can I contact a homeowner directly?

Absolutely! It is only their agent that is restricted from contacting you if you have an agent, and that is just a nicety and no legal restriction.

You may want to read the paperwork you have with your past agent, you probably would still be required to pay their buyers commission if you bought it. But yes you definitely can contact someone to see if they want to sell their house, nothing to lose.

Quote from moey : You may want to read the paperwork you have with your past agent, you probably would still be required to pay their buyers commission if you bought it. But yes you definitely can contact someone to see if they want to sell their house, nothing to lose.

Bingo. Your old agent might be entitled to a commission, if you reach a deal. That is, if he's the one that originally brought this to your attention, and showed you the house.

Also, if YOU approach them to buy when it's not even on the market, it could make it harder to get it for a price you are willing to pay.

thanks for the responses. I'm going to do my research especially current market prices and then contact them. Will make sure I have a lawyer look everything over.

thanks again!

MikeBear, I tried to rep you but it's not working, will try again later!

Quote from mali : thanks for the responses. I'm going to do my research especially current market prices and then contact them. Will make sure I have a lawyer look everything over. thanks again! MikeBear, I tried to rep you but it's not working, will try again later!

The seller's contractual agreement with the Realtor will cover the Realtor for a certain time period and it would be the seller on the hook for a fee. You certainly do not want to get dragged into litigation between them. Once you speak with the seller, and if they are still interested in selling, they should look at their contract with the Realtor.

Every State and Company has slightly different Realtor Agreements, and there can certainly custom stipulations in many cases so you never know unless you ask.

Depending on the Municipality, if public records are available online they can also be a tremendous help in understanding the seller's financial position with the propoerty. For example, just yesterday a client of mine was interested in a house that was advertised as "no a short sale"; so we went online and located the most recent mortgage on the property, estimated what the seller currently owes, factored in their Realtor Fee, Transfer Taxes, moving expenses, etc and structured the offer accordingly where while it was lower than listed price we know it is feasible for the seller to accept it, or at least consider. She is meeting with the Realtor this morning to write up the offer this morning, along with my documentation reflecting she has already been approved for financing by Fannie Mae's underwriting system (with that specific address and terms reflected in the Fannie Mae approval).

Sorry for the tangent, I just enjoy the amount of investigation and due diligence that can be done when public records are available.

Good luck!
-Adam

Absolutely, You can contact the seller directly!