Unsatisfied with my realtor. Can I switch, despite contract?

My fiance and I have been searching for a house for about 6 months. In the beginning, our realtor was very helpful and flexible, but I feel she may be playing games with us now. After looking at 4 or 5 houses, we found one we were interested in and viewed it 2 seperate times. The 2nd time, there was another couple inside the house with their realtor at the same time we were there. Knowing that others were interested in the house, we rushed to complete our pre-approval,, but just as we were ready to make our offer, our realtor went out of town.

Just recently, we found another house we were interested in, only this one was listed through a seperate realtor than the one we go through. Staying loyal to our realtor, I called her to tell her we were interested in seeing this house. Since our pre-approval had expired, we had to do another one before we could make an offer on the house. When the time came to make the offer, she said she couldn't get ahold of the realtor who was selling the

2008-03-10T16:02:22Z

house. She said she had no other contact information for the realtor and we would have to wait until they called her back or responded to her e-mail. Not wanting to wait around, I did a search for the realtor on the internet and found two contact numbers within minutes. Needless to say, I contacted the other realtor myself and he explained to me that there was already another offer on the house and he thought the chances of it going through were really good. Having heard this, I called my realtor to ask her if we could make our offer immediately, but she said because of the weather we wold have to wait another day. By the next morning, she called to tell us the other persons offer went through. Not believing what I'd heard, I called the other realtor and he didn't say anyone's offer had gone through, all he said was there were now TWO offers on the house and we would have to be put on a waiting list before we could make our offer.

I signed a contract with this realtor saying I

2008-03-10T16:04:03Z

would only go through her, but now I'm changing my mind. First of all, she shouldn't have shown us a house while another couple was looking at it, and secondly, she should have moved faster when it came time for us to make an offer. I also do not appreciate the fact that her story and the story of the other realtor did not match up.

What should I do?

2008-03-10T16:14:04Z

Don - Why have we taken so long? Maybe because buying a house isn't something you just jump into. The first few houses we looked at were complete dumps. It just so happens to be that we've only found 2 houses worth making an offer on. Yes, our realtor may be very busy, but it is her job to close deals on houses .. that's how she makes her money. I don't recall telling any of my customers at my job that I am too busy to fulfill their requests, that's just bad customer service.

(A)2008-03-10T16:10:55Z

Favorite Answer

Desiree,In some cases Home owners,Realtors are very busy and do not always answer their phones quick enough to get things set up to see a home and it can be quite frustrating.Short sales and foreclosures take a long time to close and some times even then something happens and they do not close.You said you have been searching for 6 months.Why have you taken so long?Pick a house to buy and let the Realtor do her job and stick to the purchase.Good luck to you.

DEACTIVATED2008-03-10T23:21:42Z

First things first. STOP looking for houses for the time being. If you fire your realtor, and it can be proven that you were under contract with her when you found the house you buy, she will be entitled to her commission. Since she is obviously incompetant, so you don't want that.

She had to delay contacting someone because of the WEATHER!?! ...Seriously!?!

Give this moron the Donald Trump treatment and tell her - **You're Fired!!**

If this realtor is an agent for a broker, simply call the broker and lay this story on him/her and inform them that the agent has not performed even close to your expectations. Stop by the office and request that you be released from your contract and have paperwork drawn up to that effect. Pay NOTHING for any services. For them to collect anything monetary from you could potentially be illegal.

If this realtor is the broker, inform her via certified mail sent to her place of business that you wish to terminate the contract as of the date of receipt. Send it with Return/Receipt requested so that you can prove the date you terminated your relationship with this jackass.

Should you decide to purchase a home that you viewed or expressed interest in while you were under contract with this goofball, you could potentially owe her a commission.

My advice would be to forget any properties that this person showed you and find a local realtor with more than three brain cells working for her.

Angie2008-03-10T23:05:08Z

First question - is she a real estate agent you have a signed contract with (a buyer's broker)? Or is she just an agent at a local office. Because most real estate agents technically work for the seller (even thought they are showing you the house). The exception is a buyer's broker with whom you would have a contract. If you have no contract with her, you are free to have any agent you want showing you houses, you don't have an obligation to her.

Bibs2008-03-10T23:05:51Z

Is she acting as a buyer's broker? Will you owe her a commission if she finds a place for you? If you signed a contract with her, tell her you are dissatisfied with her and you want a written release from the contract.

Anonymous2008-03-10T23:03:24Z

As a buyer, you have no contractual agreement with a realtor and can change as you please.