[Hyacinth Bucket]

If a FL homeowner lists with a local Realtor to sell, can that homeowner sell on his/her own directly to a buyer (who finds the property on his/her own without the help of the Realtor) while the contract with the Realtor is in effect WITHOUT being obliged to pay a commission to the Realtor who holds the contract? Or can the seller do this only after the contract has expired? Many thanks!

[nyclicker]

In most cases you will owe a commission. The realtor has time and money he must invest in your home and will want an exclusive listing. Even after the listing expires you won’t be able to sell the house to someone that has looked at it while listed for a period of time that is in the contract, usually 30-90 days. If you list go for a 90-day listing, you can always extend it if you are happy with the realtor.

[villages07]

I put a provision in my MD listing contract that if I brought the buyer to the table that the listing agent's commission was reduced to 3% from the standard total of 5%. Everything should be negotiable. But, it has to be a totally independent buyer...not one who had any connection to the listing or agent.

[Hyacinth Bucket]

nyclicker: When you say 'someone who has looked at it when listed,' do you mean ANYONE who has looked at it during the listing period, or specifically someone who was taken by a Realtor to look at it who would then (obviously) be entitled to a commission? Not clear if you mean that a homeowner cannot sell his/her property AT ALL to ANYONE (even someone who was NOT brought by a Realtor to see it but who saw it privately) for 30-90 days after the expiration of a contract....

villages07: Don't understand: If you 'brought the buyer to the table,' do you mean you as a Realtor? Under what other circumstance could you bring a buyer to the table, if not as a Realtor? Is the standard commission 5%? (Thought it was 6%.) And if you are acting as a Realtor, wouldn't you be splitting the commission in half with the listing agent rather than the latter's commission being 3% instead of 5%? What is an 'MD listing contract'; what does the MD mean?

Many thanks, both of you!

[Frangyomory]

I don't have a comment Hyacinth except to say that I never missed your show on the BBC and I have always felt sorry for Richard!!!! From time to time my husband calls me Hyacinth!!! LOL ;D

[villages07]

That Bucket woman....

MD...just means Maryland; no, I'm not a Realtor; If I found the buyer on my own (relative, friend from work, etc) and they did not bring a real estate agent to the sale, then my listing agent would just get the contractually stated share of the commission and would do all the paperwork for the sale. So, on a 5% commission, normally it would split 2.5 each between listing and selling agent; if I brought my own buyer there is not selling agent and I bumped up my listing agent from 2.5 to 3% to compensate for the extra paperwork. Commissions in MD are 5 or 6% with 6% being more prevalent.

Tiz all for naught so far since neither the agent nor I have been able to find a buyer. Just a very slow market out there.