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Seller wants to pull listing after cousin expresses interest

Q. My wife and I are both in our 70s. We have arranged to move into senior housing, but now we have a problem. We put our home - where we have lived for almost 50 years - on the market two weeks ago, and the agent already held an open house. She said there are several buyers interested.

Yesterday my cousin phoned to say he and his family have always liked our house, and he asked how much we are asking for it. Our question is, if he really wants to buy the house, can we just take down the listing and sell it on our own?

A. I haven't seen the listing contract you signed, but unless your agent has brought you a full-price written offer, you are probably free to withdraw the agency at any time with no commission due. It'd be different if you withdrew the agency and then later sold to someone who first saw the property with your agent during that open house or at any time after you listed it. In that case you'd usually owe a commission even if the listing had been canceled. Sometimes the contract sets a time limit on that provision.

Before you do anything it would be wise to investigate whether your cousin can afford the house. Would he need to sell his current home first? If they will need a mortgage, do they qualify for a loan? Would your cousin want you to hold a mortgage? How's their credit? Would they want to close at a time that suits your plans?

It can be difficult to get that personal with family members. Perhaps you and your brokerage firm could agree on a reduced commission if you did end up selling to your cousin. Then you could just turn the agent loose on him.

Remember, a real estate broker does a lot more than produce a buyer. A broker can investigate the buyer's finances, serve as a buffer while you're negotiating a written contract, help secure financing, arrange needed repairs and do whatever else is needed to smooth out the kinks on the way to a successful closing.

I advise talking it over frankly with your agent. You might suggest amending the listing contract to cover the situation. That would keep all your possibilities open.

Q. You recently responded to readers who were looking for a home and wanted to know what the sellers originally paid for the house. I agree with your response in large part, but this information might be more germane if the current owners had recently bought their home.

Also, in many cases you can find out what current owners originally paid for a house quite easily on Zillow (or a similar website).

A. I think I'll stick by what I first wrote: How much the sellers paid, even if they bought the home recently, has nothing to do with the property's current value.

Your note, though, prompted me to look at Zillow's website, which I haven't done for many years. I went ego-surfing and looked up my own house. All of the information was accurate except for the value estimate. If I were selling it'd be nice to have buyers look there. Zillow values the property at tens of thousands more than anyone has yet paid for a house in this tract.

The site did not have our original purchase price, but Zillow can't be blamed, as we bought our home way back in the pre-internet days. Full disclosure: We paid $16,900. In thinking in terms of today's dollars that figure seems like a bargain. The ever-helpful web, though, tells me that the buying power of $16,900 in 1954 would be about $150,000 today. Either way, these sales figures will look ridiculous to California readers.

Q. I really appreciate your column regarding selling a timeshare property. Unfortunately, though, I am learning this information too late. I have been scammed twice for thousands of dollars trying to sell my timeshare. Question: Why can't a timeshare company resell a foreclosed property?

A. You're commenting on that note sent by a lawyer who evidently represents timeshare owners who are having problems. He said that developers don't often foreclose when discouraged owners abandon their timeshares and stop paying fees. That's because it would be bad publicity, he wrote, and it is hard to get rid of timeshares they've taken back. I wondered about that myself. If a developer is selling new timeshares, why not sell older ones as well?

At any rate, your email gives me a chance to say once again that a timeshare may be an attractive way to provide for family vacations. Except in rare cases, though, it should not be regarded as an investment. Also, never pay anyone in advance to advertise or market a timeshare. I'm sorry you received that last bit of advice too late.

• Contact Edith Lank on www.askedith.com, or 240 Hemingway Drive, Rochester NY 14620.

© 2016, Creators Syndicate

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