|
 Dear
Steve,
My real estate broker says I can only terminate my listing
contract if I promise to not re-list with another broker. This doesn't sound right.
What can I do?
-- Rachael
 Dear
Rachael,
Your broker might technically be right, depending
on what your listing contract stipulates. You
don't specify its duration, but if it's considerably
more than the 90-day maximum that consumer attorneys
and real estate advisers suggest -- and you've
got months left on it -- you might be able to
make enough noise to get out of it. Obviously,
once such an exclusive listing agreement expires,
you are free to go elsewhere.
First, you should examine
your listing contract for clarity on what can or will happen if you terminate
early. That should be spelled out pretty clearly.
But, there is at least one thing
to try before completely cutting the cord. Unless
you're working with an independent broker, your
listing belongs to a real estate company, not
the specific agent with whom you've been dealing.
You may want to request a sit-down meeting with
the agency manager, or the actual broker, to express
your concerns. Perhaps you can agree on a different
salesperson who can handle your account in a way
that satisfies your dissatisfaction. Or the manager
or broker may be able to simply void your listing
agreement -- few agencies want to sustain overtly
unproductive relationships with clients.
Let me ask
you this: Are you doing everything in your power to help the agent show and market
the house? For example, the pricing of a home is often a sticking point in seller-agent
squabbles. You may already know the current buyer's market is not the best time
to try to sell, especially with higher-than-market listings. In all but a handful
of areas, you'll probably get scratched off most home-tour lists pretty quickly
using this strategy. After all, one of the things you are paying for when you
hire a Realtor or agent, assuming you execute a sale, is pricing and marketing
expertise. Before you make any moves, ask the agent for a
summary of the marketing endeavors done on your behalf. It should be pretty comprehensive.
In fact, you should have been getting regular updates on these efforts all along.
Let's assume for now that you've
got legitimate beef. You don't mention the region
where you live, but in most states, an agent is
obliged to demonstrate "duty of obedience,"
which means obeying all the clients' lawful instructions,
plus adhering to a "duty of care," or
"duty of competence" ethic, by representing
the client's interest with professionalism, diligence
and reasonable technical knowledge. Of course,
there's a lot of ambiguity built into those terms.
One more thing: If your listing contract is set to end
reasonably soon, start interviewing other agents right away so you're ready to
leap into action the day after it expires. Good luck -- or
should I say, better luck -- with the next agent.
| 
