help problems with realtor
Oct 17th 2009, 1:57 am
#1
don't fail to research
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2006
Location: London, Ontario
Posts: 291
help problems with realtor
Hi all I urgently need help with a problem I have with our realtor - this is going to be long so please stay with me.
House on the market May 2008 - used realtor who helped us buy - didn't keep in touch, hardly advertised - he put up signs for open house at 2pm just when it was to start - we eventually sacked him in Sept 08 - he told us that day he was retiring, problems with tax office etc - met him at Christmas and he told us he couldn't be bothered answering calls etc..
Now the big problem - we tried to interview various realtors, only one turned up and he had come recommended as being proactive.
Well he was a bit better we got the house advertised more - but he failed to communicate - he got us to reduce the house $5k, then got us to reduce it $5k more - we have checked the houses in the area and we are VERY well priced - houses similar are $15 - 25 k more - and yes our house is in perfect condition.
Well we eventually get an offer this August - first offer - very weird - the person has bad credit but will pay us $120K deposit and the balance in July 21010 - they have a big insurance claim paying out then - seemingly this is quite normal buying in installments and we were told everything was okay - the lawyer said he could protect us and we would retain the house rights until final payment - the buyers lender objected to this TWO days before final closing, no documents had been signed. Everyone had told us it was okay - the problem is our house is in Moncton and I am in London, my husband had stayed in Moncton as we needed his income to pay the mortgage - of course being told it was all okay he had handed in his notice, packed the uhaul and arranged the movers. There was no going back.
A couple pf weeks later he comes back to us with the same couple this time they are offering $30k deposit and the balance by Dec 2010 - they would rent the house in the short term until final payment - it wasn't until the realtor wrote in his email that if they defaulted on the rent we would not have earned enough to pay back the deposit - yeah, the lender was using us a guarantor for the loan on our own house and charging 20% interest. As you can guess we said no.
The third offer he brings in is less than we paid for the house 3 years ago.
Before leaving Moncton I had painted the house from top to bottom (I am pretty good at this!) my neighbors loved the colour and even bought the same paint - the realtor recommended we get the house painted by his friend and they would even wait for the payment until the house was sold - as you can guess we said no.
He now has told us an RCMP officer from NL is being transferred to Moncton for 18 months on special assignment and wants to rent the house - we though have to pay the tax and the city utility bill - what he is paying hardly covers the mortgage and insurance - he claims the RCMP are not covering any of his costs during the assignment - we have friends who work for the RCMP and they find this hard to believe - the thing is he wants the house as from 1st Nov - but is his realtor is saying the rent is too high and it was them who actually offered the amount we hadn't even considered renting long term.
NOW COMES THE BIG PROBLEM - our realtor is not responding to us - we emailed him last Wednesday and he failed to get back to us - we emailed him again this Wednesday and he emailed us back within an hour to say he was in the midst of a viewing and he would email us that night with full answers - guess what - no email, we gave him until this morning and sent him another email raising our concerns and also asking if he wanted out of the contract to let us know so we could get a new realtor - again no reply - now after all that - what I need urgently is advice - where do we stand. We are now down in London, with only one wage and 2 houses to pay which is impossible - our savings are running out and we could lose the house - what can we do.
Any help greatly appreciated - we need help fast.
House on the market May 2008 - used realtor who helped us buy - didn't keep in touch, hardly advertised - he put up signs for open house at 2pm just when it was to start - we eventually sacked him in Sept 08 - he told us that day he was retiring, problems with tax office etc - met him at Christmas and he told us he couldn't be bothered answering calls etc..
Now the big problem - we tried to interview various realtors, only one turned up and he had come recommended as being proactive.
Well he was a bit better we got the house advertised more - but he failed to communicate - he got us to reduce the house $5k, then got us to reduce it $5k more - we have checked the houses in the area and we are VERY well priced - houses similar are $15 - 25 k more - and yes our house is in perfect condition.
Well we eventually get an offer this August - first offer - very weird - the person has bad credit but will pay us $120K deposit and the balance in July 21010 - they have a big insurance claim paying out then - seemingly this is quite normal buying in installments and we were told everything was okay - the lawyer said he could protect us and we would retain the house rights until final payment - the buyers lender objected to this TWO days before final closing, no documents had been signed. Everyone had told us it was okay - the problem is our house is in Moncton and I am in London, my husband had stayed in Moncton as we needed his income to pay the mortgage - of course being told it was all okay he had handed in his notice, packed the uhaul and arranged the movers. There was no going back.
A couple pf weeks later he comes back to us with the same couple this time they are offering $30k deposit and the balance by Dec 2010 - they would rent the house in the short term until final payment - it wasn't until the realtor wrote in his email that if they defaulted on the rent we would not have earned enough to pay back the deposit - yeah, the lender was using us a guarantor for the loan on our own house and charging 20% interest. As you can guess we said no.
The third offer he brings in is less than we paid for the house 3 years ago.
Before leaving Moncton I had painted the house from top to bottom (I am pretty good at this!) my neighbors loved the colour and even bought the same paint - the realtor recommended we get the house painted by his friend and they would even wait for the payment until the house was sold - as you can guess we said no.
He now has told us an RCMP officer from NL is being transferred to Moncton for 18 months on special assignment and wants to rent the house - we though have to pay the tax and the city utility bill - what he is paying hardly covers the mortgage and insurance - he claims the RCMP are not covering any of his costs during the assignment - we have friends who work for the RCMP and they find this hard to believe - the thing is he wants the house as from 1st Nov - but is his realtor is saying the rent is too high and it was them who actually offered the amount we hadn't even considered renting long term.
NOW COMES THE BIG PROBLEM - our realtor is not responding to us - we emailed him last Wednesday and he failed to get back to us - we emailed him again this Wednesday and he emailed us back within an hour to say he was in the midst of a viewing and he would email us that night with full answers - guess what - no email, we gave him until this morning and sent him another email raising our concerns and also asking if he wanted out of the contract to let us know so we could get a new realtor - again no reply - now after all that - what I need urgently is advice - where do we stand. We are now down in London, with only one wage and 2 houses to pay which is impossible - our savings are running out and we could lose the house - what can we do.
Any help greatly appreciated - we need help fast.
Oct 17th 2009, 2:19 am
#2
AB Realtor
Joined: Jan 2009
Location: Okotoks, AB
Posts: 58
Re: help problems with realtor
Hi
I'm not going to go point by point through what happened to you - it seems that you may have a mixture of bad advice, bad luck and bad judgment. But what is important is where you're at now.
My advice is you have to get in touch with your Realtor's Broker. If you can show the Broker that your Realtor is not giving you good service (or keeping in contact with you), they should either let you out of the listing contract without conditions, or assign a different Realtor to you from the same Brokerage. Either way, you should be able to move forward.
At least this is how it is in Alberta, NB might be different in terms of rules, but you won't find out if you don't contact their Broker.
I'm not going to go point by point through what happened to you - it seems that you may have a mixture of bad advice, bad luck and bad judgment. But what is important is where you're at now.
My advice is you have to get in touch with your Realtor's Broker. If you can show the Broker that your Realtor is not giving you good service (or keeping in contact with you), they should either let you out of the listing contract without conditions, or assign a different Realtor to you from the same Brokerage. Either way, you should be able to move forward.
At least this is how it is in Alberta, NB might be different in terms of rules, but you won't find out if you don't contact their Broker.
Oct 17th 2009, 2:23 am
#3
Account Closed
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 7,284
Re: help problems with realtor
I'm no expert but there are a few on here who will appear and give you good advice. In the meantime I'm pretty sure that each realtor has a broker who they have to report? to. Also there will be the local organisation that the realtor has to be licensed with. I suggest you contact this organisation if you don't get a more specific reply over the weekend.
Oct 17th 2009, 2:27 am
#4
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 12,830
Re: help problems with realtor
Maybe talk to the Realtors broker for a solution if no satisfaction here consider consulting a lawyer. I would also send a letter to the Realtor by registered mail to his office. It is easy to deny having received e-mails. If you still get nowhere, you could also talk to the Real Estate Board that governs your area http://www.nbrea.ca/
Oct 17th 2009, 8:37 pm
#5
RETIRED Realtor
Joined: Aug 2006
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Posts: 2,087
Re: help problems with realtor
All the above are correct, a Realtor or a Real Estate Agent must have a Broker, this is your first line of complaint.
If you are still having problems the next complaint should be addressed to the local real estate board, and from them whatever part of your provincial government administer Real Estate licences. (for NB Provincial Justice department).
If you are still having problems the next complaint should be addressed to the local real estate board, and from them whatever part of your provincial government administer Real Estate licences. (for NB Provincial Justice department).
