Sellers wont sell until Agent's contract ends

What is the name of your state? CA
We were in escrow to buy a home. Several problems arose and we considered cancelling the purchase. That same day we received a phone call from a previous Buyer's agent, she was calling to say the escrow on a home we had previously put an offer in and lost, had fallen thru and that we could have the house if still interested. Well, that decided it for us ...we cancelled our escrow to buy the problem house. But, the seller of the new house desnt want to do business with their agent anymore because they feel the agent did not perform his duties properly. They have a contract with this agent that doesnt expire until May 19. But their agent told our agent we could buy the house and now we have cancelled our other purchase and have to be out of our apartment by 4/30. Also, the sellers thought they had cancelled their first agent and hired a new agent. I found the house listed thru this new agent. Must the seller stay in contract with their first agent? Is there any way around any of this? we really like this house not to mention we will be homeless in another 10 days. I have even considered asking the sellers if we could rent the house from them for a month then buy itl Anyone with suggestions pleaseeeeeee help

[nextwife]

If the sellers think they can sell to a buyer who was "procured" during their listing, AFTER expiration WITHOUT going owing a commission, they are likely misinformed. The listing can expire, but if they close within 6 months of expiration, odds are their listing contract requires that they pay a commission.

Curious, WHY would you presume anything until the sellers actually ACCEPTED an offer from you? LIke maybe an offer subject to being able to cancel the first escrow within X days? Being on the market did not mean they may not have been in negotiation on another offer.

I didn't PRESUME anything. We had put an offer in on this house when it originally came up for sale. But, after their agent took a week and a half after receiving the offer and still had not responded we moved on to other homes. This time their agent called our agent to say that if we still wanted the house it was ours. I even specifically asked..."if we tell him we want it are we opening escrow or does the bidding war start again?" and was told the sale is ours. After all this mixup about the sellers not wanting to sell thru their agent anymore, I personally have spoken with the owners on several occassions. When they thought they had canceled their service with this agent and hired a new agent the owners told us as soon as their new agent received a copy of our offer they were accepting it.

[nextwife]

If you acted without benefit of a written, signed by all parties, purchase contract, you did indeed presume. Without an accepted offer you have nothing binding the seller. A different buyer, for example, could have called him the minute you got off the phone and brought the seller an offer for a thousand more than you were offering, and all your conversations would have meant nothing because the seller is free to accept any written offer he wishes.

[HomeGuru]

Anyone else confused?

HUH?

[HomeGuru]

thanks, I'm sure.

[Bigfoot]

It's always confusing when folk want greed to supercede the law.

This reply is in response to nextwife. I am not a realtor therefore all I can go by is what my agent tells me. I do not handle legal affairs based on assumption or presumption. When I asked our agent if we tell their realtor that yes we were still interested would that put us in a sale or just open for another bidding war with other buyers and I am told their realtor said if we want it it is ours.....that is all I can go by. Perhaps I am wrong in thinking that it is my realtors job to guide me through this and I guess I was wrong in going by what she (the professional) told me.

[nextwife]

Your Realtor maybe should have clarified. The house was likely "yours" to go back and submit an offer that had a great likelyhood of being accepted. No verbal agreement is binding, however, and you needed to actually write an offer and get it accepted before the "house was yours". ANYTHING can happen after a verbal agreement - that can leave you without the house and without an enforceble contract.

The matter of the listing expiration is probably based upon the seller also PRESUMING he can cut out the prior broker (if I understood your post he is relisted with a different brokerage than when you wrote your offer?) by waiting until the listing expires. And he is probably wrong.

Because you wrote an offer, you would have likely been named as an "exception" to any future listings/offers the seller would enter into within 6 months of contract expiration. So, if you write an offer within 6 months of the other listing contract's expiration, odds are the seller WILL be legally obligated to deal with the first broker (or at minimum pay them the commission). Perhaps your agent needs to make sure someone is explaining this to him. Your offer creates evidence of "procuring cause" which would entitle the agents involved in your first offer to commissions if you buy within a certain time frame. Not having actually read the contracts, we can just guess that this was provided for. It is pretty standard practice.

[HomeGuru]

So writer, anything new going on?

Latest update...the original agent for the owner's has agreed to cancel their contract and has removed their listing from the MLS. Their new agent has relisted it on the MLS and is presenting offers to the owners tonight. So....now its back to the waiting game. Even though the owners have personally contacted us stating that if we know anyway for them to get away from the first agent they wanted to accept our contract thru their second agent, now that agent is advising them to hold out for more money.

Another question in regards to all this.....when this house was first listed, we had made an offer in writing which is why the first agent called us again when the offer they had accepted fell out of escrow. So, is that offer not valid? When the agent asked if we wanted the house we would have had to rewrite an offer? or since they asked us would they write an offer to sell to us? or does the original written offer from us still go?

[nextwife]

If your first offer was not accepted at all, it is expired and a new offer would be necessary.

If they accepted it as a "secondary offer", it could (depending upon contract language) become primary upon deal one blowing up.

As of now, you have no contract.

[HomeGuru]

[quote]Originally posted by nextwife

If they accepted it as a "secondary offer", it could (depending upon contract language) become primary upon deal one blowing up.

**A: blowing up? Please refrain from using terrorist type jargon. It's scary.