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Real Estate Fiduciary Question?
I am selling a house and signed up with a real estate firm to represent me in the state of Oregon. I put my own ad up on Craigslist and found my own buyer. He did not have an agent so my firm filled out forms to represent him as well. They now are in line to collect double commissions from me. Is this a breach of the fiduciary relationship with me as a seller?
HI monique I put in my ad and found a buyer who I forwarded to my agent. I did not sign any other paperwork other than the listing agreement. I have little real estate experience so it seems like it is in my best interest if the buyer did not use an agent and I would only pay one commission.
2 Answers
- dog maLv 78 years agoFavourite answer
If your house was listed with the real estate office, you already agreed to pay them the full commission, no matter where the buyer came from. If another agency had represented the buyer, your agency would have collected the full commission from you and paid the other agency. No, there is no breach of fiduciary relationship, they are doing nothing wrong, and are entitled to the full commission that you agreed to pay.
Simply putting an ad on craigslist and forwarding inquiries to your agent does not entitle you to deny the fees that you agreed in advance to pay. There is no such thing as "double commissions".
Source(s): Real estate broker, landlord - moniqueLv 78 years ago
Did the buyer solicit the real estate firm to fill out forms to represent him and agree to pay them a commission? Or did you ask them to complete the documents for the buyer? Just wondering because if the real estate firm put in documents that you would be paying the buyer's commission, then that is legal if you signed it. I know when I used a buyer's agent, it was in the contract that the seller would pay my buyer agent's commission.