I’ve been on the hunt for a new home for about three weeks now. In the first week, I checked out a townhouse but decided against it because the HOA fees were way too high. Plus, to make things interesting, my buyer agent couldn’t make it to the showing due to traffic, so the seller’s agent stepped in. No biggie, or so I thought.
Cut to now: I ditched that agent yesterday because she wasn’t cutting it for us (we didn’t even sign a buyer’s agreement), and today we brought in a fresh face. Lo and behold, that same townhouse is still up for grabs, piquing our interest. So, we asked our new agent to suss out any red flags and why it’s been lingering on the market. She went the extra mile and arranged a showing with the seller’s agent to give us the lowdown.
During the showing, the seller’s agent caught wind of our agent switcheroo and was a tad puzzled. Our agent clarified the situation, and we thought that was that. She gave us the scoop on the property and the offers it had received while on the market. My wife and I started mulling over what to offer. Then, out of the blue, our ex-agent reached out, inquiring if we were planning to make an offer on the townhouse. Turns out, when she missed the initial showing, she had told the seller’s agent she expected a cut of the commission for showing the property on her behalf.
The seller’s agent wasn’t too pleased because technically, he was the one who showed us around. And now, with a new agent in the picture, he wouldn’t be getting a slice of the commission. Our new agent assured us there shouldn’t be any issue, given that we didn’t sign any agreements with the previous agent. Still, the whole situation didn’t sit right with us, so we decided to pass on making an offer to avoid the unnecessary drama.
I can’t help but wonder how this kind of scenario plays out with other realtors. What do you make of it?