real estate questions

[laura888]

I'm thinking of selling a tiny 1-bedroom rental condo I own, and have a couple of questions:

- I signed an agreement with a real estate agenty in July when I thought would sell. Then changed my mind before it was shown to anyone. Is this agreement still binding if I sell now?

- I'm thinking of not having an agent involved in the selling. I'm in DC where the market is still good. Have you or anyone you know ever sold a property without an agent? Good or bad experience?

thanks for any info!

[Nite Owl]

1. It should be on the contract.

I had an agent sign me up for a year (unknowingly, it was supposed to be for 3 months)when I was selling my house. I wanted a different agent because she turned out to not be so good. I went to the broker and he canceled the contract. I ended up selling the house myself. I may have been lucky but everything went very smoothly, no problems at all. It went quickly because I had no commission to pay out and the price could be lower and I still made more. I had a good lawyer for the closing though.

[laura888]

2. Thanks for your reply! One more question...

Who do you mean by "the broker"?

[Digit]

3. BIC (Broker in Charge)

The person who is in charge of the real estate office.

You can sell it yourself, but you may want to offer an agent a commission if they bring an offer that goes to settlement. It would still save you the listing side of the commission.
Are you in DC proper?
Also, is your unit rented? If so, the lease is still valid unless they are month to month.
Good Luck, you can do it.
If you need help, my best friend is licensed in DC, MD, and VA.
I am a Realtor, also, but not licensed in VA anymore.

[Nite Owl]

4. There is only one broker per

office. The others are agents. At least that's the way it is in NY. The broker is the one that is in charge of the office, has the fiduciary obligations and makes most of the money.

[Digit]

5. Anyone can be a broker now in many states....

There are different requirements for different states. I know NY and NJ have some "different" laws.
Many states only require a test now. You either take a test to get a Salesmen's License or a Broker's License. The broker's test is more involved, of course. Since I already have a Salemen's License, all I would need to do is take the Broker's Licensure test.
This is not to be confused with the Broker in Charge who runs the agency.
At least this is how it is in the DC, MD, and Va areas.
Enough of RE 101

[Nite Owl]

6. Yes it is different in NY

I think you have to a sales agent first and have some amount of sales before you take the test for the brokers license which is more involved than the sales agent. I had my sales license though never used it. Even if you have the license to be a broker you are still only a sales agent unless you run an agency so it's only on paper, you can't even call yourself that. NY is always different!