How Long After the Listing Expires Can I Sell My Home Without Paying a Commission?
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Anytime After Expiration
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Once a real estate listing expires, you are likely to get bombarded by other brokerages and agents wanting to take on your listing. If there are no specifically stated extensions on the original agreement regarding the sale of the home after expiration and the buyer is acquired from new marketing and communications beyond the original broker's efforts, you should not owe a commission.
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Long Enough For Agent's Efforts to Cease Benefit
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Many real estate listing agreements include extension clauses that indicate the a sale of a home within a certain time frame after expiration--especially if a new agent is not hired--requires payment of commission. This is due to the agent's s investment in marketing and communication that can continue to pay dividends well beyond the expiration of the listing. Even without outside an extension, you (or your new broker) might be ethically or legally required to pay if it is deemed that the original agent's marketing efforts produced the sale.
Bottom Line
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This question is a clear case of whether doing what is ethically right is likely doing what is legally right as well. Know what your listing contract states regarding a possible extension clause. If your agent generated a sale through investment in marketing of your home during your listing agreement time frame, it is right to pay a commission. Legally, you or your new broker could be forced to pay commission if the court decides it was the original agent's efforts that led to the sale, even after the listing expires.
References
- Photo Credit house image by Brett Bouwer from Fotolia.com
