How do I tell a realtor to go pound sand?

Here is the scenario.

I found a house on zillow, messaged an old realtor I sorta kinda knew and asked if he wanted to show the house to me. He said yes, didn't even really show it to me butt gave me the lock box key so I could let myself in. Long story short I liked the place and wanted to make an offer. I tell the realtor this and it takes him 2 days to get me a contract to sign. That contract had incorrect information so I tell him to send me another. 3 days go by and I get the new contract followed by a voicemail saying someone else had made an offer on the house and not to waste my time submitting mine. Two days later decided I wanted to submit the offer anyway. This was on a Wednesday. On Tuesday the next week I didn't hear a thing from anyone so I called the sellers realtor and asked what the deal was. He said they countered on Friday. This was a surprise to me so the sellers realtor said he would reach out to my guy and see what the deal was. That afternoon I got the text from my realtor for the counter offer.

It seems like the sellers want too much for this house anyway so I will likely end up renting again. I just want to know what I'm allowed to do in case I want to make another offer without using my current realtor. Can I just get another realtor and make an offer?

As long as you didn't sign a contract with the realtor (which you probably didn't) it really is as simple as telling him to go pound sand.

yes you can, you are not legally bound to him unless you signed a contract stating he would be your sole representative.

Sounds like this realtor doesn't want to work with you. As in, would rather you went with someone else; consider saying "hey, if you're busy with other stuff, I'm happy to go find someone else... Know any good realtors who aren't busy?"

I figure this has three outcomes: If this guy's actually too busy and just didn't want to burn a bridge by turning you away, he can then let you know that and hopefully hook you up with someone who's got time to take care of you. OR... it clarifies for him that if he's just being slack, his commission's headed out the door if he doesn't pull it together. OR if he doesn't snap to attention or offer a recommendation, you're good to abandon him with no reason to look back.

Unless he knows something you don't, this seems like an opportunity to possibly make a sale without any of the time-consuming looking-at-houses part. There must be some reason he's being so useless, even if it's just that he's useless. Did you ever work with this person as a realtor before, or did you just know him from something else?

Someone recommended him, and he was great last year when I looked at a couple houses. Now he buys/sells a bunch of investment properties so I wonder if he just has bigger fish to fry. Just seems weird that at the point where he could potentially make money, he just doesn't give a damn. I've already called him twice to see if he wanted to show me 1 other house (he doesn't know that, I just told him to call me back) and no call back.

I'm just wondering what the deal is if I make an offer with another realtor if they need to split commissions 3 ways or if he has any kind of recourse since he was sorta kinda the first person to "show" me the house. Even though I found the place and let myself in.

The sellers realtor already said he can't deal with me directly, only through my realtor.

tell him to beat feet and find a realtor that wants to work for their commission.

My favorite is "GFY".

Around here, if a realtor shows you a house, you are obligated to him or her. Your situation gets sticky, because he really didn't show it. I would find another realtor and tell him to pound it if he comes back to you. Document all the no call backs etc. just in case.

i was picky with my first house - this was 1987 and before the internet.

realtors would show me 3 crappy houses and if i didnt pick one they tended to flake out and never be found (also early car phone days too). finally the right house appeared and was sold "by owner" and i bought it. there are a lot of part time realtors that cut into the good peoples sales.

How about "Go pound sand, you're fired."

Seems to me like it would be pretty easy. He doesn't want to do business with you, so don't.

Enyar wrote: The sellers realtor already said he can't deal with me directly, only through my realtor.

Really? Is that normal where you are?

I would suspect that not being present when you viewed the house is against the rules of The Board of Realtors.
I would use this info in rebuttal if the realtor threatened that he still needs to be compensated.

On the house I bought two years ago, there was already an offer in on the house. These other people with offer #1 had contingencies including the need to still sell their current home. I did not have the same issue and could give the money in 20 days!
Guy #1 was given 30 days to "make it work." On that 31st day, he still had not secured financing for the new home. My offer now went to 1st position.
Guy #1 did all the hard work and drove the price down to levels I would have never thought to come down to. I bought the house for his price. A house that I originally figured would never price down to my level.

Moral: put in a back up offer even if there is a current "other offer." It worked for me.

technically he did something illegal by giving you the code and not being there with you. so there is some ammunition. around here it is anyway. they can't just get you the code to let yourself into someone else's home.

Zomby Woof wrote:

Enyar wrote: The sellers realtor already said he can't deal with me directly, only through my realtor.

Really? Is that normal where you are?

It seems normal among ethical realtors to recognize that there is a potential conflict of interest when trying to represent both the selling party and the buying party on the same house, and provide them both with good service, so some realtors won't do it. YMMV

When I bought my house the realtor was the seller's rep I met at the open house - I had a lawyer to keep me from getting berkeleyed. I did my own negotiating for price.

It gives the seller room to negotiate a little because there is only one realtor to get paid and they don't have to split the commission so they will usually accept less money on the sale. So, if they were charging 6% to the seller, they might take 4% w/o another realtor in the mix since they have to split it 50/50 otherwise.

spitfirebill wrote: Around here, if a realtor shows you a house, you are obligated to him or her.

Perhaps morally, or ethically.

But not legally.

No contract, no obligation.

patgizz wrote: technically he did something illegal by giving you the code and not being there with you.

It's probably not illegal.

Unprofessional, yes.

Against the rules of the local Board or Realtors, perhaps.

But I doubt it is illegal. The owner has given him the key, and permission to show the property in whatever way makes sense (while protecting the owner's property). I really doubt there is a law against it.

I've had Realtors give me the key, and I appreciate it.

OP:

If you have no contract, thank him for his service and go ahead and submit an offer with another Realtor.

As a professional courtesy, inform Realtor #2 of the situation.

That's the polite way of saying, "Go pound sand".

People

I've never signed a contract with a realtor to show me a house and have never heard of anybody else doing it. Anybody here?

Usually the Realtor wants to get you committed to him as the Buyers Realtor so a representation contract is presented very early in the process. At that time you are contractually bound to each other and the process begins.
My feeling is that he was aware of some situation involving the house or has a serious issue outside of being a realtor. Either way, he is not representing your interests and you should get away from him. If he is purely commercial/investment property realtor, he is not up to speed on the residential side anyway and may do you serious harm if you dont get away.

spitfirebill wrote: People I've never signed a contract with a realtor to show me a house and have never heard of anybody else doing it. Anybody here?

Nope. As a buyer I've only ever used a realtor once, and that was because I was buying long distance and needed the help of somebody local.

Enyar wrote: The sellers realtor already said he can't deal with me directly, only through my realtor.

Clarify with the sellers realtor if he can only deal with your realtor, does it have to be the guy you already used, or a realtor representing you.

I am a licensed real estate agent, one of the many hats I wear. It's more of a hobby for me than a career or job, but either way I can offer some advice for you about how to fire a Realtor.

If you are not happy with your Realtor, fire him and don't be nice about it. You have to be up front, honest and direct when you tell a salesman why they suck, otherwise they brush it off as your problem. If you signed an agreement to use him/her, tell them they are not doing an adequate job representing you and your best interests. Ask for all copies the agreement back, if you signed one, and rip it up.

If they give you any problems about the firing, talk to their broker and explain the poor service. They should be able to get you the help you need and better representation. If that doesn't do it, call the local association of Realtors and talk with the president of the board or one of the directors.

I had a Realistate lawyer represent me the last time I purchased property. It is the best thing I ever did. Since I pay him directly he is in it to look after my best interests. He is not dependent on the sale and the commission of the sale to get paid. I had a schlep of a realtor that my lawyer had to read the riot act to that eventually resulted in her walking away from us. This was fine by me as we just went to the realtor that was selling the property and worked directly with them. Closed in 3 weeks!!! And the amount I saved in fees due to my lawer knowing the system more than paid his fee.