Are you in a listing agreement with your real estate agent and having second thoughts about whether they are right for you? We’re here to help you decide whether changing real estate agents is the best idea and how to make the switch successfully.
If your current agent isn’t cutting it, you can easily compare agents at LocalAgentFinder. This includes commission rates, marketing fees, sales history and homeowner reviews to ensure you find the right agent for your needs and to help you achieve your property sale goals.
When are you committed to an agent?
When you sign a listing agreement, you’re committing to a professional relationship. However, there’s nothing wrong with having a backup plan if your selling experience turns pear-shaped. Of course, everyone has a difference in opinion from time to time, but if you’re struggling to work efficiently with your agent, it might be time to pull the pin.
Can I change real estate agents?
Yes. In most instances, changing real estate agents is as easy as cancelling your listing agreement contract (but more on that below).
The difference between real estate agents and property managers
There is a distinct difference between the roles of a property manager and a real estate agent. It’s common for confusion to arise as both parties work closely together within the property market.
A property manager’s role is to:
- Conduct regular inspections of the property.
- Coordinate maintenance and repairs.
- Ensure rent is paid on time.
- Respond to tenant queries and issues.
- Prepare leases and tenancy agreements.
A real estate agent’s role is to:
- Sell or lease properties on behalf of their clients.
- Conduct open inspections.
- Negotiate sale or lease price.
- Manage the marketing of properties.
- Prepare sales contracts.
- Provide advice to vendors and landlords.
While property managers and real estate agents work within the property market, it’s important to understand the distinct difference in their roles to ensure you choose the right professional.
Signs that it’s time to change real estate agents
One of the most important roles agents play is alleviating the stress of selling your home. You should be working with someone relatable and trustworthy. If you have the opposite experience, it might be time to consider changing real estate agents.
Here are a few signs that it’s time to make the switch to a new agent:
- You both see a situation in radically different ways and don’t believe that you can rely on one another.
- Talking to your agent makes you physically anxious or uncomfortable.
- They fail to respond to action requests and don’t follow through on promises.
- Mismatched personalities.
- Bad photography.
- A marketing strategy that’s ineffectually targeting the local property market.
- Evidence suggests they aren’t proactively working to quickly sell your property.
- Unethical behaviour.
The importance of communication
Following on from these signs, the most common reason homeowners become unhappy with their real estate agents is a lack of communication. One way to prevent this is to discuss your preferred methods of communication from the beginning. An indication that you have a good agent on your hands is if they create a communication policy alongside you early in the process.
It’s frustrating when they don’t reply to your text messages, phone calls or emails promptly. As with any relationship, healthy communication is important. Don’t be shy about letting the other party know what you expect from them. Then if the agent fails to live up to these communicative tasks, it’s probably time to start looking for a new professional relationship.
What you need to consider when changing real estate agents
Look out for the signs above when you consider changing real estate agents. If they’re unfortunately ticking a lot of the boxes, here are some steps to follow to change real estate agents:
Document all of your issues
Take notice of all of the instances where your agent doesn’t meet their expected requirements. By writing down every example, you can efficiently understand whether or not you need to take things further and have a conversation with your agent about their performance.
Have an honest discussion
The chances are that you’re already having communication battles with your agent. There’s no point bottling up your frustration internally. Go to your agent and have an open conversation, and inform them exactly about what they’re doing incorrectly. They’ll be much more likely to admit fault and give an explanation of why they haven’t been performing.
If appropriate, give them a second chance
If your current agent comes back with a legitimate reason for their substandard service, feel free to give them another shot. However, if they don’t immediately start working diligently to achieve your expectations, it might be worth looking at cancelling your listing agreement.
Don’t waste precious time
If they’re still not performing, there’s no point dwelling on it. Your agent won’t appreciate it if you lead them on, and there’s no benefit to ending your relationship on bad terms. If you’re upfront straight away, you’re saving your own time too.
How to cancel a contract with a real estate agent
In most instances, mutually agreeing on a listing agreement cancellation is the best outcome. The first step is to ask your agent whether you can cancel your listing agreement directly. Discuss the situation with them and cite the documented instances where they failed to meet your expectations. A frank face-to-face conversation is often enough to ensure a mutual end to your contract.
Remember to keep your emotions in check even if the relationship has deteriorated; at the end of the day, it’s a simple business arrangement. Real estate agents are master salespeople, so rest assured they will try and convince you to stay and give them another shot. This is when you have to be strong in your resolve.
If your agent won’t agree to cancel the listing, the next step is to request a cancellation from the principal agent at their agency. If they don’t agree to cancel, they may assign you to a different agent from within the same office. In most cases, real estate agencies will cancel the listing upon request because they want to protect their reputations and avoid court proceedings and negative Google business reviews.
It’s also important to note that stipulations surrounding cancelling a contract vary between states and territories. For example, in Queensland, the maximum term of appointment is 90 days, and if your contract is for 60 to 90 days, you can’t cancel it for at least 60 days.
Furthermore, in most states and territories, you’re legally required to give your agency written notice. The notice period will be outlined in your contract, but it’s usually 30 days in advance.
As a last resort, if you’re still looking for a solution and your current agent won’t budge on cancelling your listing agreement, you might need to hire a lawyer. You’ll need to prove they breached the contract and didn’t perform the outlined duties satisfactorily. However, it rarely reaches this stage as most agents prefer to handle proceedings outside of the courtroom.
Be aware of cancellation fees
When considering cancelling your contract, it’s also important to know that you may have to pay double the money. This means paying your previous agent fees before paying the same costs when you switch agents. This includes accrued marketing fees, a termination fee and a commission.
Yes, your previous agent may ask you to pay a commission if they introduced your property’s buyers to you within six months of your contract ending, even if they didn’t directly facilitate the sale. Often these fees will be outlined in your contract’s opt-out or protection period clause. If you’re unsure of any of the terms and fees involved, seek legal advice.
How to change real estate agents
If you successfully cancel your listing and are looking for a new agent, you can compare real estate agents at LocalAgentFinder. If you switch agents before your contract has ended, your new real estate agent will be able to provide you with advice, guidance and support for a smooth transition. However, remember it’s best to end one contract before beginning another, as you may be hit with double the commission, which nobody wants.
Compare real estate agents and property managers at LocalAgentFinder
If you’ve never used LocalAgentFinder before, you’ll be excited to know that it’s super handy for homeowners and landlords. You can compare real estate agents and property managers, depending on whether you’re at the selling or renting stage.
This includes access to agent sales history, paid commissions, marketing fees and, most importantly, independent homeowner reviews so that you can find out what the agent is like in terms of their personality and other attributes. LocalAgentFinder is the key to finding a new agency to sell your property.