Results 1 to 5 of 5
  1. #1

    Default Buyer's Agent Threatens To Sue Seller After His Client Backs Out

    From Las Vegas, NV:

    This complaint is in response to a letter I received from a lawyer informing me of his client (a realtor) intent to sue me if I did not pay him the commission he would have made on the sale of my house if the buyers (his clients) had not defaulted at the last minute.

    We had signed the papers to sell our house to them. Everything was going according to plan with the sale. The house was due to close 05/24/06. The buyers then needed some extra time to get their loan documents in order so we gave them another week with no penalties. We really wanted the deal to close.

    The house was due to close on approx 7th June and my wife and daughter moved state so that I could get all the final packing done and then follow them. I followed them on the 4th of June and the keys to the property were given to the movers who work for our Realtor. We were told that they were going to sign the papers that Wednesday (7th) at approx 1.30pm. At approx 1pm we learned that the seller no longer wanted to go through with the sale. We were shocked to say the least.

    The buyers would not sign off on the escrow money as they said their reason for not signing was the repairs on the home they requested were not done. This was untrue and the first I heard that they were not happy with the repairs. The repairs they were talking about were not even on the list of the repairs we agreed to do in the contract. They also said that they could not gain access to the home. (How do they know what repairs had been done if they could not gain access to the house?!!). They did not call our realtor to say they could not gain access.

    The buyers wanted to go through mediation regarding the $3000 Escrow but as we lived out of state now with relatives it was not possible for us to come back to Vegas to do it.

    We thought this was all behind us and the house was back on the market waiting for another buyer until we received a letter from The Realtor's lawyer informing us of his intent to sue for commission he felt was due and the escrow money.

    I was not the party that pulled out of the sale. In the letter it states the Mr. Paulino paid the $3000 escrow money back to his clients out of his own pocket and wants me to reimburse him for this. This was completely his choice to pay his clients $3000. As I stated I do not feel they are entitled to this money as they are the party who defaulted on the sale of the property.

    I had every intent to sell the property to the buyers, otherwise why would I have quit a great job, moved my family and all my possessions across country?

    The realator is also demanding his commission that he would have received if this property had sold. The sale did not go through as his clients defaulted on the property. I do not understand how he thinks he is entitled to this commission as no sale took place.

    The Realtor's broker is not mentioned on the letter so I do not think they know about his intent to sue.

    I have been caused a lot of stress by this. I have had to hire a lawyer to deal with the letter. I do not want my house to be tagged as a bad house or me as a bad seller.

    I feel that this realtor is trying to use scare tactics to extort money from me. I believe this behavior is very unprofessional and sheds a bad light on realtors.

    Also, he took pictures of the "Repairs" that he said were not done. Three of the four items he added were not even on the list of items we agreed to repair, and one of the pictures was a stucco patch, witch was on the list and I repaired.

    Every other item on the list was addressed in full. They had asked for the roof to be repaired and resealed by license contractor which I did. Then when I received these pictures I see he is referring to loose tiles on the roof. This was never in the agreement if they wanted me to repair the tiles, we would have negotiated this in the agreement on home repairs after the home inspection. The buyers specified the list of 10 items that they wanted repaired and we repaired them all.

    I have also the proof of the repair on the roof and the windows we replaced as per the buyers request. As stated earlier we did not default, the buyers did.

    I have also made a complaint with the Nevada Real Estate Board.
    Any words of widsom would be appreciated.

    Thank you.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Buyer's Agent Threatens To Sue Seller After His Client Backs Out

    The $3,000.00 didn't evaporate - if the agent had to pay it back out-of-pocket, it would seemingly be because he pocketed it. If it were me I would contact the broker to try to get to the bottom of things or, if it made me more comfortable, have a lawyer do so.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    38,867

    Default Re: Buyer's Agent Threatens To Sue Seller After His Client Backs Out

    Not intamitaly familiar with Nevada RE laws so here are a few generic items:

    a RE contract is not with a particular agent, it is with the brokerage house with the RE agent as an agent of the brokerage house. Therefore, any commission due would actually be to the brokerage and not the agent. Therefore, the agent has no standing to sue independently of the brokerage.

    Call the agents broker to discuss this.

    If the agent is actually a RealtorŪ, call the Association of Realtors to file a complaint. I see you have already contacted the state agency controlling RE agents.

    What does your agent say to all of this?

  4. #4

    Default Re: Buyer's Agent Threatens To Sue Seller After His Client Backs Out

    thank you all for your replies. i am taking your information to my lawyers.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Posts
    1

    Default Re: Buyer's Agent Threatens To Sue Seller After His Client Backs Out

    Had you done everything required of you under the contract(s)? If you had and the buyer defaulted, the seller normally:

    a. keeps the earnest money and cancels the contract,

    b. returns the earnest money and sues for damages (repairs done in accordance of contract, any fees associated with the sell of the home, you name it) or

    c. returns the earnest money and sues the buyer to complete their end of the deal. (referred to as specific performance).

    However, what the seller (and buyer) can do is usually outlined in the Purchase Agreement. look over your contract and see what it says (what you and the buyer have agreed to in writing) if the buyer defaults. There are many variations of Real Estate Purchase Contracts.

    The best thing to do is review your agreements, read, reread and reread, then have an attorney write a letter that details what the agreement is and why you are not in breach.

    What agreement (in writing) did you have with the buyers agent? Normally you will only have an agreement with your agent.

    Unless you had an agreement to pay a commission to the buyers agent even if the sale fell through , I am sure they are out of luck.

    Make sure you are crystal clear with your wording in a letter. You want them to crawl back under the rock they came from. Be very specific and quote terms of the contracts.

    1. Sponsored Links
       

Similar Threads

  1. Agents and Brokers: Can a Home Seller and Buyer Bypass an Agent and Negotiate Directly
    By Letuli in forum Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 05-23-2016, 02:25 PM
  2. Agents and Brokers: Can a Seller's Agent Refer a Buyer to a Lender He Works With
    By Kaile in forum Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 04-10-2015, 10:32 AM
  3. Theft and Larceny: Seller of ATV Threatens Theft Charges if the Buyer Doesn't Pay What He Owes
    By Shumab02 in forum Criminal Charges
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 06-25-2014, 07:50 PM
  4. Purchase Contracts: Seller's Options when Buyer Backs Out at the Last Minute
    By immoving in forum Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 06-17-2012, 11:31 PM
  5. Business Disputes: Seller's Rights When Buyer Backs Out of Business Purchase
    By cruiser in forum Business Law
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 01-05-2006, 08:32 PM
 
 
Sponsored Links

Legal Help, Information and Resources