Browse Forums Real Estate 1 Aug 04, 2011 3:38 pm Hi everyone we currently have our house for sale and has been on since mid June. Initially we were instructed to have a price range with a set sale date. Before we signed on with this agent we told them how much we needed to get so we could build our new home and he said that we should have no problems reaching that price. This price that we said was $20k above what we would actually accept but we wanted the agent to get the best price he could. Anyway a week after the house was put on the market the agent had a nervous breakdown and left the company and our property was placed in the hands on his sales support guy and he has been handling it ever since. He is a nice bloke but unfortunately I don't think he is doing a very good job. We have had 1 offer on our place about 2 weeks ago which was at the bottom end of the enquiry range and even though they came up by $15k it was still about $20k under our minimum. This is when the director of the company got involved and said that what was offered is the best we can get and should accept it. We told him that it's under what we are willing to sell the house for and what we can afford to start our new place. I also told him that if that is where the market is at and all we can expect then we wouldn't have put the house on at that time and waited a while. Since then nothing much has happened and I don't think they are working hard enough for a sale. I would like to list it with another agent but seeing as I would have to pay for the advertising with the first agent I figure that I might as well keep it on with them as well. So my question is can legally have your property listed with 2 agents? Thanks A bank is a place that will lend you money only if you can prove that you don't need it... Re: Can you have 2 real estate agents? 2Aug 04, 2011 3:43 pm Do you have a contract with the first real estate agent? It should say whether you've entered into an 'exclusive' contract, and if so, for what time frame. Otherwise you can have as many agents as you want, but you will have to pay commissions to all them if your house sells. Re: Can you have 2 real estate agents? 3Aug 04, 2011 3:48 pm Hi we did have a contract but I couldn't tell you if was an exclusive contract as we never got a copy. The way I see it we signed witha particular agent and he left the company so I don't see what sort of comeback they could really have, especially as the guy handling it is not even a licensed agent that has been looking after the sale. A bank is a place that will lend you money only if you can prove that you don't need it... Re: Can you have 2 real estate agents? 4Aug 04, 2011 3:53 pm Buttercup .....This is when the director of the company got involved and said that what was offered is the best we can get and should accept it..... Crap ! First up, multi listing is common, it's where you have your property listed with more than one agent. I do not know the ins and outs of commissions doing it this way as I do not believe in multi listing. When you drive around looking for homes for sale and see a property with more than 1 sign on there you have to ask yourself the question "Why ? Is it hard to sell ?" As to the real estate agent saying you should accept that offer, NO way Jose ! It's your house you can accept whatever price you want. Ask him to lower his commission if you accept the lower price. I bet I know what the answer will be. If you are not happy with your agent you may have to sit it out and wait for the contract to expire before signing a new agent. Then be careful as there are differing laws in different states. For instance, some states that first agent may be able to get a commission 6 months after his contract has finished, by claiming that the buyers saw the property when he had his sign up. I am not an expert, nor do I make out to be, but seek some legal advice first. Re: Can you have 2 real estate agents? 5Aug 04, 2011 4:01 pm Well I was actually thinking of not having any board up at all if it's on with 2 agents. We are on a very quiet street with only local traffic anyway. As far as the commisions go if an agent tried to claim it 6 months after my advice to them is they should have sold it 6 months earlier. A bank is a place that will lend you money only if you can prove that you don't need it... Re: Can you have 2 real estate agents? 6Aug 04, 2011 4:09 pm Buttercup Well I was actually thinking of not having any board up at all if it's on with 2 agents. We are on a very quiet street with only local traffic anyway. As far as the commisions go if an agent tried to claim it 6 months after my advice to them is they should have sold it 6 months earlier. I would feel like that too, but they have rights as well and will use them. Please, whatever you decide, a quick and cheap phone call to consumer affairs in your state will let you know where you stand. Would hate to see you in a tangled legal battle. Re: Can you have 2 real estate agents? 7Aug 09, 2011 3:33 pm You will only have to pay more than one commission if the first agent can successfully prove he introduced the buyer to your property. To get around this simply ask your current agent if there are any "hot buyers" or buyers he may think come back. Ie the buyer that made that offer. Then simply exclude them from the terms of your new agents contract. Viola, you now have covered yourself. In relation to the boss saying blah blah about the offer, he may be speaking truth about it being the highest offer, if your first agent had a breakdown, he was probably not a successfull agent, and may have got his range wrong. Try weighing up how badly you want to move, versus what price you can get, because it's only going downhill from here. If you're selling and buying a bigger house in the same market, do you really care if your home isnt worth as much as you thought? The next home you buy will be reduced to sell also, you probably will make money up by reducing your price and negotiating the next house down. Re: Can you have 2 real estate agents? 8Aug 10, 2011 6:01 pm We have bought a block of land and need to sell to begin building and we cleary stated to the agent what we wanted so this would be possible. If it was a matter of selling lower and buying lower then it would not be as big of a problem but we did say to the agent that if the price was not possible then we would wait for the market to pickup. That is what I'm P*ssed off about that they said no problem A bank is a place that will lend you money only if you can prove that you don't need it... Re: Can you have 2 real estate agents? 9Aug 10, 2011 7:00 pm Funnily enough, agents are not magicians. They don't have crystal balls and can not predict what the market will do. As far as having 2 agents goes, I would suggest reading your Listing Agreement very closely. When you list with an agent, the "agent" is the actual agency, not the sales rep. An agency itself has separate licences issued to them to trade. The sales rep you first dealt with is signing that form 'on behalf of' the agent (the agency). If you're unhappy with the agency, ask them if they'll release you from the listing agreement and move on to a new one. Just ask the current agent to put something in writing that they will free you from any conditions (small print) on the current listing you have. I'm not sure what systems agents have over east, but here in WA, we are able to see the sales and listing history on properties. Agents are obligated to make sure a vendor is not already in an exclusive listing agreement with another agent before signing them up to another one as it would result in the vendor having to pay two lots of commission. For example, if we were called to do an appraisal or list a property, we'd do the appropriate searches and check ownership and sales history. If we saw that it is currently listed, then we'd ask the vendor if they are in an exlusive listing agreement. If they said "no", then we'd probably ring the rep who's details show up on the search! If the vendor said "yes", then we would not legally be allowed to list it as well. If your current agent won't let you out of the Listing Agreement, call your state consumer affairs department and ask for advice, but I honestly don't think they'll be able to give you an out as you've signed a legal contract. As a side note, to the person who said the agent probably wasn't any good because they had a breakdown, that is one of the most ridiculous comments i've ever read. You have no idea of the background or the persons circumstances. Death, money, divorce.. it could be any number of reasons, and it could happen to any one of us! Oceanic with Nautilus upgrades. Handover 8 September 2010 Re: Can you have 2 real estate agents? 10Aug 11, 2011 11:02 am @Oceanus I only mean that if he had a nervous breakdown due to being in real estate sorry. If he is having it bad in his personal life, that is something I did not think of while I was typing the post. Yes OP you are correct, selling and building will not work out the same as selling and buying in a down market, as builders usually do not discount or adjust to market conditions. Though there were a few recent sales in my area in new estates, where I have heard of buyhers buying land, and the banks not passing valuation for the price it was purchased for. If I wanted to get out of a listing agreement, simply express your concerns to the agent or principal, he or she will most likely release you from the contract as to not cause any big problems or get a bad reputation for his business. Just make sure you get this in writing to cover you. Re: Can you have 2 real estate agents? 11Aug 30, 2011 10:13 pm Well great news we have sold our house and are happy with the price we got. Now we can start building our dream home A bank is a place that will lend you money only if you can prove that you don't need it... Thanks mate. Yeah good points! Leaning towards Option 3 to get a bit extra space in the cabinets but not going too crazy high (and expensive). Would require a mini… 13 39719 2 10987 Hey everyone Not for me or anyone I know, just generally interested. 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