Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Michigan
My wife and I wish to cancel our contract with a real estate agent in Michigan. We no longer wish to sell our house. There have been 2 very low-ball offers on the house recently ($250,000 and $270,000)--asking price was dropped to $399,000 from $535,000. We owe taxes and decided yesterday that we no longer want to sell our house, period. We will find another way to pay the taxes...but we want the real estate contract canceled. Is it possible in MI to cancel the contract without penalty?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Yes, you may be liable for the agent's actual out of pocket expenses. Be prepared to re-imburse MLS fees, sign costs, advertising expenses, open house costs, photos, flyers, virtual tour, etc. Call your agent, ask her/him what they have accumulated in expenses, and whether or not you can re-imburse their costs. This will usually get the agent to release you from the listing, wihout further ado. This usually also means that you will not be able to list with a different broker, until the expiration of the listing, just in case this is really what you had in mind.