own or with another agent, they have every right to do it as a buyer can be represented by whomever they want.
With that, even if they are under contract with someone else, it doesn't matter, as long as the other agent does not advise the buyer to terminate or go outside of the contract, as that's interfering with an agency relationship.
So, if a buyer goes and buyers a house outside the contract, the agent still has no recourse for any money of any kind. That's why I'm saying the contracts aren't held up in court, and it all comes down to procurring cause.
If the buyer buys with someone else, but the first agent showed the house and ran comps and did work, yet the buyer chose another agent, the first agent could raise their hand asking to get paid. If the buyer buys something the first agent never showed them, that agent gets diddly.
No water in court! Spelling out responsibilities doesn't actually "mean" anything. They only look at procuring cause when it comes to money exchanging hands!
Gator, your advice could really get some buyers in trouble. You are wrong at several points.
1-It's not a a matter of being duped into signing a contract. It is a choice. If the agent is good and worthwhile this shouldn't be a problem and it should be discussed prior to.
2-It is an enforceable contract so the agent could have recourse.
3-You go in there and tell professionals that your word is as good as a contract and see how far that gets you. You wouldn't get very far with that attorney, or accountant, etc.
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