Contract ended with real estate agent, can we buy the house without them

September 19, 2024 9:51 AM

We were under contract to buy a house. The deal fell through in July. Things have changed; house is still available. Do I still have to use the same buyers agent? Oregon, USA.

Last March, we went under contract to buy a house. The contract was contingent on us selling our house and we were using the same agent for both. Our house did not sell and while there are a lot of reasons for that, we very much dislike the agent and their then company (they have since left that company.) The contract to buy lapsed in May and after 6 more weeks of no showings (our house was on the market from April 1 - July 15) we cancelled the whole deal.

Now, we may have a way to buy the house after all but I'm worried that we will have to use the same buyer's agent we did before. As it stands we would prefer to not use an agent at all, just a lawyer. Am I imagining things or is there a common clause in real estate contracts to ensure you don't just dump the agent and buy the house yourself? Is there ordinarily a time frame on that? Yes, I know I should look at the contract but,

I can't find the contract we initially signed with the buyer's agent. I'm pretty sure I threw the contracts away when everything went south. I went through my email and my docusign and it looks like my buyer's agent contract was paper only. I really do not want to call this company to get a copy if I can avoid it. I don't want to deal with them on any level. This antipathy is so strong that I'm almost tempted to walk away if there is no alternative. They were unbelievably rude, demanding, dismissive, unpleasant to deal with and my daughter overheard them talking smack about us behind our backs in our house.

Thoughts? I'll call and demand a copy if I have to but wow, I really don't want to open that can of worms again.

posted by mygothlaundry to Law & Government (11 answers total)

While I'm not in your jurisdiction, I strongly suspect that no real estate agent in their right mind would want to show up in a reference check as somebody who decided to sue an unhappy client.
posted by mhoye at 9:59 AM on September 19

Best answer: Am I imagining things or is there a common clause in real estate contracts to ensure you don't just dump the agent and buy the house yourself? Is there ordinarily a time frame on that?

Yes, this kind of clause is common, and yes, it has a time limit.

I just went back and checked my buyer's representation agreement from about 10 years ago. It required me to go exclusively through that agent for any property purchases in the same metro area for a period of 6 months. And in the fine print, it said if I breached the agreement, I would be liable to the agent for the 3% commission they would otherwise have earned.

Whether that clause would have been likely to have been enforced is a different question that I don't know the answer to.

It's also worth bearing in mind that the National Association of Realtors code of ethics prevents agents from knowingly representing any clients during the period of an exclusivity agreement with another broker. One option is to just not tell your new broker that you were previously represented, if you don't mind lying by omission. Alternatively, you could ask the new broker to contact your previous agent and ask on your behalf about when the exclusivity period ends. They probably wouldn't be nearly as bothered by that conversation as you would.
posted by teraflop at 10:12 AM on September 19 [3 favorites]

When I’ve had contracts like this with agents it has been 6 months. I think that’s pretty typical (I’m in central NC so a more or less normal market; not a very hot or distorted one like NYC or Bay Area).
posted by jeoc at 10:38 AM on September 19

You said you would use a lawyer for this deal, perhaps this is something you would discuss with them?
posted by Marky at 10:51 AM on September 19 [2 favorites]

I strongly suspect that no real estate agent in their right mind would want to show up in a reference check as somebody who decided to sue an unhappy client.

And yet...
posted by jacquilynne at 11:08 AM on September 19

Best answer: I check my agreement with a Seller's agent and the protected period last for six months and applied to any sale to a lead that had been generated during the term of the contract but, interestingly, (1) the name of such parties had to be supplied by Broker within 15 days and (2) did apply if a valid listing agreement is entered into with another agent.

So, I think it would be normal to have such a clause in your contract with the agent and since it has only been two months, it is unlikely to have expired. At the same time there may be some built in ways to avoid it but you would need access to the contract to find out what they are.

Does the seller have a real estate agent? Since the seller's agent usually pays the commission to the buyer's agent (at least in California) you might talk with them since the commission might be coming out of their pocket instead of yours.
posted by metahawk at 12:11 PM on September 19

March to September is six months. When in March did you sign the original contract with the realtor?
posted by heatherlogan at 2:03 PM on September 19 [2 favorites]

Why pay a lawyer when you can just hire a better buyer's agent? You won't need to pay anything; their fees are paid by the seller of the house.

You can explain the situation to them, and they can do some digging to see if you're still obligated to former agent.
posted by hydra77 at 2:28 PM on September 19 [1 favorite]

When I bought my house in Washington state, it was a separate agreement the agent tried to get me to sign, not an automatic legal requirement. I refused and they tried to help me anyway. But they sucked and I ended up getting someone else later (and also not signing any such thing, the second one didn't even ask for it).
posted by ctmf at 6:33 PM on September 19

Best answer: Why pay a lawyer when you can just hire a better buyer's agent? You won't need to pay anything; their fees are paid by the seller of the house.

Not necessarily, as of last month.
posted by Johnny Assay at 7:46 PM on September 19 [2 favorites]

I don't know if this throws a weird spanner in the works, but our realtor sent us an entirely new contract to sign when the new agent percentage rates for buyer and seller became active about 6 weeks ago. Did your agent send you this? Did you sign it? (sounds like not). It's possible the contact you signed is no longer in force anyway.
posted by citygirl at 3:13 PM on September 20