Real estate contract question (sales, attorney, house)

[Plz12229]

Our contract with the real estate agent expired August 31. We want to try to sell the house ourself . The contract with our former agent states they have a 45 day protection period and 10 days to get us a list of names of people that showed interest in the house. We have received no such list. Do I still have to wait 45 days to list the house without paying my former agent a commission? I’m not trying to cut them out, but it will influence any price negotiations.

[WRM20]

IANAL, but the protection period only applies to sales made to buyers who were shown the house by your previous realtor. If the old realtor failed to send you a list of people who viewed the house within the 10 day period, my assumption would be that you did not receive effective notice of potential buyers the protection period applies to, and can sell the house to them without paying the commission. Of course, the agent would probably argue. Does the contract say what the impact of not sending the list within 10 days is?

In any case, you can sell to a buyer who never saw the house and not owe the commission.

[Plz12229]

Thanks for the reply. It seems a little confusing to me, but basically it says then if I sell the house to someone whose attention was drawn to the house while it was still under contract with them that I would be obligated to pay them a commission. I really don’t want to wait the 45 days stated in the contract but I will pay them the commission if I have to, but since it is well over $20,000 commission that will affect any price negotiations I have with any potential buyers.

[77030]

I have been through this, recently... your agent had 10 days to provide you with a list of names of people who she introduced to your property. If she didn't give you a list, you are free to sell to anyone and won't owe her a dime.

To cover your rear, I would send her a certified letter stating that you never got a list and that, per your listing agreement, you are free to sell to whomever you want and she won't have earned a commission.

You don't have to wait at all. You can list FSBO now. Even if she gave you a list of names, you wouldn't owe her anything if you sold to someone not on the list.

Good luck

[Plz12229]

Thank you for the reply. I’m in the process of getting all my paperwork completed and will begin listing early next week. Have a great weekend.

[snackdog]

Unless you are an attorney yourself, you might benefit from having a real estate attorney read your contract. You should also call your realtor and get their view. If they say you are free, ask them to confirm in writing.