I know there are agents here, and anti-agent folks. I'm neither. We were about to sign a representation agreement, like today, and a neighbor heard about our sale from a friend and called last night saying she's looking to downsize and could she take a look before we list. So she's coming to take a look in a bit. If she's not interested, we continue down the path. Already cancelled today's meeting with agent.
If she is interested, I know the idea would be, get a real estate lawyer and hash it out that way. Or is there any value to keeping the agent but for a reduced payout to handle the basics on our side? Has this ever happened to any of you from the agent side? Were you pissed at the seller? This literally just fell into our lap, so I can't imagine the agent holding it against us (and I wouldn't care, really, but I don't want to burn a bridge). Just trying to navigate best practices if we have to say, 'Hey man, we're not signing after all,' and throw him a bone, or keep him on in a reduced capacity, and if the latter, how much would you typically pay for that? This is in Washington State.
Added bonus: our friend who mentioned our sale to the neighbor lady quoted our original thought on price which is about 20k more than what we were going to list at with the agent.
Thanks for any thoughts on this.
About to sign with agent, neighbor may want to buy. Need some thoughts.
byu/Jackandahalfass inRealEstate
Posted by Jackandahalfass
22 Comments
There is value in an agent, but I would let them know that you only want them for this purchase and that it would be at a reduced scale. They may be interested, they may not be. No harm in asking though.
You each get a lawyer that does real estate. They walk you through the details. Won’t cost either of you very much. Assuming you can agree on a price.
You can add agent gets paid if anyone buys except your neighbor. My friend did that and sold to the neighbor months later
Don’t sign!
This happened to me. ! we were thinking about selling and wife thought why not put up FSBO sign and see what happens ? in contract in 24 hrs after sign installation, with neighbor across the street for full price, higher than our probable agent if we did list had already suggested, and his with some improvements to pay for. We did end up paying for hvac duct work upgrade. . I sat there all day one day to entertain contractors bidding on stuff, doing inspection, appraisal, etc. he was a first time buyer, I convinced him we have the same objectives, and saved thousands.
List price isn’t the sales price. Just had a buyer offer $60k over list to get the property. Property before that had 11 offers, went way over list.
So it all depends, usually a neighbor wants a deal. The only way to get market price is to put it on the market. But all depends on your goals. If she has an inspection or other contingencies she could tie your property up for 30-60 days and you’d miss some prime spring market.
Im not anti agent…but youbreally dont need one for this, seems pretty cut and dry. Be ready to walk if negotiations become difficult
Although it sucks for the agent, a good agent realizes that you need to do what is best for yourself. I am a broker, and I wouldn’t want to pay a real estate commission if I don’t have to either.
If this winds up materializing the best thing you can do is just be 100% honest with the agent on what happened. “We were ready to list, neighbor offered and we’re happy with the price.” Throw them a referral later if you like the agent.
Man, what a plot twist. Had something similar happen with my buddy’s place in Vancouver – neighbor swooped in right before listing and it actually worked out great for everyone.
If the neighbor’s serious, you can definitely keep the agent on for paperwork help at like 1-2% instead of the full 5-6%. Most agents I know would rather get something than nothing, especially since they haven’t done any marketing yet. Just be upfront about it – “hey, this fell in our lap but we still want your expertise for the contract side.”
The lawyer route works too but agents know all the local quirks and disclosure requirements better. Plus they can help with comps to make sure that extra 20k your friend mentioned is actually realistic. Washington’s got some specific rules around private sales that could bite you if you mess up the paperwork.
Don’t stress about burning bridges – this stuff happens all the time. Good agents understand that sometimes the stars align differently. Just don’t ghost the guy, give him a call and explain the situation. Worst case he says no to reduced commission and you go the lawyer route, but most will work with you since it’s found money basically.
It’s that moment where everything was already lined up in your head, and then something unexpected shows up and shifts the ground a bit. Not enough to make things clear, just enough to make you pause and wonder if you’re about to move forward too fast or miss something you hadn’t even considered.
If the neighbour is interested what value would an agent add?
Do you need help with pricing or negotiating?!?
If the neighbor is serious, pause and treat it like a real transaction. Hire a local real estate attorney and get an independent valuation (or even a quick appraisal) so you don’t underprice and make sure you still expose the deal to some level of market reality before locking in.
In Washington, you can sell off-market cleanly, but protect yourself with proper disclosures, inspection contingencies, and a tight purchase-and-sale agreement.
Bringing the agent back at a reduced fee only makes sense if they’re actively adding value (pricing strategy, negotiation buffer, paperwork, et). Otherwise you’re just paying for comfort.
The only real risk here isn’t offending the agent. It’s leaving money on the table or skipping protections because the buyer is “convenient.”
If you can come to an agreement with the buyers on your own, there’s little value in an agent on top of that.
What you will need is a title company, and you would need it anyway. A title company can provide you with a blank contract as well. They will handle everything, and they do almost all the actual work and paperwork you are thinking of in every transaction.
Real estate agents are great for access, marketing, and negotiations. If you have a buyer, you don’t need that.
(I am an agent).
I’m not anti-real estate agent completely. There are scenarios they’re quite useful, and times they feel completely unnecessary. This is one of those unnecessary situation. If you already have an interested buyer you’d like to sell too, definitely skip the 3-5% Agent fee for them to send you a docuSign. Talk to a real estate attorney to draw up the contracts. You can probably get it under $1000. Have your buyer do the same to review everything is fair on both sides. You can save your self probably tens of of thousands of dollars here. Should be a no-brainer.
As long as you haven’t signed any agency contract, it’s free to wait for an offer from the neighbor for a private sale.
But some buyers like that inflate the money saved by going ex-agency.
They want 15-20% and you’re probably saving 6.5-7%
You’ll still need help to navigate it- but whether it’s just a lawyer or an agent depends on your efforts and comfort.
But why not get their best offer and a proof of funds at least?
It won’t add any days on market at this point.
Get a lawyer sounds like best advice and wife is an agent. Neighbor already likely has a good idea of what they are buying and doesn’t need anything more than a lawyer as well.
How much do you know about title law? And are you able to explain escrow to your neighbor?
Has the agent done comps for you and said what they think your house is worth?
If you haven’t signed and the neighbor wants to buy it, you don’t need a realtor. The realtors job, by and large, is to bring you buyers. Either by marketing your house, recommending changes, or helping with pricing strategy. If you have a buyer you don’t need any of those things.
Your neighbor isn’t going to buy your house. I’ll bet you the commission check on it (please update when I’m right).
Even most agents will agree that the main thing the agent brings is connecting sellers to buyers.
If you find your own buyer you don’t need that.
The second thing an agent brings is knowledge of the market (in terms of assisting in price negotiation).
That’s much less important these days than it used to be in most states; if you can do some basic internet research you can pull your own comparable sales. Zillow “zestimates” usually aren’t completely off the wall.
Depending on state law and frequency of property tax assessments, it’s possible your state requires assessments to be strictly pegged to market value, in which case assessment is a good starting point.
As you’re negotiating your own price, you should (both) remember that you each stand to save yourselves a pretty nice chunk of change in avoiding agent commissions – don’t let a few dollars get in the way of that.
The third thing an agent brings is assisting you in navigating the process of buying/selling. A good real estate lawyer can do that.
Do not worry about burning bridges, these things happen.
If the neighbor is interested, you could call your agent, tell them what happened and ask how much they would charge to navigate this for you. Or you could call an attorney to see what they would charge. As another poster mentioned, you could go to the title company and obtain a blank contract, but they will not help you with the details at all.
I did have this happen, the sellers had a neighbor who knew somebody interested and they moved forward with an attorney. They called me a few times with questions because their attorney wasn’t getting back to them, basically it was repair demands and concessions that the buyer wanted or “they were going to walk.” After the buyers got concessions, they went to the seller again and wanted another chunk off the price because of something else in the inspection report. I told them I would tell them to terminate and find a stronger buyer, but to contact their attorney, who advised them to make the concession to keep them out of litigation later.
I have had FSBOs tell me the first thing an unrepped buyer will ask for a price reduction because there are no Realtors involved.
But you have nothing to lose in talking to her to see what the level of interest is.
You have a lawyer and title company do the close if the neighbor wants it. Otherwise if they are dragging their feet and you need to list it then put their name in the realtor contract as an exclusion. This is very common for these types of situations.