 Buying
FSBO? You may still owe your agent
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 Dear
Steve,
We have signed with a Realtor to be our buyer's agent. But we have
found a home "for sale by owner," which the Realtor didn't help
us find. Do we have to pay her if she did not find this FSBO house
for us? -- Jodie
 Dear
Jodie,
Get out your magnifying glass or reading specs.
Legally, the answer to your question can be found
in the fine print of the contract that you signed with your buyer's
agent. Some have clauses stating that if you buy a house that you
looked at during the time period you were signed with the agent,
then you owe a commission anyway, whether she found it for you or
not. Some even take it a step further, stating that you can't buy
a home for a set amount of weeks or months after your contract expires!
Ethically, I believe if the Realtor didn't show you
the FSBO house or in any way steer you toward it, then she did not
do her job of finding you what you wanted and should not be due
compensation; especially if she doesn't look for FSBOs. Many agents
won't seek them out because the commissions are smaller or nonexistent,
and you really can't blame them for making that business decision.
But that is the agent's decision. So, if the contract
has no provisions restricting you from acting on your own, you needn't
pay her a dime.
On the other hand, if your conscience bothers you,
and you feel your Realtor has otherwise acted in good faith and
has kept you up to the minute on the home search, hauled you all
over the place and done other legwork, then you might agree to pay
her a small fee or even half of the standard commission. Of course,
don't expect the FSBO seller to buy into such largesse. That's why
they're selling FSBO.
I should also note that it's not very good public
relations for agencies to sue their clients, so a lot of Realtors
and agents and their brokerages may not hold you to your contract
anyway, especially in markets where their time and resources are
better-spent pursuing more deals. That said, it can be crushing
to do a lot of work on a deal and have someone pull a fast one on
you using a contrived story, which happens all the time. I don't
sense this is the case with you.
But I wouldn't take any gambles without consulting
an attorney first about that agent contract. You'll probably need
one anyway to work through some of the paperwork of your FSBO.
I wish you luck.
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