Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Maryland
buyer wants to terminate realtor/broker contract
My husband and I want to terminate our broker/realtor contract due to misleading information and substandard services.We have requested this verbally and in writingand threatened to report her to the board. In process of contacting Maryland State Board we found out the she had been terminated since March 9, 2008. She is not aware that we know this. Now she claims that we breached the contract. Broker/realtor says she will only terminate and make null and void our contract that states the buyer will pay her 3% if there is an early termination. Potential new agent says he agrees to pay her a 25% referral fee if and when there is a settlement. Agent has issued her letter stating this is acceptable. She(Broker/realtor now refuses to put in writing tha she agreed to terminate our contract after receiving this letter. Can she sue my husband and I claiming that we breached contract by speaking with another realtor? We requested termination well over a month ago.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: buyer wants to terminate realtor/broker contract
You've stated that the broker/agent's license to sell real esstate was terminated on March 8, 2008. He/she can no longer legally represent you in your search for and eventual purchase of real estate, and your contract should be terminable for this reason. Your prospective agent is also acting improperly by offering a referral fee to an unlicensed person. You should send a letter terminating the first broker and move carefully and warily in engaging another. You want your next agent to place your interests above a commission. A really good agent would not want to work with clients who no longer desire his/her services. If you're as drama-adverse as you sound (by the fact that you've yet to confront the first broker/agent with his lack of licensure, and the original representation agreement is for 90 days or less, you might want to just let the agreement expire.
Re: buyer wants to terminate realtor/broker contract
If you feel the agent violated the terms of the listing agreement by failing to devote her best efforts to the marketing of your property, you would have grounds for termination. It certainly isn't a violation of the listing agreement for you to speak to another realtor, although if you sign a new listing agreement without first terminating the original one, you might be exposing yourself to a problem. Most listing agreements are for 90 days, although sometimes the realtor gets a 180 day listing if they think it will be a hard to sell property.
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