Contracts are an essential part of establishing a relationship between ourselves and clients. What has been quite alarming to me is that most people don’t end up reading anything in the real estate contracts and forms.
If you work with me, it’s mandatory that we read through the contracts from start to finish. You should understand exactly what it is you are committing to. I’m not someone who would ever take advantage of a client but there are over 45,000 licensed REALTORS in the GTA alone and the horror stories I hear are occurring more frequently than ever.
Why? Because our industry has a lot of bad apples and in a highly competitive market many people will cross ethical boundaries to get ahead. It doesn’t matter how well you know someone, blindly signing real estate contracts can put you in a very bad situation if things go wrong with the agent.
Some of the issues that can occur by not reading real estate contracts are:
- Agents not letting sellers get out of Listing Contracts
- Agents seeking commission from the sale of a property AFTER it has been taken off the market and sold with another agent
- Agents not letting buyers get out of a Buyer Representation Agreement
- Agents asking their buyers to pay a commission after their contract expired
- Agents seeking money for services that were not disclosed in the contract
- Agents reneging on verbal agreements which ARE NOT written in the contract
All of this can be prevented by knowing exactly what you are signing and asking the right questions upfront. I know a lot of consumers feel nervous or that asking questions can seem confrontational and that is why I will be beginning a segment of my blog devoted to explaining the real estate contracts which you are signing. You will be able to know a lot more about OREA Standard Forms and what you can do to ensure you are educated about what you are signing.
I will also be creating a segment called “Who is in the Wrong”, where I will be taking real life scenarios which consumers have asked me about and weigh in with my answers once a week. This will be a really good one because THERE ARE instances where the customer is in the wrong and you will learn where you could actually be held liable for a breach of contract.
My goal will always be to ensure transparency in our industry and making sure that consumers are truly happy with the service they are getting from licensed professionals. If you have any questions about real estate contracts or have a scenario that you would like us to write about please send us an e-mail and we would love to connect and help.