Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida
We are in the process of purchasing a property in Florida. When the property originally went up for sale, we made an offer to the owner directly (was not listed with realtor), put money in escrow with a title company, and made it all the way to closing with the mortgage company before learning this property was in a flood plain which threw insurance rates through the roof. We backed out of the closing, told the owner when he was able to get the property "grandfathered" to bring insurance rates down, then we would proceed with the purchase. Well, the property has been "grandfathered", insurance rates are much better, and we still have money in escrow on this property. However, the owner listed the property with a realtor in the meantime. Will we now be responsible for realtor commission even though our purchase began long before the realtor became involved in the picture? We really hate to have to pay this realtor thousands of dollars for a sale that was contracted before his services were retained, but we are unsure of our legal standing
2 Answers from Attorneys
The contract has the sale price. The seller may have to pay the realtor, depending on their agreement, but you do not. Your bigger issue is whether the seller will honor the expired contract.
The seller is usually obligated to pay the realtor not the buyer. If you are still operating under the original contract that is the controlling document. Get an attorney to represent you
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