Q: Can a realtor ask for their commission if we backed out of a sale and purchase?
My husband and I signed contracts to purchase a home and sell our house. We cancelled both 6 days later due to uncertainty over the immediate future of the economy. We offered to pay for the cost of marketing and the home inspection paid by the buyers of our home. But our realtor wants us to pay them their full commission as if the house actually closed.
I’ve looked through all the paperwork we signed and we cannot find a copy of the listing agreement. I don’t think the realtor ever gave us a copy of the agreement.
The realtor asking for the full commission was representing us.
A: It depends on what your agreement with the broker provides. Also look for the Force Majeure provision (Acts of God excuses performance). Did you sign the contract before COVID-19?
Bruce Alexander Minnick agrees with this answer
1 user found this answer helpful
A: It depends on your contract provisions. Usually no, your obligation to pay starts from the sale.
Bruce Alexander Minnick agrees with this answer
1 user found this answer helpful
A: There are several material facts missing from your description of the problem--the most obvious being the identity of the people on both sides and who the Realtor was representing at the time you bailed out.
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