Worst Broker Experience Ever
Wondering if I have any recourse for dealing with what happened in a recent home purchase. We were dealing with the owner of RE company who was helping us – the buyers I’ll call him Agent A. One of his associates was the listing agent on this property – I’ll call him Agent B. We…
Wondering if I have any recourse for dealing with what happened in a recent home purchase. We were dealing with the owner of RE company who was helping us – the buyers I’ll call him Agent A. One of his associates was the listing agent on this property – I’ll call him Agent B.
We scheduled an appointment to see the property with Agent A, he showed up 30 minutes late. We scheduled a second viewing of the property with A and he was 25 minutes late. We told him at the end of the walk-thru that we wanted to make an offer and what we were offering. He told us he thought there was maybe another offer coming in but he would ask Agent B and call or text us back within the hour and he would also send over the offer form late that evening. He did neither. I called Agent A the following day asking when he was going to send over the offering paperwork so we could our offer in and he said he would send it by noon. He still did not send it. I called him again at 2:00 pm and left him a rather terse message. We finally got the offering paperwork by about 9:00 pm – almost 24 hours after we were expecting it. We filled it out, sent it back and he did not present our offer to the sellers for 3 days. Ironically, the same day as Agent B brought another offer to the sellers for more than what we offered but they ended up not having the financing. We asked Agent A to send over the signed counter and we would sign and send it back – that took 2 days and about 5 phone calls on our part to actually receive the paperwork. We spoke with the agent over the phone about the timing of the paperwork and he said that there was no one else interested in the property and that they would change the status on their website to pending sale. We had an appointment to sign the paperwork with the broker this morning and he called us last night to say that out of the blue, another offer came in for over the asking price and the owners would go with this offer unless we offered more money. Agent A said that this new interested party emailed Agent B on Thursday evening with the offer without speaking with Agent B before doing so. Who, in this market, offers over the asking price? Obviously, Agent A, dragged his feet and did not inform us of the other offer coming because he wanted more money for the property. Since he owns the company, he’s going to get a kick back from the sale anyway.
Sorry for the long description but am I able to file a complaint anywhere about this so he doesn’t do this to someone else? If so, where?
I can understand your antipathy towards this person, but if you’re sure of your lawyer and you’re sure of the house (BTW, PLEASE don’t sign a contract before you’ve had a THOROUGH home inspection, and not by someone suggested by this broker), it will all be worth it in the end. Good luck! And, joe, what that agent should have said was exactly what you wre told by landmarks — unfortunately many don’t do their homework and don’t want to say, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out,” so they make something up.
I certainly do not agree with REBNY membership as the solution. The solution is working with a broker who has real broker/business experience; a broker who understands the concept of offer and acceptance; a broker who can “work outside” the box; a broker who will respond to your questions and anxieties promptly and substantively; a broker who will find the answer to the best of her/his ability; a broker who has a business or legal background above and beyond simply being a broker; and remember, I said a BROKER, not a sales agent or other type of other assistant. The accountability is greatly enhanced when working with a bona fide liecensed broker (the person). Not a licensed brokerage (the business) The above should be helpful when considering a broker – NOT REBNY membership. REBNY is a real estate trade group mistaken for a legislative body. Many large REBNY member brokerages simply have inexperienced neophyte sales agents running around and making many mistakes. A good broker should quickly impart upon the buyer/seller a solid basis for his/her knowledge of real estate. Remember, NON-REBNY members who are honorable and knowedgable can problem solve with their clients and do not have to adhere to REBNY “mandates” as far as commissions are concerned. For example, I can represent a seller on a building for 4%, or less in some cases. REBNY does not want to lower the commission standard below 5%. Think about the above in totality when making real estate decisions.
Stuy–We looked at the first house again with our contractor/friend who said to run away fast because the renovation the owners had done was awful. So that was easy to walk from. The second house they just called us back last week. It had been a month since they had accepted our offer. In the meantime we had moved on and we told them that. I think we decided it was meant to be not to have those houses. If we did go back to the second house, we would certainly not give them the same price we had originally agreed on. Good luck with whatever you choose. It’s so crazy out there. I want to buy a house we can stay in forever since I don’t want to do this again!
OP!! missed your last post! That’s great news! So it’s possible they made up the other bidder to get you to move up. Absolutely play hardball! Drop your bid 10% and tell them you are still trying to decide between this and another place. Thanks for the story, this is great info. let us know if you get the place.
If you fax and email your offer, they can’t ignore it. You don’t have to wait for them to send you an offer form.
It’s always bad when an agent seems to be playing different buyers off each other to get a higher price. But this doesn’t seem all that bad in the grand scheme of things. But you have to stick to your guns. You can’t let their wavering affect you.
Corley has struck me as actually one of the agencies with the most integrity I have dealt with. However, we ended up having to pay the transfer tax on the property we bought, apparently because someone at Corley accidentally misrepresented our offer to the seller. So that was pretty major.
I certainly do not agree with REBNY membership as the solution. The solution is working with a broker who has real broker/business experience; a broker who understands the concept of offer and acceptance; a broker who can “work outside” the box; a broker who will respond to your questions and anxieties promptly and substantively; a broker who will find the answer to the best of her/his ability; a broker who has a business or legal background above and beyond simply being a broker; and remember, I said a BROKER, not a sales agent or other type of other assistant. The accountability is greatly enhanced when working with a bona fide liecensed broker (the person). Not a licensed brokerage (the business) The above should be helpful when considering a broker – NOT REBNY membership. REBNY is a real estate trade group mistaken for a legislative body. Many large REBNY member brokerages simply have inexperienced neophyte sales agents running around and making many mistakes. A good broker should quickly impart upon the buyer/seller a solid basis for his/her knowledge of real estate. Remember, NON-REBNY members who are honorable and knowedgable can problem solve with their clients and do not have to adhere to REBNY “mandates” as far as commissions are concerned. For example, I can represent a seller on a building for 4%, or less in some cases. REBNY does not want to lower the commission standard below 5%. Think about the above in totality when making real estate decisions.
For comparison, I would give a 7.0 to something a broker told me a couple of years ago. I was bidding on a 5th floor apartment across a narrow street from a parking lot. Of course I asked if there were building plans for the lot. He admitted that there were plans for a 4 story building, but he only knew that because someone he worked with knew the developer, and the plans weren’t public. So I checked the landmarks committee and found that a NINE story project was in the approval stage for the lot. When I confronted the broker, he admitted that there was a plan submitted for a 7 story building (plus a 2 story penthouse) and insisted that it had been rejected, and that the new plan called for…5 stories. So I called the landmarks committee and found that the hearing wouldn’t be for another month, and that a 9 story plan had been submitted. Again I confronted the broker, a BUYER BROKER, and he actually congratulated me on my research, and had these comforting words: “don’t worry about losing your sunlight, the building will be made of glass”.
We have the BEST lawyer, ever. I’m convinced. My husband says we should do it, I want to walk because it pains me to think of this guy making a penny on the deal and I basically loathe him at this point.
Ooh, wow — well, keep your mind on the ultimate goal — if you really love the house and don’t think you’ll find anything similar any time soon, I’d say go for it, but make sure you have a very good lawyer.