Georgia Real Estate Contracts

The seller agreed to pay for repair or replacement of some of the home's windows which do not open, stay open, lock and/or have broken seals.  Due to the short period of time between acceptance of the contract by both parties and settlement, the window work could not be accomplished.  The seller now states he didn't understand what he committed to and refuses to adhere to the contract terms.  The seller's real estate broker agees that the contract language was clear and that the seller should complete the work.  What recourse does the buyer have in the state of Georgia?  Thanks

Michele, Your first recourse should be to speak with the agent who represented you and then to that agents broker. Many Brokers have an attorney that they can put you in touch with quickly to point you in the right direction. I'm not an attorney and I have not seen your specific contract, but, generally work that is not completed prior to closing still must be completed - these things tend to survive the sale. Your agent, who shoould know your situation intimately should be able to get you in touch with the broker (who actually represented you). This is where you need to start. If, on the other hand, you were not represented by an agent/broker, you should speak with a real estate attorney. What part of Georgia are you and this new house located in?

Ryan, The property is in Savannah, Ga,  I guess the next step would be that my agent speaks with her broker to try and expeditiously put me in touch with an attorney.  Thanks.   Michele

Yes - and I would do it as soon as poosible. Sometimes these things can be worked out quite easily.

I am on a mortgage jointly with my ex, but not on deed.   Can he sell without me?

You will really need to consult with an attorney on this one, but, it is my understanding that since you don't actually hold any interest in the property (on title) that you can not stop him from selling the home. Again, you really need to speak with a real estate attorney to get the specifics to your answer.

We entered in to a listing to sell our house with an agent.  We found a house we liked and she did the closing for us and made $13,000, we utitlized everyone the recomended so we negotiated a 2% for her on the sell of the lesser house.  We indicated we just wanted to see if it would move and if not we would rent it out.  Its been 3 mo, not much traffic, so we called her to see about cancelling the listing and renting it out.  That was the first time she told us we were locked in for 1 year.  It is on the signed contract, but unfortunately, overlooked by us, because she never indicated it would be for that long, and in any conversations we had w/ her she never disclosed she does 1 year contracts.  In fact, during the call she was completely unprofessional to both my husband and me saying "do you think I work for free", calling us names and just such defensive posturing that we are no longer able to communicate w/ her.  We contacted her broker who has said, while her behavior might be inappropriate, in today's market thats the way it is and a  contract is a contract.  He said to get out of the contract we have to pay 50 dollars in w/drawal fees MLS (ok), and 650 in marketing fees, but won't give us a breakdown of the fees.  In the contract we checked the box for lease/purchase option, but she has failed to enter that info on the MLS listing.  She took pictures w/ her digital camera, she suggested not to use professional photogs, and we were fine w/ keeping costs down.  She has never physically shown our house and never offered an open house.  She did some flyers and thats it.  Any advice as to recourse for such bad cust serv.  They've removed the signs and lockbox from our house, but told my husband if he leases/rents it out he'll sue for 6%.  

Hi Barbara,

OK, I'm going to give this a shot. I'm not an attorney and I haven't seen the contract so I cannot speak to specifics, but, let me see if I can point you to the right part of the contract. Look in Paragraph 1 of your listing agreement and you should see this:

Also, reread paragraph 4.

Next, check paragraph 7:

Your options are to see if the $650 is broken down in the listing agreement, contact the Georgia Real Estate Commission at http://www.grec.state.ga.us/, 404-656-3916 and/or contact an attorney. I would probably contact the real estate commission as they will hear what you have to say and may be able to guide you a little bit further. Perhaps you could argue that they did not hold up their end of the bargain based on paragraph 4, but, I have to be honest when I say that you are not alone in having a home listed for sale that is not receiving much activity.

I'm very sorry to hear about your dilemna and it is one of the reasons that I have explicity gone to hassle free listing agreements. I don't want to work for someone who doesn't want me to work for them and no amount of money could change that. Please keep me posted as to what happens and if you would prefer to email me directly, you can do so at ryan(@)ryanwardrealestate.com. (remove the parenthesis. I use them to avoid spam).

If Seller during the Protected Period, as that term is hereinafter defined, sells or contracts to sell Property to any buyer who makes an offer, was introduced to, visited, received information on, inquired about, or otherwise learned of the Property during the agreed upon term of this Agreement, then Seller shall pay the commission referenced above to Broker at the closing of the sale or exchange of Property to said buyer. The term “Protected Period” shall refer to the ____________ day period following the earlier of either: (a) the expiration of this Agreement; or (b) the date that the Agreement is terminated upon the mutual, written consent of the Broker and Seller. In addition, if this Agreement is terminated by Seller without the express, written consent of Broker, the Protected Period shall be the same day period referenced above as the Protected Period but running from the date this Agreement was terminated early without the express, written consent of Broker plus the number of days that remained on the term of the Agreement at the time it was terminated early without the express, written consent of Broker. Broker removing the Broker’s sign from the Property, removing the listing from a multiple listing service and/or discontinuing brokerage services at the direction of Seller shall not be deemed to be consent to an early termination of this Agreement by Broker. Instead, the Broker shall be required to sign a written statement that the Broker expressly consents to the termination of this Agreement for the Broker to expressly consent in writing to said termination. For the purposes of this Agreement, the term “buyer” shall include buyer, all members of the buyer’s immediate family, any legal entity in which buyer or any member of buyer’s immediately family owns or controls, directly or indirectly, more than 10% of the shares or interests therein, and any third party who is acting under the direction or control of any of the above parties. Notwithstanding the above, no listing commission shall be paid to Broker if this Agreement has either expired or been terminated upon the mutual, written consent of Broker and Seller and the Property is sold or contracted to be sold to a prospective buyer by or through another licensed broker with whom Seller has signed an exclusive right to sell listing agreement. The rights of Broker to receive and the obligations of Seller to pay a commission set forth herein shall survive the termination or expiration of this Agreement.

The term of this Agreement shall begin on the date of _____________________________

and shall continue through the date of _________________________________ (hereinafter referred to as “Listing Period&rdquo, unless

otherwise terminated in accordance with this Agreement.

Ahh, this reply to you got completely fumbled up when I copied some text into the body. I'm sorry. Check pargraphs 1, 4 and 7...or email at ryan@ryanwardrealestate.com

Hey Ryan, I am new to the state and have been looking for something to buy. I found something that interest me but it is not listed with an agent. The owner does not want an agent envolve in the transaction. I have always used a real estate agent when listing or buying a home. How is it done when it is for sale by owner?

I also wanted to ask the seller if he would be willing to pay for closing cost, however since they do not want an agent envolve I have no clue on how to do this. Is there a way to obtain a GA Real Estate Contract with all the terms I am requesting?

Last but not least, I believe this home to be a great buy. I did the little research I could and homes have been steady in the nieghborhood, even with the way the market looks, and as a matter of fact I believe He is willing to accept 15k below what his home appraised for recently. What would be the rule of thumb when a house is worth 15k more than what the seller is willing to accept?

Thanks

Ralph,

Can you call me at 404.630.3187? I'll be happy to see what I can do to answer these questions for you.

My buyer signed a lease-purchase agreement with us a year and a half ago which after several counteroffers settled on a price.  Now as we near closing she wants a drastically reduced price.  While I am willing to negotiate I suspect she can't meet my price and am considering rejecting the deal altogether.  Am I required to return her down payment (I assume I am) and what steps should I take to protect myself from any claims she might make as to my not accepting the new offer.  I'm prepared to negotiate, even to take her on for additional time as a leasee but I want to be sure I'm not asking for trouble.

Is it a lease/option or a lease/purchase? Check your contract...You might have a non refundable deposit or earnest money if she doesn't fullfill her end of a signed contract. Without seeing it, there is very little else I could say.