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Buyer-Exclusive Employment Agreement handed to us 3 months after?

Profile picture for Donald303
We've been working with a Realtor to purchase a house in Tuscon while we live in Denver, CO. We began working with her in November, and we finally have a closing date for the end of March. The home is a new home, built as an inventory home, and we are purchasing it from the builder and the mortgage is through the builder's lender.

Today (3 months after beginning to work the Realtor, and 6 weeks before our closing date) our Realtor sends us a "Buyer-Exclusive Employment Agreement" to sign. Of note is that we apparently need to pay an additional $200 fee. This was never disclosed to us, and we haven't signed anything. The dates on the contract that we're being asked to sign are November 2011.

Is this legitimate? It seems really strange to us to wait until the last minute and then tell us that we need to pay an additional $200 to the person that's getting $7000 from being our Realtor.
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February 14 - US
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Answers (7)

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Profile picture for MikeEmery
The $200 is probably a broker administration fee which goes into the pocket of the brokerage and not the agent $200 is actually on the low side for one of these fees. The exclusive agent agreement should've been signed at the time you wrote the offer. And the $200 broker admin fee should've also been discussed with you at that time.

While the $200 fee isn't really going to your agent, I would personally be irked that I wasn't made aware of the fee when your wrote your offer. And I might be inclined to ask the agent to eat the fee (my brokerage won't waive the fee so if the client won't pay it comes out of my pocket). But that would be your decision.

I know some title companies won't disburse the commission check to the agents if they don't provide the signed buyers / sellers agreement. So the agent (and their broker) won't get paid without this document. And just remember, the commission your agent is being paid is shared with their broker. So they don't see the full $7,000.
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February 14
I had a time an agent sent that to my mom; I kept crossing it out  (it was $400) before letting her sign it and return it

The agent kept sending a new one, without the crossout, we kept crossing it out and sending it back.

By the 4th time the agent got the point and left it crossed out.
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February 15
Profile picture for 1stTimebuySpecialist
Don't sign anything, your agent should have gotten that signed upfront. Afterall the commission at $7000 gross, agent shoudl get anywhere from 50-100% depending on how much volumn they do.  
The $200 will come out of their commission, too bad for them.
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February 15
Profile picture for TopNJAgent

Yes, do discuss with  your agent - if you have already written up a contract,then I think the agent is protected through procuring cause to earn her commission.  It is likely a broker "required for file" document at this point. But the $200 administration fee - if that was not disclosed to you then I would push back on it.

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February 15
Profile picture for Cindy Quinton
I probably wouldn't pay the fee on the principle of not discussing it. But seriously...she has already worked 3 months, and she still has a substancial amount of work to do in the next 6 weeks (four and half months total now?). And she stands to gain a max of (guessing here) 60% of $7,000, so really $4,200? And it could be all for nought if you decide not to sign?

My understanding is many real estate agents don't like to ask a buyer to sign an agreement until they've EARNED the clients business, so that part doesn't suprise me.
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February 14
Profile picture for wetdawgs
If I were in your shoes,  I may consider signing the paper, I would only sign with today's date and I would not pay a fee that wasn't disclosed up front.  

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February 14
Well - did you question your realtor, and ask why paperwork has arrived at this late date?

Clearly, if you havn't signed anything, no one can make you sign something now.....especially something that is dated from November.

And, in the absence of a signed paper, imo, no one can make you pay an additional fee.

Talk to your agent.
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February 14
 

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