CA Realtor vs Wholesaler Ethics Question

[Amy Konopka]

I've landed an off market deal but I'm afraid I may be stretching some ethical boundaries. First off, never my intention to "swoop in" and make the deal. The seller contacted me after she cancelled with her current wholesaler. But do I owe my realtor a commission? Would a $1000 thank you be a bit rude?

My realtor sends out the mass email listing. I like the property, ask her to show me the property on Thursday. She doesn't have time till Sunday. I ask her to contact listing agent-- never got through. I'm impatient and went up by myself. Established rapport with the seller. It was a hoarder house, but I imagine people just weren't very nice and she gave me her whole life story and I shared some of mine. She even wanted me to call her if I had more questions. She gave me her number and I gave her mine.

My question is this- if I get a lawyer and do this deal off market, do I inform my agent and pay them the 2.5 commission she was expecting when it was on the MLS? I don't want her handling the deal at all- she admitted in a text she knows nothing about wholesaling (when it was on the MLS the broker told her its a wholesale deal-cash only), not to mention she messed up the contract by +10K when writing it up (I was going through the Docu sign when she texted me and said the Seller pulled out). But she did send the mass email that got me to look. I'm planning on just getting a Real Estate attorney involved to whip up the paperwork since I may be doing Seller Financing for 100K .Couple grand better than a 14,500 commission. Plus they know what they're doing.

I'm not attached to this realtor. She's more like a friend of a friend. I lost a lot of confidence in her with the 10K contract mistake amongst other things.

[Nathan Gesner]

If you have a Buyer Agency agreement, it typically stipulates you must pay the REALTOR their fees, even if you find the property on your own. 

A REALTOR does a lot more than just find houses and it appears you're not aware of this. Because you don't understand the value a good agent brings to the table, I would argue your agent may not be that good.

The agent can still negotiate on your behalf and protect you from making a mistake or disclosing the wrong thing. They can ensure you and the Seller meet your contractual obligations. They can advise you on funding, title, zoning, market value, property issues common to the local area, and much more. They can recommend home inspectors, provide a second set of eyes to prevent you from missing something or making a mistake, and more.

[Amy Konopka]

Thank you. No agreement signed.  
I do understand they do a lot of work. I spent one day visiting one listing g 20 minutes from my home. 

I feel like my realtor actually did very little and that’s why I had to act on my own behalf.

 Having me wait for Three days to visit an underpriced property in a hot SoCal market isn’t the service I’m looking for. Perhaps I’m impatient?  I don’t feel I’m being unreasonable. Three days?  When I asked her to write up the offer as soon as I got back from the hour-long Drive visiting the place by myself, she didn’t write it up till two days later, after twice texting her about the offers.  I know for a fact she really didn’t want to deal with this property because it was confusing for her 

She also readily admits twice via text she doesn’t know wholesale and the entire situation was confusing to her. It was super stressful. Then she writes an offer 9k over what I wanted to pay and wants me to Docusign within an hour. It was super sketchy.  I start asking questions (like why is this 9k over what I wanted to pay) and then she “suddenly” gets a text that the seller pulled out.  Docusign was never completed. 

  I plan on using a lawyer to complete the transaction, and offer her a $1000 check as a thank you for sending me the email.  Do you think this is a fair check to write out for the services she provided to me?   

Does this sound representative of a Real estate Agent? 

[Bruce Woodruff]

You don't owe the Realtor legally it sounds like. You sure don't owe her ethically....3 days....?