Is previous agent entitled to a sales commission if he was let go 3 weeks ago but the buyers looked at our house while we were using him?

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Is previous agent entitled to a sales commission if he was let go 3 weeks ago but the buyers looked at our house while we were using him?

The part-time agent that we were using was not doing a great job. He never showed our home in 2months, so we let him go. He threatened us with a lawsuit to get his commission if we ended up selling to someone that viewed our home while he was our agent. He never provided a contract for us to sign but told us we were obligated under his exclusive right to sell for 6 months. I wonder if this was accurate information? Does he have a right to the commission even though he is no longer our agent and he did not get a signed contract from us?

Asked on September 7, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Oklahoma

Answers:

FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

You need to carefully read the written listing agreement between you and your former real estate agent in that its terms and conditions control the obligations owed to each other in the absence of conflicting state law.

Under most written listing agreements the real estate brokerage that represented the seller is entitled to the agreed upon real estate commission during the period of the listing even it the agent/brokerage are terminated by the seller before the lisitng ends.

If you terminated your agent before the listing ended and you have a buyer for the home that is on the market and the initial listing period has not expired, your former real estate agent and his or her brokerage most likely are entitled to a commission for the sale of the property as agreed to under the signed listing agreement even though he or she did not have an offer brought to you.

Good luck.


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