Realtor Contract question - Posted by Alicia

Posted by John Merchant on November 08, 2006 at 12:29:02:

If the house was/is titled in the name of the LLC, ONLY that person authorized by the Operating Agreement can legally obligate the LLC.

Escrow, at any closing, wants to see the LLC docs, the signing party’s internal LLC authorization, etc…and if escrow wouldn’t approve your “partner” (whatever that means, as there are no P’s in any LLC ?)signing the LA, which is a written contract, then that LA is void.

So I suspect a short visit with the Agent’s Broker (who owns all the listings in his/her office)can solve this quickly…as that Broker isn’t going to want you to report these facts to the State RE Commission.

Tell the B exactly what happened and tell him/her that you are going to the REC if you don’t get an INSTANT release of that listing.

Tell him orally, not in writing.

Realtor Contract question - Posted by Alicia

Posted by Alicia on November 04, 2006 at 12:21:08:

I have a problem with a Realtor.

I am selling a house that is 3 hours away. I listed
it with a Realtor, for convience. My business partner
signed the agreement. He didn’t read it first.

I know - stupid.

I just saw it today (signed in August). I wanted a 90
day listing. She put in the agreement a listing for 1 year.

Question: Is there any way to legally get out of this
listing so I can sell myself?

She is doing nothing to sell this place. I want it gone
before the snow hits.

It says both parties must agree in writing to cancel.

I feel she duped me and I am upset because she wont even
try to sell the house.

Any advice?

Also, this may not matter, but she put the wrong address
on the listing and in the MLS. The legal is correct though.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Alicia

One P can obligate all - Posted by John Merchant

Posted by John Merchant on November 05, 2006 at 15:12:45:

For benefit of all, a general partner has the right to obligate the P’ship, all by himself…and the other p’s are stuck with what he does.

And if I’m dealing with one, who tells me he’s representing his p’ship, I’m well aware that whatever I can have this one p agree to, he’s just obligated ALL his p’s, no matter how detrimental to the other p’s that may be.

This is just one of the several reasons lawyers don’t like p’ships much and would far rather see their clients into LLCs or Corps with specific written rules for the conduct of the co. business.

The way for the outsider to capitalize on, entirely legitimately is to deliberately pick the weakest p to negotiate with in re buying and selling of RE.

So when you are wanting to buy from or sell to a p’ship, pick and choose the “right” p for you to deal with.

Re: Realtor Contract question - Posted by Rich

Posted by Rich on November 04, 2006 at 20:19:42:

You may send her a “notice to perform” and ask the agent to show exactly what they have done to get the house sold. Find out from some other agents what they do to get a listing sold. Then, based on the agent’s reply (verify everything you are told), send along a demand that the agent immediately perform the activities you got from the other realtors as “customary” in selling a house. If the agent refuses, write a letter of termination of the contract for non-performance. That means that the agent did not do what was custoimary or necessary to sell the house in a timely fashion. DOCUMENT AND VERIFY EVERYTHING. It is likely the agent will not contest the termination until the house sells, and then will sue for a commission on the sale. This documentation (and I would consult a contracts attorney for specifics) will serve as the basis for your defense and the counter suit for attorneys fees and expenses.

Need the best way to . . - Posted by Alicia

Posted by Alicia on November 08, 2006 at 11:13:41:

I would like to explain what happened.

The house is owned by my LLC.

I had a verbal agreement with a Realtor.

That day, I had to go to an auction.

My partner went to the house in question.
He was in the middle of the construction that day.

The Realtor showed up and said she was late for
her next appointment and needed him to sign the listing agreement right now - she had to go.

He was busy and she was rushing him.

I know he should have read it first. But he didn’t and he assumed that the listing was written in the manner we had verbally agreed on.

A lesson was learned for the future, but that does not help me in this situation.

I am looking for the best way to deal with this for now. It will not happen again.

I am upset because I feel like she dupped me and I am also upset because I do not feel like she has made any attempt to sell my house.

My goal here is to sell the house and move on. I don’t want to fight with the Realtor.

That is why I asked for your help. I just need some advice on how to best deal with the situation I am in.

Thanks for everyones help.

Alicia

Re: Realtor Contract question - Posted by Alicia

Posted by Alicia on November 05, 2006 at 10:41:11:

Thank you for your help.