busymotherof4 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 We are moving from CA to CO. We were refered to a good realtor but now that we look at her contract we are questioning if we should stick with her. She wants us to sign a buyers contract. Not a problem we have done that before but this contract states that we can only cancel if we pay her a $500 fee. It also states that we guarantee that she will will receive 2.5% and if the seller doesn't pay it we are responsible. If we don't buy a house with in 6 months we have to pay the $500. If we cancel we could be responsible for the fees if we buy a house that was on the extensive list of homes that she gives us. We like her but are not sure she understands us as buyers. We also have other issues that could lead to not being able to buy right now. Our home that we have listed we can cancel without penalty. Is this a crazy contract? Has anyone heard of something like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Occasionally Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 I would never in a million years sign a contract like that. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 If you aren't sure if you can buy or not now, I'd cancel with the realtor for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 I don't know anything about contracts but I don't like the sound of that one. I think I would shop around for a realtor. Surely there are other companies in the area. I'd be surprised if that was a standard contract. I know DH wouldn't go for it either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 We are moving from CA to CO. We were refered to a good realtor but now that we look at her contract we are questioning if we should stick with her. She wants us to sign a buyers contract. Not a problem we have done that before but this contract states that we can only cancel if we pay her a $500 fee. It also states that we guarantee that she will will receive 2.5% and if the seller doesn't pay it we are responsible. If we don't buy a house with in 6 months we have to pay the $500. If we cancel we could be responsible for the fees if we buy a house that was on the extensive list of homes that she gives us. We like her but are not sure she understands us as buyers. We also have other issues that could lead to not being able to buy right now. Our home that we have listed we can cancel without penalty. Is this a crazy contract? Has anyone heard of something like this? Wow! I have never had a buyers agent require a fee from me if we didn't buy something. And it was always written into the sales contract that the payment came from the seller. No way would I sign what you describe. In fact, every buyers agent I have ever worked with (four) just had us sign the buyers agent contract right before we made an actual offer on a house. There was no expectation that we had to stay with the agent if it wasn't working, and there was always the expectation that payment came from the actual sale of the home to us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 I wouldn't sign that contract - we're in the middle of buying (or possibly building) and selling and our realtor's contract was nothing like that. Can you find another agent? Do you need a buyers agent at all? We didn't use one when we bought our current home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 We've bought four houses, and have never signed a buyer's contract, except just as part of writing up an offer. I'd find a different agent. I'm sure you have many to choose from. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Seems like a contract a really bad agent might use. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 No way! She can sit on her can and still make money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 The only way that would make sense is if she is particularly in demand and you're looking in an area that's a sellers market. If she's THAT good, she CAN screen out indecisive looky-loos so that her working hours count for something. I really can't imagine another scenario where that contract would make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Most agents do not charge a fee like that. I'm sure there are some who do, but you can find another who doesn't. The guaranteed commission is something that is becoming more popular--that way the agent gets paid for her work even if the for sale by owner you asked her to contact will not. PM if you would like me to see if I have a referral agent in the city you are going to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extendedforecast Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 If you really want to work with her, ask her to cross out or change the terms of the items you don't agree with before signing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RioSamba Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 That's ridiculous! I live on the Front Range & have two friends that are scrupulous and great agents. PM me if you want names. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busymotherof4 Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 Thanks everyone. My gut was saying that this contract is nuts. I think we will find someone else. My husband has been living in a hotel since January so we are eager to get him a place. He has been working as a locums but finally has his permanent contract. If we can't get a home soon we will need to get a rental. We asked her for help finding temporary housing and her reply was there is none. You have to sign a year lease. Our big hang up is the house we own in CA. We lowered our budget so we could buy without our home selling. Her response was to show us a listing that is $25,000 over our new budget. She portrays the market as crazy hot but there are lots of homes listed. Only the most amazing are selling right away. I don't think that she likes our new budget. We dropped our max price around $100,000. We don't need fancy and can get what we want for the smaller price. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Nope! I'd find another agent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 That does not seem right. Get a different agent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hkpiano Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 I think the contract sounds sketchy, but she is probably correct about the market, depending on where you are looking in CO. We used to live in Aurora and still have friends there. Houses are selling in 24 hours for over asking price there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solascriptura Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 I've never heard of such a thing. Find someone else if you are uncomfortable with signing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storygirl Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I've never heard of a contract like that. I also find it odd that she showed you a house over the budget you gave her. We've purchased four houses over the last fifteen years, and we looked at many properties each time. We were actually the ones to provide our realtor with a list of the houses that we wanted to see -- we formed our list by perusing realtor.com for the homes that met our needs. Maybe I just have a different mindset, but I wouldn't put the choice of properties to view in the hands of my realtor. Can you give her a list of homes to view instead of relying on her to come up with potential properties? Actually, I wouldn't see any more properties with her but would find another agent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 She sounds like a nightmare. A good agent will respect your budget. End of discussion. Her assertion that there is no temporary lodging is also nuts. Her contract is unbelievable. There is no way in a million years I would ever sign such a thing. Find a new realtor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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