When shopping for a new place to live, it’s pretty typical to retain the services of a real estate agent. Though it’s by no means mandatory, agents can help you find listings that meet your criteria, including some that you might not have access to otherwise. They can advise you on how to make the right offer, recommend inspectors and other vendors, and guide you through all the legal red tape that comes with purchasing a house.
There’s just one problem: Not all buyer’s agents are created equal. Hopefully, when you hire an agent, you’ll truly love working with them and you’ll appreciate their depth of expertise. But what if you don’t? What if you hire an agent who looks great on paper, but simply doesn’t provide you with the attentiveness you’d hoped for?
Do you have any options available for dropping your agent and finding someone new? Any legal restrictions against doing so? That’s what we’ll tackle in this post.
Remember that as you need help buying a home or selling your home, SOLD.com is here for you! Grab your free seller’s report, complete with individualized tips for getting your place sold, today.
How to Switch Agents
Generally, when you first agree to work with a buyer’s agent, you’ll sign a contract that outlines the terms of your agreement. The contract may be in place for anywhere from a month to six months, and once it runs out, you’re free to switch agents as you see fit. But if the contract hasn’t run out, you’ll want to review it for written language that could impact your decision to move on.
Sometimes you’ll simply need to give your agent notice, just like you would give an employer notice if you planned on leaving your job. For instance, you may just need to tell the agent 48 hours in advance that you’d like to part ways.
Something else to look for in your contract is a list of what the agent is supposed to do on your behalf. If the agent is clearly in violation of their responsibilities, then you should offer as much documentation as you can, including a written list of grievances, and it may be sufficient for getting out of the contract without any kind of penalization.
In other cases, the contract may have a termination agreement in place, simply stating that either party may end the contract whenever they wish… and if that’s the situation, then you’re pretty much free and clear!
When you decide to part ways with your real estate agent, you’ll likely want to send them a formal letter of termination. This is the polite and professional thing to do, and your contract may require it anyway. It’s wise to ask the agent to sign the letter of termination and send it back to you, just in case you ever need to prove that the parting of ways was amicable.
A word of advice from the SOLD.com team: Try to be diplomatic, even if you feel like your agent has really dropped the ball. Politely highlight the ways in which you feel underserved and make suggestions for how the agent could do better by their client next time. A really good agent will agree that your interests could be served elsewhere and may even be able to refer you to someone else. That can be ideal, so make sure you do everything in your power to preserve a cordial, professional relationship… again, even if you think the agent isn’t very good at what they do!
Get the Help You Need to Sell Your House or Buy Your House
Whether you’re interested in buying a place or getting your current home sold, a real estate agent can often be an invaluable ally.
Additionally, SOLD.com hopes to be a valuable partner to home sellers everywhere. Remember, our goal is to help you sell your home, so definitely keep us in mind.
You can start by requesting your free seller’s report, which will suggest some specific solutions for selling your home and meeting your real estate goals. Request your FREE seller’s report from SOLD.com at your next convenience!
