florida shortsale - help! realtor is trying to pull a fast one
let me begin by saying "I" too am a licensed realtor but i don't specialize in shortsales or traditional home sales. i respect the profession and ppl who behave professionally. which is why it BURNS ME that this idiot did this!!
i am the 'buyer' on a shortsale prop in weston, florida and we recently got the bank acceptance letter after 8-month wait. the title company prepares a prelim-HUD for me and i see several fees which look questionable. turns out the realtor snuck in a $3200 fee to HIMSELF under a vague company name when all along he said this fee was charged by the Title Company to compensate them for the shortsale processing. title company says nope that they do not charge a fee to do all the work (continually calling the banks, submitting everything through equator, negotiating, etc). bottom line: realtor never disclosed fee was for him or his company. but i signed an addendum agreeing to it (thinking it was for title company.) p.s. did i also mention i gave up my 3% commission to compensate him for the time-intensive nature of shortsales? he didn't want the bank to reduce the 6% so he listed another agent in his office as buyer's agent on the contract and the bank approved his full 6% commission. but he is still so greedy he tries to stick it to me for an extra $3200? so realtors what say you? i obviously don't want to pay it and emailed him a letter letting him have it. he has not replied yet. i want to NAIL HIM TO THE WALL on sheer principle alone. what do you think? what legal recourse do i have? file complaint against him with FREC and governing agency of mortgage brokers? (he has both licenses). is this a legal issue? an ethics violation? a criminal matter? any help would be appreciated. |
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bryant Tutas on
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The first thing I would do is contact his broker. Then you are certainly free to file a complaint with FREC. Before doing that I would make sure that what he is doing is illegal. If you signed documents related to the extra fee there may very well be disclosures in there that cover his butt.
If there are ethical issues you can also notify his local Board of Realtors.
I would just suggest you do your homework first. Things aren't always what they seem.
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Permalink Reply by arod on
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thank you all for your replies.
On page 7 of the florida P & S contract where it states brokers and commissions, there is a space below for additional terms to be added in.
one of those terms is: "BUYER AGREES TO PAY $3200 DOLLARS IN A CASHIERS CHECK TO [vague company name] FOR SHORTSALE PROCESSING SERVICES UPON CLOSE."
and let me say during the 7-8 months that i was working this deal for my family i asked him about this charge NUMEROUS times. he always maintained that it was for the title company...and all their 'hard work' and 'no, it was not a negotiable fee'... not once did he ever disclose it was for him or his company.
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bryant, i've read your many posts and know you are an expert on shortsales. since i don't have a real broker i can consult..(i work in developer sales)...i'd like to know what you think:
do you think i should contact this agent's broker directly ? or get a lawyer to do so?
do you think i have a case here? the agent intentionally set out to defraud me. this i know but can i prove it?
he finally replied back to my email and basically said that he didnt entirely lie to me (not using those words of course) and for the first time admitted he was an owner in that company that was charging me the fee.
i still havent signed the HUD which is where the charge shows up.
any help would be appreciated.
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Permalink Reply by Tom Stewart on
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Arod, If I were you I would contact the agents broker and explain the situation. I am sure they will want to resolve this now instead of in front of your local board. If you file a complaint with the board, not only does the agent have to present their case but the Broker as well.
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Permalink Reply by Wendy Rulnick on
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If you are the "buyer's agent", i.e. you wrote the contract, but just stated you were not going to be paid for it (commission), I don't see how he can substitute another agent for "you" as buyer's agent. If he wrote the contract for you, and you just acted as a buyer, and he changed the contract listing another agent in his office as your agent, I see your point.
If he claimed the extra fee was for the title agent, and that isn't true, again, I see your point. I would re-read the document you signed, though.
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Permalink Reply by Smitty on
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This is the stuff that gives the rest of us third party negotiators a bad name. If he planned on charging the buyer on your side of the HUD-1, then he needed to disclose it BEFORE you signed the P&S at some point. I actually have it listed RIGHT on the MLS and no one steps foot in our properties without knowing there is a negotiation fee involved.
What exactly did you sign? Who exactly did the negotiation? It almost sounds as if the title company did, but he's taking an extra fee for himself anyways.
I'm not sure you would have gotten commission on a property your buying. Some lenders won't allow it, so I've definitely seen brokerages put in a buyers agent so they get the full 6%. I think it depends on the lender though.
Reread your paperwork and see what you signed. I think Bryant and Wendy are right. A call may need to be put in to this guys broker.
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If you disclose it on the MLS or even in writing that is perfect. that's all i would have asked for. i would have possibly even agreed to it or negotiated it. but i was told that in order for the title company to do all this work, they charge X for it.
trust me, he had many opportunities to be open and upfront. he chose not to.
about the commission, you are possibly right that the bank may not have allowed me to take commission on a property i was buying for myself. but i could have easily had my brother who is licensed represent me on the buyer's side and saved that 3% for myself. however, i know how time-intensive these deals are and i truly wanted to do the right thing and offer him the full commission. i guess no good deed goes unpunished.
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Permalink Reply by Joseph Alfe on
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Agreed. This is also why it is important to have an attorney review documents in EVERY SHORT SALE.
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Joseph Alfe: yes, you are absolutely right. silly me to trust an agent who seemed so honorable and knew i was an agent myself. i guess that's why i'm taking it so personal. if he would do that to someone who knows a little about the laws of real estate, can you imagine what he does to the unsuspecting public?
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and to answer your question smitty, yes, the title company did do all the shortsale work after the contract was exectued.
they have someone they assign to sit at a phone all day and call bank after bank after bank. 'chris' was my point of contact at the title company and he would alert me (the buyer), the seller and the agent on every update status. i must have talked to him a million times. the only person inputting all the info into equator and talking to the negotiator was chris.
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WOW. This is not right at all. He's taking money for doing NOTHING. Talk about greedy. I'm sorry but I would definitely complain about this before it closes. Call his broker and threaten to go to your real estate board.
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You are a Real Estate agent, you agreed to false statements when you signed the purchase and sale contract knowing that the listing and selling agents where the same, as you indicated. You signed the HUD, you also signed the addendum. While the other agent may have acted in an unbecoming manner, it's kinda difficult to say you were blindsided.
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