Obligation to REA

13 years ago

A few months ago I had a REA show me some houses one day. I had interviewed her over the phone and thought that she sounded very competent. I still felt that way after my day with her, but I was bothered by some of the comments she made. As one example, whenever I showed interest in a house, she'd mention that there was some other buyer who was interested or something else to make me feel pressured. I just didn't feel that she was being completely honest with me.

We ended up postponing our move, and I haven't looked at any houses since then, but I am still receiving MLS listing emails from her site. I did not sign any contract with her. Will there be any problems if a switch to a new agent? What if we decide to buy one of the houses we saw with her under a new agent? Should I have her remove me from the MLS emails?

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Comments (6)

Linda
13 years ago
according to your scenario above, you are under no obligation to agent #1. You can switch to another agent with no recourse from the agent. As a side note, because you only went out with this agent one time, you didnt develop a relationship enough to trust her. Its a catch 22 with agents when there are multiple parties interested in a house. If the buyer is told, they almost always feel like they are being lied to and there isnt another buyer. If they arent told, they almost always feel they should have been told about other interested parties. If you felt she was competent and otherwise liked her, check to see if those homes are still on the market. If they are, then you know you were most likely given the hard sell. If they are gone, she was being honest. Then make your decision. Your next agent COULD be incompetent.
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cordovamom
13 years ago
You have to have a good working relationship with your realtor. Sometimes that takes a while to find the one that works with your style and your personality. You haven't signed anything with this realtor, so I don't think you have an obligation to her.
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You do not need a lawyer, you do not need RE courses, you do not need to rent, and I am very confused on what your age would have to do with your original questions. Here is my advice: Go tell the ReMax agent to pound sand! First, he never made you sign a Buyers Agency Agreement, which is a contract between you and an agent. Second, and even more importantly, he never gave you a "Working With Real Estate Agent" form, which is mandated that we do so to anyone we meet for business, at the very first substantial contact. As soon as you scheduled the appointment with him, this is the time that he was obligated to forward this form to you. It describes the three types of relationships that can exist between an agent and their client. If they persist that they remain a part of this deal, come back to them by letting them know that if they bother you anymore that you will turn them into the RE Commission for not providing this form. (It is a very big deal with the Commission). I guarantee, that he will back off fast. If he does not, call his Broker In Charge and explain the same thing to him/her. You will get action. Clicking on someone's web page for listings or an appointment does not obligate you to use their business.
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Billl
13 years ago
You aren't under an obligation to her if you don't have a signed contract, but it would be proper to inform her that you are not interested in working with her and she should stop sending you listings. You really do need to make a formal split though. You don't want to put yourself in a position where she can argue that she has provided an ongoing service for you for X months and that you bought one of the properties she referred you to.
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chrisk327
13 years ago
You're under no obligation to her on future houses. As Bill pointed out, ask to be removed from her site to not cause any confusion.

If you were to buy one of the houses she showed you, I beleive you are under obligation to use her. In my area she would be a sub agent of the seller's, unless a buyers contract were signed, and would be entitled to commission. So technically you don't have the obligation, the sellers do, but basically 3 RE agent would be looking for a paycheck from that sale.
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jenes
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks all. If I sign up to receive emails from some site like Redfin, then I assume that doesn't put me under any obligation to them?

Linda, it wasn't just being told about other buyers. I don't want to get into details, but there were a couple things she told me that I know weren't true, and there was also some pressure to use her lender and her inspector, but maybe they all do that.
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Linda
13 years ago
there were a couple things she told me that I know weren't true, and there was also some pressure to use her lender and her inspector, but maybe they all do that .

If you caught her in a lie, then I would move on. You have to trust the person who is handling one of the biggest financial transactions of your life. I am one of those "theys", but I never pressure anyone to do anything. To pressure you to use her recommended lender and home inspector before you have even devloped any kind of trusting relationship with her is a sure way to push you away. I ask people if they would like recommendations of local attys, home inspectors or lenders. Most of the time, if we have developed a nice relationship, they want the recommendations. Sometimes, people are just more comfortable to use their own people, thats fine too.
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Obligation to REA

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Obligation to REA

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Linda

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