Val,

Gary’s answer is accurate. I work for Re/max of Valencia and I can assure you that the first step would be to approach the office manager. For reputable Brokers their reputation is very important and they will do what they can to remedy the situation. Many times the issue of an incompetent agent can be resolved by the manager’s involvement. If you still feel uncomfortable dealing with the company your next step would be to ask for an unconditional release. There are several attorneys or even other agents that will help obtain this.
If the agent has been working with you and showing you homes it might be a nice gesture for your new agent to offer a referral fee to your previous agent. This can be agreed upon by both agents. If you have any further questions or would like more details please feel free to call me (661)702-4977.

Fri Feb 15 2008, 17:39

Wow.....You did get some bad information, but from Maya. 1st, Greater Responsibility, All REALTORS® are held to the same standard.

Please allow me to address this issue with the way the Board rules on these issues. In other words, I will use what is basically our version of the Law and not opinion. (For ease of reading, He refers to both genders)

OK, in Layman’s terms, for a Broker to collect a commission, he must prove what we call Procuring Cause. For that proof to be established, one must be involved in the transaction from start to finish. With that said, some brokerages have such airtight contracts and listing agreements, that it doesn't really matter what you find here on Trulia.

Specifically, the rule state that procuring cause is defined as “one (as a broker) that sets in motion a continuous series of events culminating in the sale or leasing of real estate”

A broker being fired and replaced is most definitely an interruption.

If you have fired your previous agent, contact his brokerage, as Maya suggested and demand a competent agent represent you. In other words, give the broker the opportunity to fix the problem. If he cannot, then get an unconditional release. CA and FL are the Attorney Capitals of the world, certainly, you can find an attorney friend or relative to draft a release on the cheap.

Now, do not lose that document, and also provide one to your new REALTOR®. Explain that it could be the only insurance that he will get paid....He will NOT loose it, I assure you.

Lastly, make certain that you feel ok doing this to the REALTOR® who did get the original offer for you. You may feel that he is not competent, he is not working, or he is not good enough, but if you get the deal closed, he did do something right and for that, he should be compensated, at least in part.

In other words, this is a stressfull issue, make sure that you can still sleep at night when it is all over with.



Gary De Pury
Broker-Owner
Bay Vista Realty & Investments, Inc.
Chairman, Communications Committee
Director, Florida Association of Realtors

Fri Feb 15 2008, 14:46

Hi Val,

You have been given some misleading answers by Realtors. I am a broker and as such have a greater responsibility. Your previous broker of whom your salesperson was an agent obtained the offer and is entitled to the buyers office commission

If what you are proposing were done to one of my agents I would definitely go to the board to collect their commission for them. Thius leaving your new agent and broker nothing. My agent would have done the work to find these properties and get your offers presented for acceptance and is entitled to her income.

I suggest you approach the old broker - not salesperson - and ask them to assign you another agent from their office. The commission is the brokers by legal right and the broker will determine how to split it between your old and new agents in his office.The old broker will have registered your name with the listing broker as someone they brought to the property to establish their commission entitilement.

You may call me at 323.230.9775 for further information. Though I will not assign an agent to help you with these two properties we will be glad to help you on other properties. Btw we also rebate 20% of our commission to buyers for closing or fixing costs.

Maya Swamy, Broker List! Buy! Save!

Maya Swamy

Fri Feb 15 2008, 12:39

Val, you definitely have some delicate issues to handle...when was the offer on the short sale submitted? What timeframe is in that purchase contract that was submitted? As long as you didn't sign a buyer/broker agreement, (and even in some cases if you did, you can get it nullified) you can work with another agent, but of course there is always the "procuring cause" situation. I am here in Santa Clarita and have a number of good real estate attorneys who would be happy to advise you. I can be reached through the website below if you would like the names and numbers of the attorneys. Another suggestion would be to go to the realtor's broker--they are in essence, the realtor's boss, and as both a business owner and a realtor, if I have an employee that isn't doing a stellar job, and MOST definitely if they are operating unethically, I would want to know about it, and I am sure their broker would want to know also. Now, I am not saying the broker will side with you, afterall, they are supposed to be our support system, but I am saying that if the broker is worth a grain of salt, he/she will definitely have a talk with the agent and find out what can be done to rectify the situation. I hope this helps, and God Bless.

Fri Feb 15 2008, 10:22

Val-

The first question is always -
Did you have a buyer broker agreement with this agent? This is a contract that states they will be your agent for x period of time. If you did have an agreement, did you cancel that agreement with the agent ?

If the agent is not a broker, did you let the broker know of your dissatisfaction with the agent and why you were canceling the contract/relationship?

If you did any of the above, you can probably proceed on using another agent without any worries about ramifications from the previous agent. However, if you have/had an agreement (contract) with the first agent and have not dissolved it, the original agent could claim that they were the "procuring" agent of the sale and demand commission.

Obviously, you can see how there may be more to this then a simple answer. If you are unsure at all, contact a real estate attorney. Even though the seller pays the selling agent's commission, you do not want the seller having to pay 3 commissions or they might not see your offer as that great of a deal.

As far as the short sale offer goes, if it was presented by this original agent, you most likely have to see it through or withdraw the offer within the contingency period indicated in the contract and walk away from the deal.

Your situation sounds very complicated and I believe your best bet would be to sit down with the agent's broker or a real estate attorney to sort out how to accomplish what you want.

Good luck.

CJ

Fri Feb 15 2008, 09:13