Ontario Canada

My Realtor talked me into lowering the price on my home against my wishes, because his contract is about to expire. Can I raise the price again?

If he finds a buyer at the lowered price do I have to accept it? If I refuse does he get his commission anyway?

In Ontario, you may raise the listed price of your property and can refuse to accept a lower price, provided that you have not executed (accepted) a binding offer on the property todate.

First, you must notify your agent (meaning the brokerage firm) and tell them that you want to complete a “Price Change Form” as any change in price must be authorized by the property owner's signature verifying that they did indeed, authorize a price change, be it lower or higher, and you should document a record of your notification.

Second, assuming it is listed on the local MLS System, the agent is required by MLS Rules to notify them within a specified time period of any and all changes that have been authorized such as a price change on the property in order for them to amend their records accordingly. Further,they (the local real estate board) can impose a penalty on any agent, who fails to comply with the MLS Rules.

Third, the listing agent is compelled under the law of agency to follow all your lawful instructions of their Principal, which in this instance is you, the property owner and failing to do so would be a breach of their fiduciary duty to the principal.

Fourth, Where it can be shown (through admissible evidence) that the agent has been guilty of the breach of the agent's duty as a fiduciary, the principal may dismiss the agent without notice.

Further, such misconduct on the part of an agent can be relied upon by the principal as a defence, should the agent sue for damages for wrongful dismissal. Even if the misconduct was only discovered after the principal dismissed the agent.

In such circumstances the principal is not bound to indemnify the agent in respect of expenses incurred by the agent in the performance of the agency.

SOLUTION: I am confident that in this instance the most logical and simple method of resolving this issue would be a personal telephone call to the "Broker of Record" of the brokerage firm, whom I suspect, would be most happy to comply with any of your lawful instructions.

Important Notice: This information is provided as basic educational information by the author and is not a substitute for the advice of an expert and/or the advice of a lawyer. There is NO representation as to legality, accuracy, correctness of the herein information and the reader is strongly urged to consult a lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction to ensure accuracy before acting on this information .

Yes, you can certainly put your price back up, be it with your present agent or with any new one you list with after the expiry date.
Even so, you do risk an increased unlikelihood of offers. If your house hasn't sold during its present listed time period, the odds are that it's overpriced - honest, honest, honest! Moreover, any self-respecting buyer agent will know that you've gone back upwards and discourage any client from offering one red cent above what your asking price was originally - honest, honest, honest!!
It's a harsh truth, but a house -- any house -- is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it - honest, honest, honest!!!

Duncan

Duncan is right on with his comment. If you haven't sold the home in the time period of the agents agreement with you, chances are he's not doing his job or the home is overpriced. More than likely the home is overpriced, and if you raise the price again, it's going to sit even longer. It all depends on if you want to sell the home or not, if you want to sell the home, keep the lower price, if you don't really want to sell, then I guess just take it off the market.

Duncan is correct. There are 3 criteria for any house.
House/Style
Location
Price

If the house shows great and is well kept then someone will want it and it should sell. If the location is good and someone likes the area then it should sell.

That leaves us with Price. If it is priced correctly then it should sell. Unless there is something wrong with the location or the house needs fixing up or adjusted in some way then it must be that the price is wrong.

The Realtor does not set the price, the market does. The price needs to be what someone is willing to pay for it.

Marty Green