Is the seller required to pay a commission in this case?

Question

My Fiance and I were speaking to friends of her family about buying their house. We visited the home a few times and even were talking numbers. I found out they just listed with an agent two days ago. I have never spoken with the agent and want to avoid it if possible. Can I make an offer to the sellers direct, and avoid them having to pay 3% commission ($25,000) or more even though the listed the home? Also I do not have an real estate agent yet either.

Answer 1

If they signed a listing agreement they are required to pay the commission. It is possible, though unlikely that they signed an exclusive agency contract which would allow them to sell the property without paying the commission. This is very rare and realtors never offer that option unless the seller insists. Even then some realtors will pass up a listing if the seller will not sign an exclusive right to sell contract.

Answer 2

If the sellers have listed with an agent, then Yes, that agent is owed the commision. A listing agreement is a legal document.
You however, as the buyer, still have some options. Commisions are paid to both the buying and selling agents, ususally 50-50 but that's negotiable. So your seller is probably on the hook for another 2-3% commision (6% total) to whoever brings in the buyer. If you buy the home without an agent representing you, theoretically, you've just saved the seller 3%. The listing agent though, seeing that you're unrepresented, will try to claim that half of the sales commision also. Watch out for that.
A legitimate listing agreement will spell out the contigencies for this type of situation. Sometimes the buyers half is reduced, or waived outright. Your circumstances seem to indicate that waiving the buying agent's commision would be warranted. If that becomes a issue, you can always just wait out the agent by refusing to negotiate on price with any other prospective buyers, and wait for the term of the listing agreement to expire, and then buy it directly "by owner". Most agents are good enough at math to figure out that getting 3% of something is better than having 6% of nothing.

Answer 3

If I am the seller, I would say thank you for saving me an additional 3% commission. However, I am still obliged to pay my agent, although he did not earned it the hard way. The seller's agent will still have to do the documents because you don't have an agent. If you do have an agent then contracts and addendums will be prepared by your agent. The transaction will now be between agents and any discussions will be relayed between the other two parties - sellers and buyer. Buying without an agent will be a disaster because there are documentations and expertise that are not available to the public. Unless, of course, you hire a lawyer. Save yopurself some anguish and headache, get an agent. You are not saving any money for not getting one. Seller's pay the commission on both sides. Unless you signed an exclusive buyer's agent.

Answer 4

The answer to your question lies in whether or not the sellers listed the home with any earlier potential buyers excluded from the listing agreement. If no such exclusion(s) were included, the real estate firm is entitled to earn its commission from any buyer procured during the term of its listing.

Depending on your time frame for purchasing and the length of the listing, plus how desperate you are to avoid working with this listing firm, I strongly recommend you NOT contacting the listing firm about this property until the listing has expired. Most real estate listing contracts include clauses which give the listing firm commission rights for a year after the termination of the listing, in the event that anyone who viewed the property or inquired about it DURING the term of the listing purchases it directly from the owners after the listing contract has expired.

Answer 5

If the house is listed for sale the listing Realtor is entitled to be paid commission on any sale during the listing period. They could, however, lower the percentage agreed upon as the seller located the buyer.

remember, the listing agent has incurred some costs in listing the home for sale and is entitle to recover them.

Answer 6

yes, just tell your friend to terminate their sellers agreement and then u can buy from the owners directly,. usually it takes 30 days for this agreement to expire but it is up to them to terminate their relationshiip so you can avoid this fee.