Illegal actions by agent

user0256079
Contributions:1

A disabled friend put earnest money down on a property. He owns valuable property in another state which he is signing over to his son. In return son is refinancing that property and paying for his parents new home lump sum. Because of the medical situation the parents can't show ownership of two homes. The friend told the seller's realtor that "supposedly" his son had been approved for the loan. This is true but then the bank reversed itself after the papers for the new home were signed because the son had not owned the house for six months or more. The bank stated it could approve the loan in September. This is back ground and not the problem. The problem is that the realtor has told my friend the buyer that he cannot ask for the earnest money back and if he does the sellers can sue his son. He has also told them they cannot contact the sellers to explain the situation. He conveyed that they have to leave the earnest money down but between now and September the sellers have the right to sell the house even though there is still earnest money on it. However, if the house does not sell (It has been on the market for 1 1/2 years) then my friend can buy the house t not at the original price but at an inflated price.) This same realitor sold a home to my exwife through another realator. The home was multiple listed. The seller's realator did not submit the offer to the seller and then showed the home to another interested party. According to the seller who talked to the ex's husband, his realitor told the other party to offer more than what my ex had offered. The result was that the house ended up costing the ex $10,000 more than the offer that was originally made. Was the interested party even legitimate? When I relayed this to my friend his answer was, "This will cost us a lot more than that." I put this in the discussion forum but the question is what statutes has this realtor violated and what can my friend do?

Flag content

June 29 2012 - US

Share RSS

Replies (7)

wetdawgs
Contributions:39536

Your title said "illegal actions" but at the end you ask what statutes the Realtor has violated.

From your description, it is not clear that the Realtor has violated anything. Did the buyers have a written contingency in the purchase offer that purchase was dependent on getting money from the son or was it only verbal ?

If your friends are concerned about the actions of the agent, they can talk with the agent's broker or an attorney for some guidance.

Flag content

June 29 2012

Michael Emery, "MikeEmery"
- Write a review
Contributions:8083

In law language this is called 'hearsay testimony'. In other words you are telling us what a friend told you. Even if there were an attorney willing to proffer advice, they would be foolish to provide an opinion under the circumstances.

If your friend has a legal issue, it's best for them to talk to an attorney.

Flag content

June 29 2012

Joseph Domino, "ScottsdaleAZHomes"
- Write a review
Contributions:310

There is a difference between insensitive (maybe even immoral) business dealings and illegal. Your friend signed a contract based on a series of events occurring that did not occur. The question is did your friend protect themselves by making sure that they left contingencies to cancel in case things did not work. If the agent presented them with a contract that they did not agree with or understand they should not have signed it.

An attorney can help decide if your friend has any legal standing. At this point there are two options, negotiation or legal action. Negotiation is probably your best bet for a swift outcome.

Flag content

June 30 2012

Mack McCoy, "Mack McCoy"
- (1 review)
Contributions:2098

As we are not attorneys, we have no idea what laws are being violated, if any.

There seems to be two problems here. One is the son losing his earnest money - if he was unable to get a loan, and did not have a financing contingency in the contract, then he would lose their earnest money and there's nothing to say to the seller.

The second problem is hard to understand. Did the ex-wife buy a home when her offer was not submitted to the seller?

Call a lawyer and ask for help.

All the best,

Flag content

June 30 2012

Ofe Polack, "Ofe Polack"
- (17 reviews)
Contributions:3374

Truly, this comments should be shared with an attorney, I am having trouble following the heresays, and as a Realtor I cannot provide legal advice. The best of luck!

Flag content

June 30 2012

Maria Avellaneda, "MAvellaneda"
- Write a review
Contributions:510

everything you mentioned is what someone said that happened about other persons actions. This is too confusing and impossible to know what is the real situation to render any judgement.
The persons affected should go to the broker of the company that represents them for calrification and them decide what action they should take.