We are just all sitting around thinking, Damn! We just spend a lot of money setting up a brand new office and then get emails from other agents from other offices wondering whats up with this. We didnt know until we looked it up on the local FSBO sites ourselves.

I havent had a sit down with the agent yet about what he was thinking. Im wondering where we went wrong. Our office offers great splits 25/75 and a whoppin 90 percent on sale of primary homes. I have a problem with telling my agents what to do with their own assets but this stunt is really going to hurt our rep in the area as we are starting up and expanding. Our competitors that kindly informed me are having a snickerfest over this, Im sure.

I just had a nearly for sure FSBO convert in the same neighborhood ready to list. Now this will confuse them and I may not get that listing now.

Has this happened to any of you yet? He did manage to remember to say "by agent" in the ad at least. Could I be liable as his sponsor if he mucks up something seriously legally and ends up with a complaint?

Ouch! This really bruises my ego.

Did you train him at all?

Does he know that FSBO's attract the wrong kind of buyer?

fair enough question. Yes, barely trained I have to admit. He transferred in from another agency. Licensed since 2003. I think others might give him the cold shoulder treatment when he does come in the office. Lots of mouths dropping when he did that.

I know agencies where the policy allows agents buy and sell their own personal residence through the company without owing a commission to their sponsoring broker. If the transaction is co-broked or through MLS they are responsible for the commission to the other agency. To avoid abuse it is limited to their personal residence, no investment speculation!

I assume their intent is to discourage their agents from selling as a FSBO.

I BET HE OVER-PRICED IT TOO!

Explain to him that he is hurting his profession by putting up a FSBO sign. How can he preach to a seller about using a Realtor when he is doing the exact opposite. And that exposing the home to other Realtors will bring MORE BUYERS.

I see this often in my area. Most of these agents are clueless to the business and really don't sell many homes.

Regarding your legal question, did you contact the E&O insurance company and ask them if the policy is affected by an insured agent selling fsbo?

"He did manage to remember to say "by agent" in the ad at least. Could I be liable as his sponsor if he mucks up something seriously legally and ends up with a complaint?"

That's not adequate disclosure!You need to contact your local real estate commission for the proper wording of conveyance.

We would have to put in our state.Agent holds a liscence as a realtor in the state of Georgia.The reason is buy agent might be open to misintepretation by a potential buyer.

As far as being liable "are you the principal broker of your own company?" if yes then you are responsible for most actions of your agents.Know if you have policies in place and the agent does not follow those after proper training generally r.e. commission do not hold the broker at fault,the only time is if you were negligent by not having policies in place to cover such subjects.


Now if the agent is part of a team you also need to have policies defined for your team and a copy submitted and approved from your principal broker.There is usually an ic agreement between you and your pricipal broker,then another agreement between you and your team members,then there would be a third agreement for any employees under your team and how they would be compensated such as secretaries,etc.

He might not be even allowed to put the fsbo sign up,it should cover this in the ic agreememt with the principal broker.

Maybe you should get over your ego? You're making a mountain out of a mole hill. Why can't you respect his decision to sell his personal residence as he pleases?

I agree with Ericka partially... get over it.

Even though it's not favourable for business & sets a bad example in the office, but the "Agent" will lose more eventually. That will, in fact, set an even bigger example........

Realtors Get Paid for a reason..... What U have in your office is an Agent....... He doesn't have, what it takes to be a REALTOR.....YET...!!!!!!!!

He will learn his lessons, when someone points to him that he sold his own home FSBO, why should they List with him.... 10% saving will prove very expensive......

Maintain a cool attitude...... that's what keeps & retains good agents..... That's more important......

SailorKev,
You should have had this covered in the IC agreement. It should have stated that agents are not allowed to advertise their principle properties FSBO.

Erika.
Respect his decision??? You must be kidding or should be. The problem is the message the agent is sending to sellers. An agent is an idiot if he does not list the property except if the broker is taking anything but a transaction fee for the sale or if you have the property sold without putting a sign on the property. Listing your own home is just another way of getting your name out and any expenses are deductible as business expenses. If you FSBO you will not be able to deduct those expenses as legitimate business expenses.

CalRealtor2007,
Your agent vs Realtor comment is complete Bull! I do support NAR's legislative actions and COE but I also know and respect agents that are not REALTORS who are just as knowledgeable and professional. Implying otherwise makes you look foolish!

When I worked for a broker any buy/sell I did of my own property was treated exactly like any other transaction, same split. On the upside that meant free advertising in the broker paid weekly ad. I saw it as a trade off, I'm using the brokerage's office space, fax machine, phones etc to sell or buy for myself it seemed fair to me.

Now that I have my own brokerage I gotta say buying/selling & 100% commission is suhweeeet.

Yeah, imagine that, respecting another adult's personal decisions. Why is that so hard to understand?? A broker has no business meddling in the agent's personal affairs.

The agent might have had a very good reason that the broker is not aware of. If the agent is an idiot, he has the right to be an idiot. It appears to me that the broker has an inflated ego and is short on management training. This is simply something the broker should stay out of, as a matter of common sense.

Does your mechanic get irate when you tinker with your own car..change the oil or replace the alternator? That is solely YOUR personal decision.

Since the agent is in the real estate business selling their own primary residence is also business related. The act of an agent selling FSBO has an effect on thier business and the brokers business. Imagine trying to convince a seller to list if they learn you are selling FSBO. Talk about shoting yourself in the foot! If you cannot grasp that perhaps you are in the wrong line of work. BTW are you agent or Broker?

It should have been covered in the IC agreement, which it wasnt. Hindsight is great isnt it? As the broker of a newly established office, we havent had enough happening to inflate my ego too far. But most of my new listings have ironically come from FSBO converts. They have tinkered away 4 months with the 99 dollar flat fee advertising and saw the light.

The reason this particular home is for sale, is they bought another property fo build on and the new home is under construction. The agent needed my services to get them this lot since he didnt have his Realtor/MLS up then. I personally had to do the whole thing as if it were a regular buyer off the street, the offer etc and as he was one of my sponsored licensees got his lion's share of the commission back a week out of settlment. I REALLY could have used that money! I bent over backwards, and falsely assumed that not only would he be listing his present home but I would also be asking him to be the lister on another former FSBO who would like to list with our company. Now, after seeing my agents name and home on the exact same http://www.rockfordfsbo.com site, he informed me he would like to "give it a few more weeks".

I actually do not look at this as a run of the mill FSBO. This FSBO website is my number one competitor when seeking listings. Not C-21, not Keller Williams, but rockfordfsbo.com A site that says condescending remarks like "smart realtors know this is the way to go" and "We dont compete with realtors" If my agent ran out to Home Depot and got a For Sale by Owner sign, I might not have been as upset. But this is my agent electing to use the services of another company to do what we do for a living. 12 percent of homes in our area are FSBO. That is a threat to my livlihood. I feel more like my agent is going to the competition that I do that he is doing it "on his own"

We have reached a consensus, to ask the agent to seek out another sponsoring broker/office. I think it is in the best interest of the agent, my office and the other agents. I dont think he would be comfortable here. Im giving him some time to find the right office and then Ill sign off on his transfer and take his license off my wall. Very unfortunate since we are friends from high school that we wont work together. Ill preserve my friendship but I dont want a non-producing or negative influence on an office just starting up.

Thank to all for your advice and input. It helps a great deal while Im making this new office.

Hi SailorKev -

I think you are making the right decision. We had a similar incident at our office a few years back.

Best of luck to you in your brokerage!