Ask yourself: To pay or not to pay a commission?

We plan to sell our home on our own and our question is: If a Realtor brings their client to see our home and they purchase it, will we be obligated to pay any commission to them? — Via askedith. com Before he or she brings someone to see your property, an agent will usually ask you to sign a promise to pay commission (probably at a reduced rate) if that specific prospect ends up buying. You can agree, or you can decline to let them show your home.

Without that written agreement, you wouldn’t owe any commission even if the showing resulted in a sale. (Rare exceptions, of course, have been fought out in court.)

You might be contacted by an agent whose buyers have already agreed to pay commission. In any event, the matter should be settled in writing before you allow an agent to bring in buyers.

If you’re going to sell on your own, spend some time reading the material beginning salespersons have to learn. Law of agency is one of the main topics. Good luck! I have a house that is being sold as a short sale. The problem is due to the bank not responding in a timely manner. Three possible sales have not made it to closing. We have answered all requests from the bank, but then they sit on the information. Meanwhile, time runs out and the buyer wants out of the contract. Do I have any legal recourse so that I can get a sale closed? This has been going on for over two years. — K.T., via askedith.com

I don’t think there’s any legal way to force the bank to approve your short sale and settle for less than is owed on your mortgage. I usually advise patience — you may be dealing with a committee, or with someone who’s off on vacation. Two years, though, is a long time to remain in suspense about whether the bank is going to OK your deal.

When the column receives a problem like yours, I wonder whether the lender would pay more attention to a query from your lawyer. Perhaps someone who’s had experience with this will write in with information or suggestions. What is the best way to determine if paying extra principal on a current mortgage is more advantageous than refinancing? I am aware of the rule that if your current interest rate is at least 2 percent higher than the current rate, you should consider refinancing. But instead, we could just keep our present mortgage, pay a substantial amount of extra principal per month and pay it off faster. — P.

First off, if you currently have — say — a 6 percent mortgage, every extra dollar you send in to pay down the principal ahead of time will save you six cents every month from then on. It’ll earn a 6 percent return, guaranteed no-risk. That’s great in today’s market.

But would it pay better to refinance at a lower interest rate? There isn’t really any simple “2-percent-difference” rule.

Start by comparing loans with roughly equal lengths of time. If 19 or 21 years remain on your present mortgage, for example, compare your monthly payments with those on a new 20-year loan. And yes, calculate how many months it would take to recoup your outlay for new closing costs.

With extra cash to invest monthly, your choices get more complicated. It might pay, for example, to go for an even lower interest rate on a new 15-year or — if you can find it — a 10-year mortgage.

After you’ve gathered figures about rates and costs from a few local lenders, you may want to take the whole thing to a CPA for analysis. My home was foreclosed in 2008 and sold at auction. It fetched more than the mortgage had due. Can I recoup any of that surplus. The house was sold for more than we owed? — M. K. Were property taxes paid up to date on your home? If not, they were paid out of the proceeds of the sale. Same with any back income taxes you might have owed. You probably owed interest and late fees for the months you couldn’t make your monthly payments. Expenses for the foreclosure process itself would also have been due.

After all that was subtracted, then yes, if anything was left over, you would have been entitled to it.

I don’t know, though, whether there would be any use going after it six or seven years later. If you do think you have money coming, consult a lawyer.

Edith Lank will respond to any questions sent to www.askedith.com or to 240 Hemingway Drive, Rochester NY 14620.