Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Georgia

Exclusive Buyer Brokerage Agreement termination

I entered into an Exclusive Buyer Brokerage Agreement

�Buyer�s Duties. Buyer agrees to:work only with Broker in identifying, previewing, and seeing property for purchase by Buyer;� �Early Termination. Broker or Buyer shall have the right to terminate this Agreement at any time by giving the other party written notice;� The above contract was entered into on 10/7/06 and was due for expiration on 4/7/07. I sent a letter on 11/11/06 giving my wish to terminate and asking for my earnest money back.It was sent as an attachment to an e-mail that read simply �Please see attachment� I printed the letter, Signed, Dated, and Timed it. Scanned it again, and e-mailed it to her. Her reply came as follows on 11/12/06: �You may want to just drop a hard copy at the office...I will address it with my broker and respond accordingly after I get her input. I will also discuss your earnest money with her Monday ...� As you may have noticed, the body of my e-mail did not mention the earnest money so she must read the attachment. On 11/13/2006 I got a response from a seller of a property she had shown me and let her place the offer. offer didn't go thru. I want to see another by a friend. Is by Agreement with her already termimated. Please help!


Asked on 11/15/06, 10:16 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Jon Gottlieb Flynn & Gottlieb, P.A.

Re: Exclusive Buyer Brokerage Agreement termination

I'm not sure I follow the facts. Are you saying that you entered into a purchase contract to buy some property through a broker and now you wish to terminate the prurchase contract and receive your earnest money back and at the same time you also wish to terminate your exclusive buyer agency agreement?

Per the language you quoted it appears you have the right to terminate the exclusive buyer agency agreement so long as you properly followed any notice provision contained in your agreement.

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Answered on 11/16/06, 8:15 am
SHERRY RAGOLE RAGOLE & ASSOCIATES, LLC

Re: Exclusive Buyer Brokerage Agreement termination

As an experienced real estate attorney and based on the details that you provided, it sounds like you are in the clear. You may want to drop a hard copy by the office as the agent suggests. If you encounter any problems with return of your earnest money, it would probably be worthwhile to employ a real estate attorney to negotiate the return for you. Best Regards.

The above information is provided as a courtesy. No attorney client relationship exists or is implied thereby.

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Answered on 11/16/06, 9:53 am
Scott Riddle Law Office of Scott B. Riddle, LLC

Re: Exclusive Buyer Brokerage Agreement termination

One cannot conclude you are in the clear by your post. Certainly, the basic response is that the termination may be effective if you follow the agreement to the letter. However, we do not know all of the terms of the agreement. We do not know what may still be covered (ie, houses the agent has shown you, offers made, etc.). Obviously, as stated by Mr. Gottlieb, your post is not entirely clear and at the time you terminated, you had an offer and earnest money outstanding. It is not necessarily a complicated issue, but not always clear cut. See what the angent and broker come back with, and if they confirm in writing it is terminated and you get the money back, great. If not, post again with the details.

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Answered on 11/16/06, 11:38 am


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