Missouri Real Estate Contract: Fill & Download for Free

(This is an odd choice, but I didn’t want to say the same thing as everybody else.)Have you ever heard the term premeditated apathy?I think you’ll recognize it when I describe an example to you. (I’m reciting this from memory, so if I screw up the details, then so be it.)In the book Winning Through Intimidation, author Robert J. Ringer is an ambitious young real estate broker who wants to “punch above his weight” and sell high-end apartment buildings and properties for huge commissions (e.g., $240,000+ per sale). He finds some properties available in Missouri and tries to find a buyer for them. He gets a signed commission contract for 3% of the final sale price. (He stood to make several hundred thousand dollars if the deal succeeded.)It should be noted, for those who don’t know, that the broker gets paid by the seller. If the seller gets a final price of $2 million, that seller has to pay the broker 3%, or $60,000. It goes without saying that a lot of unethical sellers find loopholes with which to screw the broker out of his/her money.Ringer was doing an out-of-state deal, as he normally did not work in Missouri. The eventual buyer was also from out-of-state. So Ringer, eager to make a buck, spent a lot of his own savings flying back and forth between buyer and seller, relaying offers and counter offers. (From what I gather, he was working on this deal for weeks, if not months: phone calls, research, visits, follow-up calls, etc.)Finally, a meeting was set. Ringer, the buyers and the sellers all met in Missouri and went over the final contracts together. But what should have been his day of triumph became a shocking day of disappointment.At some point in the meeting, for the first time, the subject of Ringer’s credentials came up. It seems one of the sellers said:“Oh by the way, Mr. Ringer, we need to see a copy of your real estate license.”Ringer showed him his real estate license: it was from his home state. (Let’s say NY.) Of course, it was perfectly valid and up-to-date.“No, no, no, not your New York real estate license,” said the seller. “You need a license to sell real estate in the state of Missouri. Have you got one?”Ringer was shocked.“You see,” said the seller, “if you don’t have a license to be a real estate broker in the state of Missouri, then the contract you signed with me (regarding your 3%, six-figure commission) is null and void, and we don’t have to pay you a cent….That’s the law… er… are you actually licensed to sell real estate in Missouri?”“Er, uh, no.”At this point, Mr. Ringer was over a barrel. He had just worked his ass off for months, flying all over America, to complete a business deal, only to find out that he was lacking the necessary credentials in order to get paid. He had signed a commission agreement with the seller, months earlier, without getting a Missouri license first, which meant that, in reality, the commission agreement had been null and void all along.Mr. Ringer had done ALL THAT WORK for nothing.So what does this have to do with “premeditated apathy” and real life?Well, before they signed the commission agreement, the seller could have said, “Oh, I almost forgot! Before you go any further, Mr. Ringer, I should tell you about the laws here in Missouri… if you don’t have a license in Missouri, then the deal is not valid. You better get one quick, or else you won’t get paid!”But the seller just sat back and kept silent for months and let Ringer make a huge mistake that cost him [Ringer] a huge commission check worth at least $100,000. (And this was in the early 1970s, so that was even MORE money back then.)So what is the UGLY TRUTH ABOUT LIFE here?The seller had NO INCENTIVE to warn Ringer about the mistake that the young broker was about to make. In fact, the experienced, crafty seller had EVERY INCENTIVE to keep it quiet and spring it on Ringer at the last minute, thereby using a hidden loophole in Missouri law to save himself over $100,000.The seller did throw Ringer a bone — a modest check to cover expenses… for something like $1,200. Even though young Mr. Ringer clearly deserved to get a six-figure salary, he did not get it.

Depends on state law and custom. In my state, Missouri, the contract agents write is final. In other states, Illinois for example, it goes to an attorney who gets 5 days to review and rewrite. I’ve had clients here in Missouri who insisted on having their own attorney take part. Missouri has very few real estate specialist attorneys, but they are usually harmless. I don’t mind their involvement because my liability goes down to about nothing if something goes wrong.

Wow as a real estate agent, I’ve seen lots of things over my 14 years. Here are a fewMilitary personnel being preyed upon by companies NOT affiliated with the armed forces, who use names like USAA Lending. Or insurance companies that call themselves USAA Affiliated Insurance. They actually advertise to the Armed Forcss personnel, with programs that “appear” affiliated or recommended by the Military but ARE NOT. These groups are out to take advantage of military personnel by publishing marketing pieces so complicated that one retired Marine vet thought she would get a 20% discount on her loan if she used this one lender. The lender took her information and after 2 weeks had not produced a pre-Qual letter. Also refused to give her a Good Faith Estimate which any lender can give after they receive the buyer’s documents. A Good Faith Estimate gives rates, closing costs and payment information. It allows a person to compare two lenders to see which deal is the best. In the way of a so-called USAA insurance company, they are usually twice the cost of your local insurance company; military personnel do not see past the fact these companies are NOT military affiliated and believe they should stick with them. So sad. I do not care what lender that my Military buyers use, however, those lenders who use the USA Miliatary affiliated monikers and are just lending-mills do such a disservice as they do not inspect the file info good enough and the last transaction I had with them, the poor Military gal who was headed to a foreign land to fight, didn’t get her house because she needed 3 months more service time to be eligible. Such a sad state of affairs. The out of state “Navy Federal” lender didn’t say, sorry, or anything. This lender was NOT affiliated with the NAvy and wasn’t Federal either. Beware, Armed Forces personnel, these companies are everywhere from CA, Missouri, etc.A real estate agent who listed her own personal investment property, a small house. The basement concrete had water issues and there were chunks falling off the wall. No mention of that on the property disclosure. I tell everyone, ALWAYS GET AN INSPECTION. I also tell my Sellers to ALWAYS BE TRUTHFUL ON THE SELLER’S PROPERTY DISCLOSURE.”Had a lender once who chose a loan for my buyer that wasn’t as beneficial to him as another type of loan would have been. That was in the days where lenders had access to loans that were “lucrative” to them and bad for the buyers. This was also before Good Faith Estimates so I didn’t know he switched loans until after the transaction. Thankfully these are days past and.safeguards are in place for the industry.I once believed an older real estate agent IN MY OWN OFFICE that he would bring the $1,000 amend we needed for my client’s benefit to closing. Instead he brought one for $500 and tried to “sell it” to my clients. He was the seller’s agent. I was brand-new as an agent but not brand new as a protector of my people. He didn’t get away with it.Have heard many stories of other real estate brokers “losing” their buyer’s earnest money. It cannot happen if you watch the dates closely and do amends as needed. Once I worked with a lender who told me he finally had to “fire” an agent who had lost more than one person’s earnest money. It takes a lot for a lender to “fire” a real estate agent, because we give lenders their client base. Lenders do not have to forage for new clients like real estate agents - they just need to befriend or get real estate agents to provide them with clients.Have seen inventors sell their fixnflips after having made all repairs. I’ve worked for one family for over 10 years and its been a delight. Their homes always pass inspection and they do fantastic work. However, one outfit in my area that “BUYS UGLY HOUSES” had a house they were selling to my buyer who swore their plumber repaired something satisfactorily. We get our own plumber in there and found the work was not done properly. They did let our plumber do the work properly and paid for it. It always pays to have your own inspection done.Honestly real estate agents see things off and on, if they’d are full time, hard-working agents. However, I often work with highly ethical, caring agents. I view our jobs as rising above the chaff, being diligent and detailed orientated, always providing the right paperwork, giving your clients all info possible, and staying with the transaction each step of the way and advising your Buyer or Seller. The good ones of us work hard. The good ones of us pass on a deal once in a while because its the right thing to do. The good ones of us take care of the clients we have under contract BEFORE we work with another client if we are “above” capacity. The good ones of us say, “I don’t know, let me find out.” The good ones of us say, let me get you out of the contract, I agree with you Mr. Buyer (or Seller); we want what is best for you and NOT our pocket book. Www.CathyHarrisSold.com