Are you interested in breaking up with your Realtor?
When you decide to sell your house, choosing the right Realtor® is one of the most essential parts of the process.
You need someone you can depend on, someone you get along with, and someone who will help you achieve your sales goals. But even when you do your best to find the right real estate agent, you can still wind up with someone you are unsatisfied with.
Whatever the reason, you may want to fire your Real Estate agent. So, how do you do it?
From decades of experience, many buyers and sellers ask how to get out of a contract with a Realtor.
For as long as I’ve been in the real estate industry, I get questions from people asking, “Can I change my Realtor after signing a contract?”
Over the course of my career, there have been numerous times when expectations have not met performance for a buyer or seller. When people reach a boiling point, they start asking how to get out of a contract with a Realtor.
Did you make the mistake of taking your friend’s advice and hiring “Mabel,” the sweet old lady who should have retired ten years ago?
Maybe fast-taking Freddie got your ear and convinced you to sign the exclusive right-to-sell listing agreement?
It could be everyone’s favorite “average” Ann. Whatever the case, you want no part of either of these agents anymore.
First, you must understand that firing a real estate agent is not as easy as you think!
In most circumstances, you cannot just call your real estate agent and tell them you are choosing to use someone else. That doesn’t work if you have signed a legally binding contract.
Most real estate listing contracts are, in fact, binding. This means the agent must agree to let you out of the contract.
We will look at the steps needed for a successful breakup.
Facts About The Steps and Procedure of a Breakup
1. Firing a Realtor involves terminating a professional relationship with a real estate agent.
2. It is essential to review the terms and conditions of the agent agreement signed with the Realtor, as it may outline specific steps for termination.
3. Communicating your decision to the Realtor clearly and respectfully is crucial. It should be in writing.
4. It is advisable to document any dissatisfaction, concerns, or issues with the Realtor’s performance as evidence for your decision.
5. If there are concerns about terminating the contract early, seeking legal advice from a real estate attorney might be helpful to understand your rights and obligations.
6. Documentation is always crucial to negotiate any dispute. It is one of the best tips for seeking satisfactory resolutions.
Interesting Statistics About Termination With a Brokerage
1. Approximately 9 out of 10 homeowners who fire their Realtor cite poor communication as the main reason.
2. In a survey, 85% of respondents reported feeling dissatisfied with the level of service provided by their real estate agent.
3. According to industry data, homeowners who terminate their Realtors typically do so within the first 90 days of working together.
4. Around 7% of homeowners who fire their Realtors have to pay a penalty or termination fee, depending on the terms outlined in their contract.
5. Studies indicate that nearly 80% of homeowners who switch real estate agents after firing their previous one successfully find a new agent within two weeks.
Firing A Real Estate Agent Is Not Like Firing An Employee
Many ask, “Can you fire a real estate agent while under contract?”
If you were to hire the neighbor’s kids to mow your lawn every week, you know you always have the option of terminating the agreement if you are unsatisfied. If they don’t show up, run over your flowers, or chop up your sprinkler heads, you can tell them not to come back. There might be hard feelings, but there are no financial consequences.
With a real estate agent, you face a more challenging situation. When you hire a listing agent, you sign a contract that binds you to the Realtor. You and the real estate agent agree to absolute terms, often guaranteeing that you will use the Realtor exclusively to sell your home.
If you are fortunate, you may have signed a contract that allows you to extricate yourself from the deal if you are unsatisfied. Most contracts, however, do not work this way, and for you to fire your Realtor, they need to let you out of the contract.
When you decide you no longer like your Real Estate agent, you cannot run them off like the kids. You must try and part ways amicably, possibly honor your contract, and do your best to avoid excessive financial costs.
When hiring a real estate agent, most homeowners fail to understand that there are vast skill differences between agents who work for sellers and those who work for buyers. An agent who does most of their with sellers has a far different skill set than an agent who does most of their work with buyers. Most consumers assume that all agents do both of these things well. That is certainly not the case.
Both buyers and sellers need to understand the differences between a listing agent and a selling agent.
Reasons To Fire Your Realtor
There are great Realtors, terrible Realtors, and other agents in between. Every time you hire a new agent that you are unfamiliar with, there is a chance that they will prove a disappointment and that you will wish to get a different agent.
I have coined the phrase “post and pray Realtor,” which best describes this kind of agent. They put a sign in the yard, put it in MLS, and pray. In other words, they don’t do much to sell your home, only the bare minimum.
Some of the most common problems with real estate agents include:
Lack of Communication
How responsive should your Realtor be? Great question, right? The answer is much as you want them to be within reason. Being responsive is one of the most crucial tasks of any effective real estate agent.
This ranks by far as the most common reason for dissatisfaction. Effective communication is one of the backbones of any healthy relationship! For you, selling your home is one of the most vital things in your life.
It is something you cannot stop thinking about and a situation where you want to constantly be in the loop about what is happening.
You want to know what the buyer thinks when you have a showing. What did they like? What did they dislike? Did they think my home was priced appropriately?
These are the kinds of questions a good listing agent will ask the buyer’s agent through some feedback system. A good listing agent understands the importance of feedback to their seller clients.
Unfortunately, for some agents, your home sale is not that important. They may have many other homes they are selling, or they may not be particularly concerned if your home sells. They may be bad communicators and have trouble understanding the perspective of their clients. Whatever the reason, they do not communicate.
This funny video below from RE/MAX is the perfect illustration of the behavior of some agents. While this will give you a good laugh, it illustrates perfectly how some real estate agents are when it comes to communication or lack thereof!
Don’t Be a Disappearing Real Estate Agent!
Some Real Estate Agents Lack Ability
After a month of trying to sell your home, you may discover that your Realtor is incompetent. They may not understand how to market a home properly, be bad at negotiations, or may have discovered they don’t know how to price a home correctly.
You may have figured out that the agent purposely gave you an inflated value to get you to sign a listing contract with them.
Why? Over time, they feel like they will beat you over the head enough times for a price reduction that your home will eventually sell. This was their strategy all along. You didn’t know it.
Many real estate agents will also take an overpriced listing to get buyer calls, which they can spin to other properties.
Every listing has the potential to generate business for an agent.
Lack of Marketing
When you first sat down and listed your home with a real estate agent, you might not have given it much thought. You may have just trusted that the agent would do a good job.
After months have gone by without any luck, you have decided to do a little research. What you discover blows you away.
- The photographs of your home online are either nonexistent or terrible. It looks like your home was shot via a phone after the agent stopped for a few cocktails at the local watering hole.
- The marketing brochures left at your home consist of a black-and-white printout of the multiple listing data sheets. Yahoo – your agent is spending big bucks on their marketing material – NOT!
- The agent has no web presence whatsoever. Sure, you see your home on Zillow, Realtor.com, and Trulia, but the pictures SUCK. The buying public is not seeing your home as it should be. Without a doubt, no creative real estate marketing is exhibited by the agent. Website? What website? Yes, you hear an echo because your real estate agent doesn’t even have a website for generating business!
Lack of Compatibility
Your dissatisfaction may just come down to incompatibility. You may discover that you don’t like the agent and that this fact is unlikely to change.
You would instead take the financial hit of breaking the contract than deal with this person a second more of your time. All of the above are signs you hired a bad real estate agent. It is your job to determine if you want to stop firing them. Maybe you’re not sure if their actions warrant them being fired.
Here are some things you should not put up with!
Not Working For Me
One of the biggest customer complaints I hear is, “My Realtor is not working for me.” It is understandable if you get the feeling that all the real estate agent cares about is making a sale.
It leads to resentment, which is never good in any relationship. Over the years, even when homes have gone under contract, people will ask me, “Can I fire my Realtor before closing.”
Quite often, it happens when a real estate agent practices dual agency and there are strong feelings the real estate agent was working for the other party. Well, guess what – your real estate agent is not working for you anymore. It’s why dual agency sucks.
Do you know who the real estate agent is working for? Themselves!
Unfortunately, it is impossible to switch brokerages while you are under contract.
The Real Estate Agent isn’t Doing What They Said They Would
The saying “overpromise and underdeliver” is quite common in real estate. Many real estate agents promise the moon and then never follow through.
These are many things you should expect from an excellent real estate agent. See the things real estate agents do for sellers.
More Good Reasons to Fire Your Real Estate Agent
- Unprofessional.
- Blatant misrepresentation.
- Skirting duties as a real estate agent.
- Intentional overpricing of your home.
- Lying.
- They are violating the real estate code of ethics.
- No follow-through on agreed-upon commitments.
- Not being loyal or obedient to lawful instruction.
- Lack of knowledge of specialized real estate transactions – the perfect example is a short sale.
Every circumstance warrants careful consideration, but none are worthy of a true professional. These are all excellent reasons to get rid of a Realtor.
The Risks Of Firing Your Realtor
You should be aware of several risks of firing your agent. This includes:
The Agent Brings More Drama to Your Life
If your agent has spent much money and time marketing your property or is just the type to raise a stink, you could run into some drama in the firing process.
How much tension will depend on the situation and your legal obligations? How close you are to the agent and his or her personality could also play a role.
Many real estate agents don’t know when it is better to keep their mouths shut and move on. There are a lot of “drama queens” in real estate, some of whom are men.
Does The Real Estate Agent Charge Termination Fees?
If you signed a listing agreement that included termination fees, you would be legally bound to pay these fees. Termination fees can vary quite a bit, so make sure you understand what you have agreed to.
Read over the contract again thoroughly. If you have yet to hire an agent, only signing a listing agreement without termination fees is worth considering.
Read The Protection Periods in The Listing Contract
Remember that many listing agreements will also include a protection period for the agent. The term of protection is when you will owe the agent a commission if you sell your home to someone who has seen the property while it was listed for sale with the agent.
These clauses are fair as they help to deter a homeowner from making a side deal with a buyer. You can’t tell a customer that you will fire your agent and return in a few weeks, thereby saving yourself a commission.
If you sell the house independently during the protection period, you could be legally obligated to pay the agent’s commission.
Options For Firing Your Real Estate Agent
What are the options when you’re unhappy with your real estate agent? Let’s have a closer look. You need to take these steps to extricate yourself from the contract.
Try to Work it Out With Your Real Estate Agent
Fortunately for me, over the thirty-eight years working in the business, I have had very few people who have desired to fire me as their real estate agent. If there were anyone who was not happy, however, I would want a second chance to make things right.
You should not just blindside an agent by telling them you wish to fire them. Instead, explaining that you are unhappy would be more prudent, and if no profound changes are made, you would like to cancel the contract.
Sometimes, an agent might not even know you are not pleased with what’s happening. Give the agent the courtesy of making things right. It may be time for a change if they do not make things right after giving them a chance to correct their deficiencies.
Be prepared, however, as this may be where you hit a roadblock.
One thing to consider as well is whether or not you are reasonable. For example, are you asking the agent to do things that are ineffective at selling homes, like an open house every other weekend? Did you insist that the agent list the home at “your price” and not theirs?
Are you making showings hard to schedule? There are times when homeowners think they know more than professionals do.
Make sure you look in the mirror before finally deciding that you want to fire your Realtor. You are partially to blame if you have not made their job easy.
Maybe this isn’t the case at all. If so, just be prepared for a fight. Lots of agents do not think objectively.
What I have found over the years is that many real estate agents don’t make wise decisions regarding a client’s desire to terminate a relationship.
You are at the point where you want to fire your real estate agent and have discussed this with them – They, however, are refusing to cooperate. What should you do?
Make an Appointment With Their Real Estate Broker
If you have tried speaking with your agent about an amicable release from your real estate contract and they refuse, here is what I would do. Speak to the owner of the real estate brokerage or the manager of their company.
Explain the reason for your displeasure in detail. Don’t just say you want to change to another Realtor because your home hasn’t sold. Give them concrete examples of why you feel the relationship is not working out.
You may find the owner or manager suggesting that you work with another agent in their firm.
If you have already spoken with another agent you like in another company, you need to clarify that you do not want to work with anyone in their company.
It should be explicit that your desire to terminate is not just with the agent but with the entire company. Most owners are going to try to salvage your relationship if possible.
Don’t be surprised if you meet up with an owner as stubborn as your agent. As mentioned previously, some in this industry don’t make intelligent decisions. If I had someone who did not want to work with me, would I hold their feet to the fire? No! There is more harm that can come out of doing so.
At this point, you must delicately explain to the owner that you have many family and friends in the area. Make it clear to the owner that they would hate to resort to speaking unkindly about their firm.
If this doesn’t get their attention, you are probably fighting an uphill battle. Most intelligent human beings would make smart business decisions at this point.
Why would you hold someone in a contract where they are unhappy? It does not make any sense. Sometimes, logic is not part of a real estate agent’s thought process.
Letting The Real Estate Contract Expire
If you are close to the end of the contract, you can just let it expire. At this point, you will be free to hire another Realtor of your choosing. This is a low-drama option that many sellers choose.
An expired listing will let a seller address their needs without providing notice or having a difficult conversation with the agent.
You can acknowledge your mistake and move on with professionalism and less drama.
Most protection periods are also terminated when you sign a new listing contract with another agent.
Breaching The Real Estate Listing Contract
The most contentious option is that you can breach the contract if you have to. It is best only to choose this option if the broker fails in their duties, as a breach of contract can lead to a lawsuit.
I think that this is never a smart move. You could end up paying two commissions instead of one
Sample Email to Break Up With a Realtor
When you want to terminate your relationship with your real estate agent, you can write something in an email.
“As you probably know, our relationship has not worked out as expected. I’ve given it quite a bit of thought and would like to move on from our agreement. I hope you will give me the courtesy of terminating the real estate contract I signed with your agency.
It will be better for us if we move on from one another. I want to end the relationship amicably with no hard feelings. Feel free to call me to discuss this further.”
Can You Change Realtors as a Buyer?
While most of our discussion has centered on seller dissatisfaction, there are cases where buyers also want to terminate agreements. Signing real estate contracts can also occur with buyers.
When making a home purchase, you may discover a cancellation with an agent is necessary.
Did you sign a buyer-broker agreement? If you did, the contract will outline the procedure when you’re unsatisfied with the agent relationship. Home buyers can quickly discover there is no fit with the agent they’ve chosen.
The buyer agency agreement you signed should be referred to for procedures for providing notice of dissatisfaction. You’ll be free to move on without signing a real estate contract.
The bottom line is to show professionalism throughout. Having a dedicated buyer’s agent and buyer representation is always wise. However, it is wise to do a careful interview to ensure your needs are met.
Look for recommendations from friends or family when needed.
Final Thoughts
Terminating your real estate agent is not a decision that should be taken lightly. Deciding which route will be the smoothest for yourself and your family is essential.
If your real estate agent becomes combative when discussing termination, go and visit the owner of the real estate company personally.
About the Author: Bill Gassett, a nationally recognized leader in his field, provided information on how to fire a Realtor. He is an expert in mortgages, financing, moving, home improvement, and general real estate.
Learn more about Bill Gassett and the publications he has been featured in. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-625-0191. Bill has helped people move in and out of Metrowest towns for the last 38+ years.
Are you thinking of selling your home? I am passionate about real estate and love sharing my marketing expertise!
I service Real Estate Sales in the following Metrowest MA towns: Ashland, Bellingham, Douglas, Framingham, Franklin, Grafton, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hopedale, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Natick, Northborough, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sutton, Wayland, Westborough, Whitinsville, Worcester, Upton, and Uxbridge MA.
Good article. Good advice. But you also need an article about firing a seller or buyer. A good Realtor can only take so much, sometimes, and then it’s a decision that needs to be seriously considered…and done.
Thanks Tari. Firing a client would be a good topic to cover!
All too many customers/clients fire their agents for the wrong reasons. The ones that should very often don’t. The ones that do, very often aren’t listening.
That was a really funny video! Thanks for making me laugh today! I have had clients that I wanted to hide from but not from lack of communication.
How about when you have scheduled a showing and there is no Lockbox and you are told to pick up a key at the local real estate office.
You show up to the office on the day of the showing and are informed that “Sally” who has the key is on vacation in another state. The Broker is called and he asks that you drive 25 miles to his office to get the key, oh, and to bring the key back to him when you are done.
Wow!!! Talk about brass ba–s.
The Realtor and Broker should both be fired.
I have a question we had a realtor show us a few houses. We found that we liked one enough to make an offer. We had a few questions that we wanted to ask the selling agent about the house, (not regarding the offer or price) the question was regarding moisture in the basement. Our agents said she wouldn’t ask the selling agent anything until we signed the offer. I don’t think this is correct. Can we fire her and work with someone else.
Betty your agent is absolutely incorrect and frankly it is disgusting behavior. Your agent should be in your corner and finding out the answers to any questions you may have before an offer is written. If I were in your shoes I would want to fire them as well.
I have a Realtor to sale our house and it been 2 months he has only gotten only one showing and he doesn’t answer my messages
What should we do?
Vitoria – honestly that is unacceptable behavior. Besides the fact the agent is not generating any showing activity on your home it is inexcusable not to respond to your messages. The agent clearly does not have any business skills.
Love the salty realtors blaming the clients. All too typical in the industry. You wanna make money, make your clients happy. Crying about it on an internet blog post just shows your lack of business ethics. Try harder.
My agent lies, took 3 weeks to submit a written offer, doesn’t answer calls, texts or emails! She took 3 months to put the sign by my lot and wanted us to put markers so she could find it – after she kept saying how beautiful it was!
Now there is a sale because another broker brought the buyer and my broker gets paid for doing nothing. She took 3 weeks after the contract was signed to put it on line and didn’t use the pictures I instructed her to use.
I took them at the height of the beauty to save for when I was ready. I spent extra money on plantings that I’d never get to enjoy and she used her photos taken on a dark dank day when there was no foliage and said ” if people come and don’t see it like your pics, they will be disappointed (like they don’t have a brain).
I had to fight tooth and nail to get the least thing done.
Barbara sorry to hear you had such a terrible experience with your real estate agent. Communication is vital in any business. It sounds like the agent you hired didn’t do much of that. There are sound reasons why a real estate agent should be fired. If a buyer hadn’t come along you probably would have.
My house has been on the market for over 60 days. Two open houses, nothing, zero showings. The pictures she took were horrible. We actually took new pictures and sent them to her. She really has no clue what’s she is doing. Now she wants us to reduce our price 10k. She isn’t listening to what kind of house we want AT ALL. She keeps sending us listings that aren’t even close to what we want. I’m so beyond frustrated and have resorted to buying a home without her and just a lawyer. She doesn’t deserve the commission she will get for our house, she has done NOTHING!
Becky – sorry to hear about your problems with the real estate agent you hired. Some of the things you mention are common reasons why Realtors end up getting fired.
We have an agent (recommended to us by a friend) to buy a house in another city. We found the house (he didn’t like the other realtor so he discouraged us from looking.) We forced the issue. House was perfect for us.
He turned us on to a mortgage broker who (after a month surprised us with a bait and switch) we found another mortgage broker (against his advice)? No problem.
He is very slow to answer calls or texts (two hours to two days)(his email has been “down” for over a month).
We’re buying the house. He’s making full commission. If there were a way that I could cut him out? I would. He doesn’t work for a broker… I have no one to “go over his head” about. I abhor the fact that he’s making so much money on me by putting forth almost zero effort.
He’s a part time bartender. I have a feeling that a guy buying three drinks from him gets more attention than we’ve gotten. Probably sounds like I’m a demanding customer… I’m not. I just demand… some effort. Even call me back and say “no”. But, CALL ME BACK!
Sorry to hear about your problems with your real estate agent Hugh. It is hard to sell real estate part time. It makes for a very difficult time serving your clients well.