On a property with multiple owners, do all owners have to sign a listing agreement?
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On a property with multiple owners, do all owners have to sign a listing agreement?
My husband put his 2 daughters on the deed to his home when they were small children. They have now signed a listing agreement with an agent to list the home for sale without his agreement. Is this legal? Should a sale go
through is he legally responsible for paying the agent’s commission?
Asked on August 30, 2019 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
Any sale cannot go through without his approval: all owners have to agree to a sale. So he can refuse the sale if he chooses. They can sign a contract with an agent without his approval, but the property/home cannot be sold or title transferred without his consent.
If he chooses to go through with the sale, the commisson will be paid from the proceeds, so in that sense he, as one of the owners, will have to pay it: the commission is taken from the money he'd otherwise share with the other owners. (I.e. if it's a 6% commission, 6% of the purchase price goes to pay the commission, meaning each of three owners gets 2% less). But again, he can refuse the sale if he chooses, and if does that, then since he did not enter into the contract, he will not have to pay anything (even if they have to pay something or reimburse costs the realtor incurred, since they signed the contract).
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