Expert: Jessica Bryan - 8/17/2007

Question
Upon deciding to submit a contract on a house, I signed paperwork with my agent.  My first issue is the fact the I realized, after the fact, that he slipped an Exclusive Right to Represent Buyer agreement in the contracting paperwork without discussing it with me first.  The end date of the contract is 31 December 2007.  Which leads me to my next issue.  I have decided that I no longer want to work with him because I do not feel he is the right agent for us or that he has our best interests at heart - for various reasons.  I have spoken with him and the senior broker (and notified them in writing) that we no longer want to work with him/them and have been told that while I am not required to work with him, that agreement was for the company so I should try to work with another realtor.  I do not want to do that.  I am 8 1/2 months pregnant and my husband is deployed.  We have agreed that this situation has caused me too much stress and we want to wait until he gets back next month to look for homes together.  What obligation are we under and what would happen if we find another home in that time frame that we want to buy?  Are we contractually obligated to this company?

Answer
Dear Laura;
You are contractually obligated to that brokerage but can complain that you were not informed of the agency agreement and would like to go elsewhere.  (I think that you said you already did that...but do it again! sometimes persistence gets you farther.)  Beyond being released from the contract, the only thing that you can do is to wait until it runs out or consult an attorney about how to break the contract.  If you think that the brokerage doesn't have your best interests at heart, you can try to discuss that as your reason to break the contract.  Sometimes, an attorney letter works best. It carries more weight than a personal complaint and also shows that you mean business! I cannot imagine holding someone to an agreement if they really didn't want to proceed, but that is always up to the broker.  I also know for a fact that there are many buyers who sign an exclusive agency agreement and who never call again but end up buying a home with another broker from another company.  This happens all the time. Sometimes the first agent will find out and go after the commission which then becomes a "grievance" and often goes to mediation.  Since you are contractually bound, you should be very careful not to go with someone else until you have been released (in writing) from the agreement since you could be responsible to pay the first agent commission regardless of who sells you a home.

Good luck and best wishes,
Jessica Bryan