There is also the fact that this is a new seller (the bank). Even if it was a short sale on the first offer and the bank had a say in it, they weren't the owner then.

It really boils down to Procuring cause. But as mentioned before it's not as simple. I was involved in this type of situation myself. I wrote a contract with clients that have wrote 2 previous contract on the same property with another agent (same agent both contracts). My partner and I were able to demonstrate abandonment on part of the old realtor and did not have to give up our commission.

In your case, since the owners, of the property in question, did accept a different offer you may have no problem showing that the old realtor abandoned you since than and you had no correspondence with him. I wonder how you found out about the house the second time around. If you found it and not through any emails or phone call from the first realtor, the new realtor will probably have no problems being paid.

A way to fight it, is present your phone bills with a list of your incoming calls to show no correspondence.

Either way, speak with the new realtor about it and let him worry about the commission. You need to get what you want and that is the house.

Good luck.
Karen Abramson

Amit, It sounds like you had just signed the Agency Disclosure documents and not a Buyer Agency, but you want to be sure about this. My recommendation would be that you sign a Buyer Agency agreement with your current agent if you are happy with them. They will be able to represent you as a client and guide you through the process. I wish you well with your offer to purchase and hope you get the house you want!

This could be a sticky issue, but I would tend to think that you would not have to work with the original agent.
You should consult your attorney to be safe, but as I understand your situation you would be in the clear if the following conditions applied:
1a. Your Buyer's Agent Contract with the original agent has expired.
Or
1b. You were given an unconditional release from your original Buyer Agent Contract.
2. You have signed a new Buyer Agent Agreement with the new agent.
3. The original Buyer Agent Contract did not have something in the Hold-Over Clause that would address this situation.

Procuring Cause could be argued, but it would depend on the length of time since your original agent last contacted you (which they shouldn't be doing at all if you have informed them of your new Buyer Agent Contract). Of course, this could all be a moot point on your end, unless your contract had you specifically paying the Buyer Agent. In this area, the Listing Agency usually pays the Selling Agency's Commission and the atmosphere is cooperative enough that most Buyers don't have to pay anything to their Buyer Agency out of pocket.

One thing to keep in mind. Unless your Buyer Contract is Open and allows you to work with multiple agents, you should not contact any individual agents directly, except your current Buyer Agent or their Principle Broker. That could put you in violation of your contract. In addition, any agent that contacts you should immediately cease trying to contact you directly if you inform them that you have a Buyer Agent Contract. Failure to do so on their part could be considered interference and put them in hot water with the state's Real Estate Commission.

In short:
1. Contact your attorney
2a. Contact your current Buyer Agent
Or
2b. Contact your current Buyer's Agent's Principle Broker.

Dear LA Home Buyer,

Well, you may be stirring up a hornets nest. If you write a new offer with this new agent on the old property the listing agent may recognise your information and call the old agent to inform them. Then your busted and the accusations will fly.

What I wonder is if you told this new agent that you were working with someone else earlier and wrote and offer on this property?

If not, you should. Then, let her go to her broker and ask for advise on how to handle the situation.

What happens most of the time is the brokers will work out the commission between them and you won't have to get involved.

It's better so disclose it now then get a phone call.

Honesty means everything.

Best of luck to you,

Stew Keene

There is something called "procuring cause" in our industry that can be quite complicated and every situation varies. I do not want to get into the specifics, since I do not know all the specifics of your situation, however, if the agent who initially introduced you to the property and wrote up a contract decides they are owed a commission - the issue of procuring cause could arise. In order to assist you further, I would need to discuss the details of your situation - you can email me at cfleming@coldwellbanker.com and we can talk more about it. The other option would be to speak with the agent you are currently working with - they should be able to assist you on how you should proceed.

Did you sign a buyers agent agreement? If so, you'll need to terminate your buyer agency contract - if you were unhappy with the agent, you have every right to fire them. However, if you do not terminate the contract, you will owe that agent a commission, based on the contract, on any property you purchase. (If it is within the contract timelines and you are in fact in a buyer agency. ) If you are not in a buyer agency contract, then you have the right to work with any agent.