Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

Real estate broker commissions on home sales

Suppose I own a home in Florida and have signed a management agreement with a broker which provides, among the normal terms, that in the event the house is sold, with or without the broker's assistance, then the broker is entitled to a 7% commission if the house is sold to a tenant of the house or if the house was put on the market; and suppose the house is then sold by me to a buyer who has contacted me on their own through court records and buys the house from me and I have not put the house on the market and I have not sold the house to a tenant in the house: Is the broker with whom I have the aforesaid management agreement entitled to a 7% commission? Please urgently respond.

Thanks

Donald

Asked on 8/18/04, 8:06 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Kevin Connolly Kevin J. Connolly

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Re: Real estate broker commissions on home sales

I (or any other lawyer) would need to see the agreement. There are two flavors of agreement in common use: exclusive agency and exclusive right to sell. Exclusive agency means that if you sell the house with any broker other than the one you have the agreement with, the broker who has the agreement is entitled to receive a full commission. Exclusive right to sell means that if you sell the house to anyone, regardless of whether you used a broker or not, you owe the broker that you have the agreement with a full commission. I cannot tell from your question whether either of these flavors is applicable to your situation.

This post is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is a comment on the legal question posed by the poster and should not be relied upon unless and until an attorney-client relationship is entered into. Doing so would require signing an engagement letter and depositing a retainer to secure payment of legal fees.

Answered on 8/19/04, 8:04 am

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