Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Buyer Broker Agreement

It is difficult to answer this question without reading the terms of the buyer broker agreement, and determining whether or not you really signed it.

I agree with both of the previous posts, but they depend on facts that are not fully fleshed out in your question.

Very truly yours,

Re: Buyer Broker Agreement

If you signed a contract hiring her to be a "buyer's broker," and then you closed escrow on a house without using her, then you will owe her the commission. Read the contract, and you will see that it requires you to pay her commission regardless of who finds the house. That's why these types of contracts are very dangerous. Always read what you sign.

There is no need for a buyer's broker contract, because you are free to use whomever you want, and the buyer's agent is always paid out of the proceeds of escrow. In other words, the seller will end up paying the commission. There's no need for you to retain a buyer's agent specifically to represent you.

$6,000 is very low for buyer's agent's commission. Is this the agent's offer of settlement? If the contract is enforceable, you might consider it.

If you don't recall signing the contract with the broker, you can allege fraud. If you believe that your signature was forged on it, you will allege that too. Both are potential defenses to enforcement by the agent.

Good luck.

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Re: Buyer Broker Agreement

I agree with Mr. Guerrini's comments. You apparently signed something you didn't read carefully, or didn't take the time to understand. I have recently handled a case with pretty much the same facts (seller didn't read broker's contract giving broker a higher-than-usual commission), and the judge basically said, tough luck, failure to read a paper you sign doesn't let you off the hook. That's the law.

I would seriously consider the offer to settle for $6,000, assuming that's quite a bit less than the commission would be, but as with any settlement you should have it reviewed by a lawyer with litigation experience to make sure it fully disposes of the commission claim and any claims for attorney fees, court costs, etc.

Another thing you should do is look through your papers and find this particular contract and re-read it, looking for any possible loophole and also whether it provides for mediation or arbitration of disputes. At this point, if you've been offered a favorable settlement (as it appears), initialing or not initialing the mediation and arbitration clauses would probably not be relevant, but it would be useful to know, in the event you don't settle, whether the agent would have to mediate and/or arbitrate or whether this wuld go straight to court.