So, you’ve got a listing agreement and are ready to sell your house with an agent that you trust. Two weeks go by, maybe three, and for some reason, you don’t see your house listed anywhere. You have tried to contact your agent multiple times only to get his answering machine, or a curt email response once a week. You have an inkling that your agent is shirking their responsibilities, and you’re probably right.
Most likely, your agent is in breach of your agreement. We want you to be able to identify the ways a breach can occur. This way, you will be able to nip the problem in the bud and come up with a reasonable, fiscally safe solution before the situation escalates. The more you know, the less scary the problem will be.
Although in Kenya clients hardly sign any contract for small purchases like a single home.
Here are 3 of the most common reasons real estate agents breach agreements:
The Real Estate Agent Fails to Market Your House Correctly
Marketing a house is one of the most important ways to get people to see the home, and know that it’s for sale. It’s common sense, isn’t it? However, you would be surprised how many agents breach the contract by inadequately marketing their clients’ home. Common sense states that inadequate marketing is the most common way an agent can break a listing agreement.
An agent may wait too long after they have signed a listing agreement to put a house on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), fail to show a house to a potential buyer, or refuse to cooperate with his or her colleagues at the real estate agency to spread the word about your house. Regardless, the agent is committing an infraction. Marketing your home is three-quarters of the battle, and the problem needs to be remedied immediately.
The Real Estate Agent Has Disclosed Personal Information About You
People sell their house for many reasons—they want to downsize, they’re going through a divorce, or maybe a loved one has recently passed. Whatever the reason may be, it is the duty of your real estate agent to keep that information between you.
Yet, you find out that at a meeting that your real estate agent gave their broker the “dirt” on your current living situation. This is a breach in contract.
Any break in trust or a breach in privacy warrants termination of the relationship and possibly a monetary payment for damages.
The Real Estate Agent Fails to Get the Best Price for Your Home
In some cases, the agent’s breach in the contract may occur after you have secured and agreed upon an offer on your home. For example, if your real estate agent fails to disclose a better offer on your home, leading you to believe that the one you just agreed upon is the best one.
Similarly, if your agent is unable to negotiate prices between multiple potential buyers. This could turn off potential buyers, and lose you the opportunity to maximize your profit on your home.
Should this breach ever occur, your agent would be required to compensate you for the money you lost accepting the lower offer?
What You Can Do If Your Real Estate Agent Breaches Contract
Finding out that your real estate agent is not doing their job is stressful. However, if you’re fully prepared for the situation and know how to proceed things get a little easier.
So, what can you do?
Communicate With Your Real Estate Agent, their Boss, and their Brokerage
If it is still early in the game and you feel like your agent has made a small (but forgivable) mistake, the best thing to do is have an honest conversation with the agent and their supervisor (this is typically the real estate broker).
Most client dissatisfaction is due to a lack of communication on both the agent and the seller’s part. If your agent hasn’t marketed your home properly or has honestly forgotten to keep you in the loop about offers coming in, have a calm, respectful, in-person conversation with them about your grievance. More often than not, that conversation will remedy the issue and get your real estate agent back on track.
Move On To The Next Real Estate Agent In The Agency
Despite all of your efforts to mend your relationship with your listing agent, you realize that it is just not working. Sometimes, a bad egg is just a bad egg. It is time to move on and find another real estate agent. However, the situation becomes a bit more complicated because if you terminate the contract completely, you will have to pay that real estate agent the commission agreed upon in the contract.
If this is the situation, fear not! Explain your grievances with your current agent to their real estate broker, and the brokerage will assign you to another agent. You won’t even have to pay an extra commission.
Speak With Your Attorney and Terminate Your Relationship With Your Real Estate Agent
If you are unable to obtain another real estate agent from the same agency or would prefer to leave that real estate agency altogether, it is best to consult a lawyer before terminating your relationship completely.
Your lawyer will be able to advise you on the legitimacy of your case and make you aware of any mitigation clauses that you agreed to in the original contract. From there, you will be able to determine whether or not to sue for monetary damages or any other interests that were harmed in the process.
Hire A Top Real Estate Agent to Prevent A Breach In Contract
Sometimes taking preventative measures is the best defence against breach of contract issues. That’s why we recommend that you hire a top real estate agent in your area.
Top real estate agents strive to deliver unbeatable customer services, so they’re less likely to wind up in breach of contract. They’ve also seen more listing agreements cross their desk than the average agent and they have a verifiable and reputable track record that shows they uphold their fiduciary duties and put client’s needs first. The best real estate agents pay attention to detail when dealing with the red tape and minutia of seller-real estate agent contracts as well as buyer-seller contracts.
To be safe, have a lawyer look over your listing agreement and get all of the details of your real estate contract down in writing. As the owner of the property, it’s your job to safeguard yourself before you sign with anyone.
Once you’ve put in the work, wouldn’t it be nice to trust your real estate agent to do the rest?