(In Wisconsin)
Hello, this is really long, but if anyone can offer advice on where we should go, it would be greatly appreciated. From the beginning- last summer we found a hugely discounted house by a builder that we really liked even though we had a newer home already. I went ahead and lined up financing with the bank that had the loan on the current house. The loan officer suggested a realtor from our area that new the development our current house was in. We met with her, got some information from her, negotiated terms of the contract, got her my parents house to list as well, and she suggested many times for us to bring her in on the buying of the new home as she would be able to negotiate better price/terms on the new house. So we did that, and we ended up paying full price on the home anyway and her negotiating did nothing.
Our other house went on the market in August along with my parents. Only my mom signed their contract, my dad did not as he did not care for the realtor. We started on the market $15,000-$30,000 less than competitive homes in the neighborhood. We had some showings during the fall/winter, but no offers. February came and our 6 month listing expired, we went ahead and signed for another 6 months. My parents also agreed to extend their listing even though they only had one showing so far. The realtor relisted their house and said she’d drop off the paperwork for them to sign for the new contract. To this day, they still haven’t signed that paperwork.
In May, the realtor called and asked if we’d consider a Land Contract or Contract for Deed, we said it would depend on who. The realtor wanted to buy it and said she wanted to move there so they would be in town (they had a home on the market too they haven’t been able to sell). They gave us initial terms for 6% interest, no down payment (she said taking the commission off the sale price would be the down payment). After consideration we came back asking for 6.5%, $5000 down payment, and not to register the contract with the county (not required here in Wisconsin) because we didn’t want our mortgage company to find out and execute the Due On Sale clause.
During this time the realtor said she’d keep the house on the market for the summer and if we could sell it outright she would give them first dibs. Well, during the summer the marketing ads they sent to us got fewer and fewer, at the time we didn’t care too much as her buying it gave us a plan B. She then said they wanted to close at the end of July. As that time came she suddenly changed it to early August. Then she said our contract expired later in August, let’s just wait until after that. She said if they buy their own listing, the company just gives her all the commission and that the company was ok with her doing just taking the commission off the original sale price. After not hearing from her for a while I finally emailed her and she responded back that they were going to back out due to a foster child, so our house would not have enough bedrooms. She then said she’d keep marketing our home for 2.5% commission, but we said no, let it expire. We have relisted with a new realtor now.
However, when at the home recently (it is vacant), a neighbor (who has worked in law enforcement for 20 years) asked if we’ve sold, we said no, then he commented the offer must have been too low. My response was- what offer? We never received one. Apparently another neighbor’s uncle supposedly made an offer on our home around June. I asked him if he could verify with the other neighbor the next time he sees him. I saw him again a couple of weeks later and he said yes, 100% sure it was our house. He said the nephew was going to talk to the uncle and see if he had any documentation or proof, but warned us the uncle is very private and likes to keep a low profile. The nephew met with the uncle to ask him about the offer recently, and apparently the uncle recanted and said it was a different house, but the nephew said he acted a little strange when talking about it. I have not been able to get the uncle’s name, and if he went through our house chances are he called our realtor directly for the showing. The law enforcement neighbor still seems to think something fishy is going, and I do trust his judgement, but without that uncle’s help we’re limited I think.
By all accounts the realtor really wanted our house at one point, as many neighbors commented on how she was always there daily, usually with her kids and husband, sometimes for hours at a time. So now we’re wondering if there were offers we weren’t told about, and how honest is she. Do we confront her? Her manager/broker (I looked up her manager, he’s been reprimanded a few times by the state for real estate transactions)? The head office for the company? A lawyer? Try to get a hold of a man that doesn’t want us to know who he is even though he maybe made an offer? Any advice greatly appreciated. I’m trying to figure out if this realtor’s actions were questionable enough to file a complaint about her even if we can’t prove there was an offer she didn’t tell us about. Thanks for any help

