And the agreement says it is exclusive and non revocable, with a 3 percent commission, and valid for ~200 days. I am not an expert, but it seems quite harsh and stays effective for too long.
I am not actually so sure about this agent. He or she has been prompt with my questions and has led me to 10 to 20 houses. However, I feel the agent does not fully represent my interest, because I basically cannot get any additional information from the agent other than things I can find immediately.
Things I can find immediately, for example, the year of the house, roof, and AC. Those are basically everything I can get from the agent.
Things I would like to know but cannot get from the agent, which I can get from other agents via small chat, for example, the background of the owner, whether a person died inside a few months ago, whether it is a flipper house, the reputation of the flipper, and the quality of the materials and renovation, bidding strategy (things like the seller is desperate you can lowball 10%, full cash offer worth another 10k off those kind of thing).
Is this buyer agent agreement an industry standard?
Also, is it normal that an agent feels this unhelpful (again, the agent has been prompt to my questions and has showed me 10-20 houses. The agent has been working with me for nearly a year since the first contact), or is this a sign it is not a good fit.
I met two other agents a zillow showing and an open house, and they seemed much more helpful, but I might be wrong.
Lastly, is it weird/unethical to walk away at this point. I have not signed anything and I have not made any offer.
Thanks.
Is it normal to sign a exclusive non-revocable buyer agent agreement before bidding a house?
byu/Chtholly_Lee inRealEstate
Posted by Chtholly_Lee
9 Comments
It’s becoming more common, but it’s not universal. Some agents ask for an exclusive buyer agreement before submitting an offer to protect their time, but it should always be clearly explained and limited in scope. You’re allowed to ask questions or negotiate the terms.
Yeah. That’s 3% and 200 days is negotiable. Any agent will put in an offer but they should also be paid
You can have them send you a contract specific to the one home address they are showing/showed you. I would never lock myself into such exclusivity for that length of time.
Having the contract is normal but you can have them add a clause that it can be cancelled at any time for any reason in writing (email).
It is now required in all states that a buyer agent have a buyer broker agreement signed since August 2024 with the NAR Settlement.
The 200 days sounds pretty average. I typically set mine for 6 months which is about 180 days.
It’ll say in the agreement how it can be terminated. Typically most of those can be terminated via a text, email or in writing. Brokers don’t want to work with people that don’t want to work with them. It makes for a really bad relationship and a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Too long. 90 days. 2% !
If they won’t budge on that, agree to their term, but a 1k buyout . If they feel you’re not worth it because of the amount of time/resource they utilize, they owe you 1000 to break agreement. And if you feel they aren’t cutting, you pay 1000 and break agreement.
I was going to put a bid on a house. I found a random agent because I had done all the legwork and knew what it was worth and what I was going to bid, but needed to be shown the house and get it inspected. I let one of the online sites find me an agent. Shen she called, everything was good until she said I needed to sign with her for 6 months…to see one house.
I ended the call and wished her well. I couldn’t get the listing agent to respond or I would have done dual agency, neither did the prospective agent. I spoke with the agent that sold my home and he said he does single house listing all the time. If people don’t get that one, they’ve established a relationship and they usually stay with him longer. He also won’t sign longer than 60 or 90 days, I forget which.
I was very happy with him and would use him now, but he’s in another state.
You have questions for a listing agent. How do you expect a buyer’s agent to know the background of the sellers? That’s weird, to be honest. Get their names from the disclosure and facebook creep on them if you wanna be a nosey nelly. Do you expect a buyers agent to know where every single person has died ever? If it’s not disclosed by the sellers, how would they know? In this day and age every tom, dick, and harry that watches hgtv flips houses. A buyers agent could ask around if anyone knows Kyle, the rando that flipped this house, but it’s probably not real plausible to get a full background on the dude because it’s the only house he did and it’s probably junk like most flips.
Exclusive is also negotiable.