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We signed a buyer's agent contract while distracted signing other papers---Never heard of it before, and didn't quite get it. It was for 12 months. Unfortunately this agent was a kind of new friend and she and her husband drove us over a hundred miles to another city to look for houses. We made a total of 3 trips, and I paid for fuel and food. She made offers for us on, I think, 4 houses. Long story short, we finally made an offerthat was accepted after a 3 or so month wait and we were on track for the buy! Then we found it required $15,000 of repairs for which we got an FHA repair loan. The agent asked us if we wanted to see if they would lower the price 6 K because of the repairs. One was the roof and the chimney was unsafe. (both things that could be deemed to be under what they had offered to take some responsibiity for. I thought she was going to talk about it but she made a whole new offer with a different type loan. Then I couldn't get her to check on it for 3 weeks instead of working with the other agent. At that point she called the agent at my request. There were bad words between agents, insults from my agent, etc. and to make a long story short the other agent said the bank was going to auction with it and we couldn't meet our contract date. There were several problems before with other agents in the other city and she didn't want to have someone over there help us and also she had different forms than what they used there and they were a few years old so she had to go get new ones, etc. Once she called and said she had filled in a few "small" amounts on items the other brokerage wanted, but we had already signed it before and that seems illegal to me. We found out that although she was a broker and an agent she worked for herself and it seemed to be kind of a hobby with only us and her daughter as clients at that time. Also, we found out that she had probably had a "little stroke" previously. Anyway, they were trying to help us because we couldn' physicaly drive there and we were trying to help her so she could get money to get her cataract fixed.(her husband had lost his job). What started out with both sides trying to be kind and helpful obviously went wrong. She kiept saying she was sensitive so I didn't say what I wanted to. GRRR,Our daughter and son-in-law were very upset and they found a house and got a local agent to help. Now the 4 of us own it equally. When she finds out, what can she do to us?
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: California Already Tried: I have tried to find a form for release of buyer's agreement withou success and talked to my sister-in-law who is a real estate agent and a couple of other agents. Opinions range from It's bad business practice and not usually enforced to uh oh" or possibly arbitration.
If you signed a C.A.R. Form BRE (Cal. Association of Realtors Buyer's Representation Agreement), then the agreement is enforceable against you, to the extent that the property you purchased falls within the scope of the properties identified in Section 1A of the agreement. The cancellation form is titled "Termination of Buyer's Agency" and it is available from any member of the Cal. Association of Realtors (but, it is not available to the general public). You don't actually need the form, however. A simple letter to the agent stating that you are revoking the agency agreement effective immediately is all that's required to terminate a real estate agency agreement under California law. However, despite the revocation of the agency agreement, the agent remains entitled to compensation pursuant to Section 3C of the agreement. So, the answer is that if the agent finds out you purchased through a different agent, then you could have a lawsuit on your hands.That said, there isn't any easy way for the agent to find out that you purchased another property. The other agent is not obligated to notify your prior agent, and the only public record that would give you away would be the grantor-grantee index at the county clerk where all deeds are recorded. But that would require that the agent search the records to find your name on a deed recorded during the time your agency agreement was in force. So, as a practical matter, if you don't tell the agent, then he/she is unlikely to find out, unless he/she happens to run into the agent who helped you purchase, and that agent inadvertently mentions that you were his/her client in a recent purchase.Hope this helps. NOTICE: My goal here is to entertain while educating the public about the law. I hope my answer is useful and informative to you. During our conversation, the website may ask you to rate my answer. If you rate my answer lower than the middle rating, then the website retains your entire payment, and I receive nothing. It is entirely your choice as to how you rate my answer. However, because your payment to me is in the nature of a donation/gift, rather than as compensation for any services rendered, you are entitled to know how your rating affects the final distribution of your donation. If you need to contact me again, please put my user id at the beginning of your question ("To Socrateaser"), and the system will send me an alert. Please Click the following link for IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION. Thanks and best wishes!
Experience: Attorney and Real Estate broker -- Retired (mostly)
I think the agreement said that it would be arbitration.
,I think the agreement said that it would be arbitration. Also, we see them at church and they ask us stuff.