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Updated almost 7 years ago,

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3
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Warren Blevins
  • Tampa, FL
0
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3
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Miscommunication with realtor. Am I in jeopardy?

Warren Blevins
  • Tampa, FL
Posted

Hi BP community. I need your opinion on a situation I've encountered.

I own a rental property in FL in a very desirable neighborhood.  I decided that since the market is hot, I would sell by owner.  I posted on Zillow and within a couple days I got a call from an interested buyer.  When I spoke to the buyer on the phone, I asked them if they are working with a RE agent. I indicated that I am not ready to pay a commission since I believe I can find a buyer without an agent.  The buyer indicated they are working with an agent.  I directed the buyer to talk to his agent to get on the same page given my desire to avoid paying a commission.  Within minutes, the buyer's agent called me back and asked if I wouldn't mind paying them a commission since they spent a lot of time with the buyer.  I said that I wasn't ready to pay a commission because I believe I can sell without a realtor's help. That said, I told the agent that if I can walk away with a certain net proceeds, then I would pay a commission. The buyer's agent didn't agree to the terms, but asked to see the property anyway.  I coordinated with the current tenants to let them see the house.  Within minutes of the showing, the buyer's agent called me to notify me that an offer was forthcoming and that the buyer's agent would be charging me a 2% commission.  I told the buyer's agent I would need to see the offer before having an opinion.  I received an offer and ran the numbers and it turns out that by including the buyer's agent commission, we do not meet our target.  I marked up the contract and returned it to the buyer and his agent with 0% commission as a counter offer.  My thinking being that if the buyer is really interested and has a buyer's agent agreement, the buyer will pay her commission.  

Lo and behold, the buyer accepted my counter offer with 0% commission via email reply (note: the buyer didn't include his buyer's agent in his email acceptance reply). At that point I received angry text messages from the buyer's agent calling me names and wishing harm on me.  I emailed the buyer back to make sure he is ok with the 0% commission and he indicated via email he is ok with that.

Tonight the buyer left me a voice mail that the buyer's agent called him and indicated that the  buyer's agent's brokerage firm will be pursuing "legal action" against me, the seller. 

Am I in legal jeopardy? I'm confused as to what I did wrong. I thought I was clear what my conditions for sale were and now I'm being insulted and threatened because my conditions were not met.

Any advice?

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