Expert: liznarr - 7/8/2008

Question
In a nut shell we had signed a contract with an agent (in Texas, if this matters) to look for a home for us in another state we have never been to. For various reasons this realtor has been completely sub standard (this will be our 6th home purchase, so not newbies).
After speaking with the broker of this agency, they gave us a choice of using the broker herself to find us a home or getting out of their contract but giving them 20%.
Why would we want to look for a home with an agent we are being forced to use (that would be about as pleasant as if we had stayed with the first do nothing realtor), and we're certainly not giving them any money for doing nothing.

Do we have any recourse to this, or are we stuck renting until we ride this contract out ?
Unfortunately this contract does not expire until Sept. 30., and my husband will deployed to Iraq in mid Oct, so we're not going to be in the right frame of mind for home buying. Do we also have to wait an additional 30 days upon that date or pay them 3% as well ?

Having contractual problems with a realtor is very new to us, so forgive my ignorance on this.

Thank you.

Answer
Hi Donna,

Sorry to hear of your problem.  I would suggest first that you read your Buyer Agency Agreement carefully.  A Buyer Agency Agreement is a legally-binding agreement.  You have obligations to the agency, but the agency also has obligations to you.

You mentioned “sub-standard” service.  Not knowing exactly what you meant by that, if you can find a duty owed to you in the Buyer Agency Agreement that the agent has breached, that would be grounds for you to be relieved of the Agreement.  If you find such language, you should contact an attorney for advice.

There are also fiduciary agency duties by law that we agents have to adhere to that might not necessarily be spelled out in your agreement, but which are covered by statute.  They are:  Obedience, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting, and reasonable care.    

You might also contact the Texas Real Estate Commission with whatever behavior this agent has exhibited and see if you have any grounds to file a formal complaint.  Their web site page with contact numbers is http://www.trec.state.tx.us/agencyinfo/default.asp

Second, I would suggest that your husband contact a military attorney.  I’m sorry to be uninformed on the following, but … I have heard or read somewhere that a military family may have grounds to be relieved from a Contract under certain conditions when there is a military transfer involved.  Now, whether or not that relief might pertain to a Contract of Sale, a Buyer Agency Agreement, a Rental Agreement, a mortgage loan, or what – and under “what” the conditions -- I have no idea.  It would, however, be worth a phone call to a military attorney to find out.  If there is relief available to you, I would be interested in hearing back from you on the details.

Next, I would try – again – to reason with the Broker and appeal to her sense of morality and decency.  For goodness sake, why would she not try to help out a military family, especially when your husband will soon be deployed to Iraq?  You’re already under enough stress, and you don’t need to deal with more.  

If the Broker and/or her agent have out-of-pocket expenses, volunteer to pay for those expenses (verified with receipts).  I don’t blame you, however, for not being willing to fork over 20% to this agency for simply giving you a hard time and sub-standard service.

I don’t know all the circumstances surrounding your situation, but if someone does not want to work with me, I will gladly release them.  Good Brokers do not make their money hog-tying people to agreements when they have not given satisfactory service to a Client.  If this Broker and/or her agent had done their job in a professional manner, you would not be writing me.

If this Broker is a Realtor, she should realize that just because something is legal does not necessarily make it morally right.  I am in the process of helping a military family now.  The husband was recently in Iraq for 18 months, and he is now being transferred to a Midwest state.  I won’t go into the details, but I am bending over backwards to help them either get their house rented OR sold.  If the house rents, I might get a $50 referral fee.  My point is that money is not my object when it comes to doing the right thing for people.

Last, if you sign another Buyer Agency Agreement with a different Realtor, say, on October 1, the 30-day safety period in these type agreements is generally null and void if you sign another Buyer Agency Agreement and purchase with a different Realtor.  

There are always extenuating circumstances, and if you were in the middle of negotiations on a property and changed agencies in the middle of the negotiations (again, on October 1), the first agency could claim to be the procuring cause of the sale if you tried to switch the offer to a different agency while still negotiating with the first Realtor.  (Gosh, that’s wordy.  I hope it makes sense.)  And, “No,” if the Buyer Agency with Atilla expires and you have not made an offer on a home, you owe her $0.00.

I hope some or all of the above is helpful to you.  Good luck to you, and feel free to write again if you have additional questions.

Regards,
Elizabeth