Lee R. Schroeder is an Ohio licensed attorney with Schroeder Law LLC in Ottawa. He limits his practice to business, real estate, estate planning and agriculture issues in northwest Ohio. He can be reached at lee@leeschroeder.com or at (419) 523-5523. This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and specific advice should be sought from the licensed attorney of your choice based upon the specific facts and circumstances that you face.
While it isn’t illegal for someone to sell real estate themselves, it is illegal if someone sells real estate and takes a commission without being a licensed real estate agent.
Our still-stalled economy and our self-help culture often lead people to take real estate sales into their own hands. With the proliferation of Facebook and other social media such as Zillow, the question often becomes, “Why can’t I sell my house myself and avoid paying someone else a commission?”
There is nothing unlawful about owners selling their own real estate by themselves. However, if an owner offers finder fees, referral fees or other money to any unlicensed person to help the owner, the owner and the other person will be acting unlawfully. In Ohio, only certain licensed professionals can accept fees to help other people buy or sell real estate.
Read Lee’s full article on real estate sales in the Lima News here: Legal-Ease: Helping others with real estate sales
Source: LimaOhio.com, Legal-Ease: Helping others with real estate sales by Lee R. Schroeder, November 29, 2014