Fri, Jul 03, 2009
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What If The Listing Agent Won't Share His Commission |
cnpdmb
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Member Since: 11/10/2005
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Posted: 15:00 on 09-02-2008
I'm in a situation where we're interested in a commercial property. However, the listing agent has been a complete jerk the entire time. He even made us sit around and wait while he was late for the showing after he requested that we view his listing a second time.
We have zero confidence in this man and don't trust him whatsoever, therefore we found a local proven realtor that we'd like to represent us in any purchase (although we never signed an exclusive agreemt with her). She mentioned asking the listing realtor if he was willing to share the commission if we used her and he of course said no way. Frankly, we dislike this realtor so much that we'd walk away from the property if it means he's getting fully commissioned on the sale. He has been that bad! Anyway, is the listing agent obligated to share the commission if we utiliize this other woman as our rep? He basically told us tough, he's not sharing, we should pay her out of our own pocket for representing us in any deal with his client. I have no idea how these things work as I'm not a realtor so I'm just wondering what my options are. Thanks!
PS- Would it be wrong to tell his client (who works nearby and is in a simliar business as us) that we're not considering the purchase of his property because his realtor is such an arrogant and pompous jerk?
[ Edited by cnpdmb on Date 09/02/2008 ]
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stdavid
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Posted: 16:56 on 09-02-2008
The first question is, is this guy a Realtor (member of the national association of Realtors) or is he an agent. There is a difference. Many commercial agents are not Realtors, therefore have little obligation to share commissions. Second, do you REALLY want the property. Forget the agent, forget everything else, does the price and the property work for you?
If this guy IS a Realtor, then you have some leverage, he absolutely HAS to share the commission and cooperate with other Realtors (in the Realtor Code of Ethics). If he is not, go to the property owner (or the agent's Broker if he is not an independent or a Broker himself). Tell him you would like to buy the property, that you have your own agent (that you should immediately sign an exclusive representation, called a buyer brokerage, with) and that you would like your agent to get paid (ie - whatever commission that owner has agreed to pay this other guy, you want him to split it 50/50 with your agent). You should also consider filing a complaint with the board of realty regulation in your state. This guy is jacking you around and, if he is licensed (even if he is not a member of the national association of Realtors) he has an obligation not to be a jerk...the state will see to that.
The fact is, if this guy is being a jerk to you, then he is not looking out for your best interest (most states require the licensed agents/brokers look out for the best interest of everyone involved in the transaction, called their fiduciary responsibility). If this guy is not looking out for your best interest, then he is cruising for a lawsuit.
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jimandlacy
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Posted: 18:32 on 09-02-2008
The agent may be foolish but he is not obligated to share the commission. A little thing called "Procuring Cause" comes into play between agents battling over commission splits and since you saw it twice with the listing agent it sounds like he has the trump card there.
Again, stupid, foolish and arrogant but not obligated.
Jim
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NewKidInTown3
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Posted: 01:04 on 09-03-2008
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On 2008-09-02 16:56, stdavid wrote:
The fact is, if this guy is being a jerk to you, then he is not looking out for your best interest (most states require the licensed agents/brokers look out for the best interest of everyone involved in the transaction, called their fiduciary responsibility). If this guy is not looking out for your best interest, then he is cruising for a lawsuit. |
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In the absence of a dual agency agreement, isn't the listing agent's fiduciary responsibility to the seller and the seller alone?
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cnpdmb
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Posted: 09:00 on 09-03-2008
The guy may have let us in the door of the place twice, but he never even came past the doorstep. Plus, the second time was at his request, he was over 20 minutes late, and when he got there he just gabbed with the seller, not us. He has done literally nothing for us but unlock the door the first time. The second time we got sick of waiting and simply walked in (it was during business hours and the seller and his staff were there). The listing rep showed up while we were already in and barely said two words to us. Anyway, we never told him, he never asked, if we were represented during the entire process. We aren't contractually obligated with any realtor even today, but he never knew whether we were or weren't. I looked up his website, Summerview Realty, in NH ( a quick google search pulls him up), his name is Steve (he's the owner/broker). Anyway, it doesn't appear that he's a "Realtor" and subject to those ethical limitations that you mentioned. This is why I'm wondering if we should got the route of informing the seller personally that his listing agent is jeapordizing our interest in his property after being such a pain. I'm not a realtor and don't know what the boudaries are, also whether or not a typical seller would care about hearing something like that. Does he have any rights as the seller or is he locked into having this guy speak for him for a while?
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jimandlacy
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Posted: 09:21 on 09-03-2008
Since you are not an agent/realtor you are not bound by any ethical or legal agreement to not approach the seller directly. The seller will need to decide his obligation to the agent under the listing agreement and whether he will discuss things with you.
Let us know how it goes.
Jim
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JohnMerchant
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Posted: 09:38 on 09-03-2008
3 points here:
First, NO,the LA is NOT obligated to share his commission withh the Selling Agent so that's your problem, not his.
Second, it's very true that lots of comm. agents are very hard to deal with, aren't membersof NAR or MLS so don't have to abide by their rules. He does NOT have any fiduciary obligations to anybody but his cliet seller.
Third, you can and probably should call the owner directly since you have no obligation to anybody but yourself.
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stdavid
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Posted: 10:23 on 09-03-2008
If the listing agent collects both sides of the commission, he is representing both the seller and the buyer. This is called dual agency and it is illegal in some places, due to the fact that one side may feel shafted and it could be easily argued in court that one side did not get appropriate representation.
You should talk to the seller directly and tell him that his agent may well cause a buyer (you) to walk away if he doesn't share his commission so that you can recieve proper representation. The seller should withdraw his listing and relist with someone else if the greedy agent still refuses to share.
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NewKidInTown3
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Posted: 15:12 on 09-04-2008
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| On 2008-09-03 10:23, stdavid wrote:
If the listing agent collects both sides of the commission, he is representing both the seller and the buyer. |
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I disagree. There is only one commission and that is paid by the seller to the listing agency. The listing agency may agree to share the contractually negotiated commission with a cooperating agent who brings a buyer to the settlement table, but they don't have to.
There is no dual agency unless the buyer signs a dual agency agreement.
In the situation described, it sounds like the buyer is representing himself at the moment and did not have his own buyer's agent when he first viewed the property.
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jimandlacy
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Posted: 15:30 on 09-04-2008
I would agree with NewKid.
Jim
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ITBInvestor
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Posted: 09:09 on 09-06-2008
NewKidInTown3 said There is no dual agency unless the buyer signs a dual agency agreement. I think this is the key point. (I am making a bold assumption that his state of "live free or die" has a dual agency concept similar to other states.) It seems clear from the posts that cnpdmb signed nothing regarding agency. Also note: this was identified at the opening as commercial property, and in my state the residential property rules I know about (e.g. 'first substantial contact') do not necessarily apply. Disclaimer: State laws and RE commissions vary, so know your local rules/laws.
It seems to me you should just get a broker to represent you.
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CincyRealtorNKY
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Posted: 12:37 on 09-17-2008
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On 2008-09-02 16:56, stdavid wrote:
If this guy IS a Realtor, then you have some leverage, he absolutely HAS to share the commission and cooperate with other Realtors (in the Realtor Code of Ethics). |
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Not true. Commission arrangements are agreements through the MLS. You ARE NOT required to share you commission.
Now, do I think it's unreasonable not to...yes. But commercial is an entirely different animal, and works on a different set of rules.
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cjmazur
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Posted: 08:39 on 09-27-2008
If your commercial broker has done nothing but may a couple phone calls and emailed the response, and the listing agent is not willing to cooperate (share commission), what is a reasonable commission to pay my broker.
I almost want to give nothing, because the first time he gave me the wrong listing, and it was just calls to his own firm (different branch) and email, no real value added work.
Further he has not been in touch in over a week, despite my emails.
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JohnMerchant
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Posted: 23:17 on 09-27-2008
Note to St David...collecting all the commission by the Listing Agent does NOT make the LA a "dual agent" as his taking all the commiss. on a commercial deal does NOT make him any kind of fiduciary of the buyer.
Lots of comm. agents take all the commission they can grab, do not share easily with B's agents and are not members of MLS or NAR so don't have to play by their rules...and I frequently see listings of commercial props where the LA says "IKMYKY"...i.e. "I keep mine, you keep yours",
And he's not planning to share anything with anybody....and so doing does NOT make him any kind of "dual" agent and he owes nothing to the Buyer.
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