It's completely legal to wait until the agreement expires, and profitable as well as ethical to point out (to the seller) the half truths and lies the REA has told you (the buyer) as you were inquiring about and inspecting the property.

Most landowners (including myself), are very appreciative of verifiable data either pro or con about rea's. Sadly the latter is much more often the case.

In my case I never sign exclusive agreements, I just tell rea's what price I want and encourage them to make whatever profit they can on that "money in my pocket" number.

As is true with all major financial transactions, the ability to be patient and wait for the value to meet your expectations is crucial.

Obviously it is legal to wait for an agreement to expire....but if it is a good property, there is a very good chance it will be sold before the agreement expires. Also, if the agent is doing his job properly, he should not have a problem renewing a listing agreement. So your strategy of waiting is very risky.

You still have never answered my question:

If you find your dream property, at an excellent price (let's say 20% below market average), yet it is listed with a brokerage.....will you honestly not try to buy it just because it is listed with an agent?

I understand your frustration if you've had bad dealings with agents in the past, as there are a lot of bad/dishonest agents out there. However, all agents are not cut from the same cloth, and it is unfair to paint all agents with the same brush....good or bad.

i dont have a problem at all with agents, i am actually in the process of getting my license right now lol.

These threads crack me up

My strategy is not risky at all. Smart investors (especially ranch buyers) don't let emotion drive their decisions. There are always more properties, and there is never "one perfect dream ranch". I do my homework and if the price is right I buy it regardless of whether an REA is between me and the seller.

Here are the cold hard facts that I'm sure you know. If a ranch makes it to a brokerage firm, the average guy on the street is not going to see that property offered at a "20% below market value" price point. If the landowner wants to sell that desperately, the deal will be brokered with the broker's "friends".

Here's what happens more often than not, the brokerage/REA's convince a landowner to sign consecutive binding agreements until desperation drives the landowner to lower the price to either the level that the market will bear or, in many cases, the level the broker's pocket buyers are targeting.

And I never said anything to indicate I painted all REA's with the same brush. I have a couple of REA's who REALLY like me. Well... they like the money generated in some of my deals. ;-)

There are definitely some great land brokers. Last one I used watched my back and helped me gather all of the necessary paperwork to defeat a potential lawsuit before it happened. He also called around and got someone to pull my truck out of the mud when I got stuck. There is no question I'll give this guy the listing if/when I sell my current land, and I send people his direction whenever I can.

That just happens to be a sector where a lot of lazy/dumb people end up. The good news is that those that hustle and work and maintain relationships can absolutely make a killing because of the nature of their peers.