Dealing With Unethical People...GRRRRRRRRRRR!

OK..What would you do in this situation??

You're a realtor...a client lists a property. Two weeks go by..you spend massive amounts of time (and money) marketing the property, getting a virtual tour done, doing open houses on the weekends, etc. etc. etc. The client has a 3 month contract with you which expires on October 5th.

Client suddenly, out of the blue, decides she doesn't want her property to be on the market any longer (oddly ...and suspiciously ...if suspicions are founded..I believe she has been transacting with a party "I" showed the home to via an open house last weekend, and may be working her own little deal with them on the side).

Ok..so I'm an ethical person...I have chosen to let this woman out of the contract and take her home off of the market...however, does she not owe me some form of ethical behavior in return now by NOT selling to anyone I showed or marketed the property to without at least reimbursing me SOME of the commission??

GRRR...what a day!

Any thoughts on this anyone?? (and yes, I have contacted my broker...to ask if I can do anything about this..she has not gotten back in touch with me yet). :confused: :mad:

Oh bummer, Kathy. Maybe you can sue like that lady's suing Seinfeld???

Oh bummer, Kathy. Maybe you can sue like that lady's suing Seinfeld???

I'm not ruling it out...hehe...nah, I am just mad as ummmm "heck" about it... :mad:
I absolutely despise unethical people.... :mad:

I hear ya, Kathy. A thief's a thief, no matter what they steal or how they steal it.

I hear ya, Kathy. A thief's a thief, no matter what they steal or how they steal it.

Yeah well karma sucks real bad too sometimes... :D ;)

Yeah well karma sucks real bad too sometimes... :D ;)

Is that the same thing as, "Paybacks are a b**ch!"

Well I am definitely taking my time about it Trish...she is really trying to "rush" getting out of it now..and I am going about it verrrrryyyy slowly...if I've agreed to let her out of the contract ..why suddenly is she rushing it and emailing me and calling me over and over again....that's the mysterious part of the whole situation...and it's sending a red flag to me that something else must be going on with her ...and I'm just wondering what it is.... :confused:

Is that the same thing as, "Paybacks are a b**ch!"

Pretty much Chats...was just trying to put it in a nicer way...but forget being nice tonight..lol...I'm just not in the mood...if ya know what I mean?

Sometimes I think if ya just throw'em enough rope out there....well...you know how the saying goes..so I've thrown her just enough rope...let's see if she does anything with it now. :)

I don't know what the laws are in your state Kathy, but in California, she would need to pay you a commission until your contract expires.

Sometimes people really suck.

Sorry you have to deal with this.

Geez....this really does suck! Even if this doesn't get resolved I'd look into tightening up your contract. At least adding a base commission or something......a fee even without a sale. Goodness, I don't know. I hope it works out Kathy.

I don't know what the laws are in your state Kathy, but in California, she would need to pay you a commission until your contract expires.

Sometimes people really suck.

Sorry you have to deal with this.

I know thatgirl..I was thinking the same thing..you see I am licensed in CA and in Mass...CA I would be protected, however, I see very few protective clauses in the MA listing agreement for the listing agent...much different than the California way of doing things (God I miss California!) I'm still learning the MA way...double ugh)...thanks for your kind thoughts...I'm going to wait until I hear from my broker in the morning...I'm not letting this woman rush me around ...wouldn't you think a person would feel guilty or bad about doing this to someone.else..I have worked very hard for her...you're right...it does suck. ...I;m not the pushy type so she certianily wasn't pushed into signing on with me....it's just strange! :confused:

A little off topic, but since it was mentioned, how did you end up in MA from CA? It's kind of a move from one extreme to another...

A little off topic, but since it was mentioned, how did you end up in MA from CA? It's kind of a move from one extreme to another...

Well, since you asked.... I moved to the East Coast to be closer to my daughter and ended up meeting Treb out here while (at Ageless) about a year and a half ago and we started traveling to and fro to see each other...After dating for 6 months we decided I would relocate (for now) to Boston... so I relocated to Boston from Virgina. Treb is finishing up getting his degree here... at UMASS.

My daughter is going away to college (in August) .....so after Treb graduates we plan to relocate back to California.....Getting back to the original subject (hehe) I really enjoyed selling real estate in California more so than Boston..it's a totally different market out there (not to mention that I like the people MUCH MORE...guess that comes from growing up in the Midwest..I like friendly, warm and relaxed people... WAY WAY to much stress and rushing around out here for me)...aren't you glad you asked thatgirl! Hehe...and that was the "short" version! :D

Wow, what an adventure.

Wow, what an adventure.

Your pm box is full thatgirl! Just tried to pm you... :)

Geez....this really does suck! Even if this doesn't get resolved I'd look into tightening up your contract. At least adding a base commission or something......a fee even without a sale. Goodness, I don't know. I hope it works out Kathy.

Thanks Sdoah...oh it will...I am going to send the change to terms of listing to her this morning...with a nice little clause added which reads something to this affect: If any client who attended my Open House(s) or whom were referred to the you, the seller by myself or my company, in the course of the past few weeks while your home was listed with us...is to purchase your home within the next 90 days...I (and my company) will be due the full commission at that time....and my broker has approved this little addition....hehehe....I'll keep ya all updated on the outcome...sounds like it'll be a bit of a battle. :rolleyes: P.S. I recd. yet ANOTHER email from her today asking where the cancellation notice was...makes me even more suspicious that's she's pushing this hard to get one...of course...I'll get it over to her "at some point" today... :mad:

(going to empty out PM box...)

I slept on this and I have to say I really admire you for being able to move across country like that.

About ten years ago, I moved just three hours away and fell apart like a cheap watch. (no joke, I was miserable!)

Being in Real Estate myself I know you would be protected if you were her in CA.......I know what you are going through........it's hard work marketing a property, holding open houses, tour of homes, showings...etc,etc,etc......UGH!! Hopefully this comes back to bit her in the butt!!!

That sounds great! I'll be curious to see how she reacts. She won't want to sign it. She's definitely trying to sell to the other party without having to pay the commission. Good for you, Kathy! You shouldn't get screwed out of the money!

Well...interesting...she NEVER returned it! And yes, I now know she was planning to sell to the other party under the table....it really upsets me that she is being thing unethical Trish..thank you so much for your advice..I slept on it..and your advice along with my brokers...helped me make up my mind on how to handle this..now is the tough part Trish..what to do next...we're at a stand off now...she knows I caught her...and she's not going to approach me...and I can not STAND these types of people...so I'm having a tough time approaching her...will let you know what happens...ugh DRAMA! lol

Being in Real Estate myself I know you would be protected if you were her in CA.......I know what you are going through........it's hard work marketing a property, holding open houses, tour of homes, showings...etc,etc,etc......UGH!! Hopefully this comes back to bit her in the butt!!!

LOL Bella...I think it's only just starting to bite her in the butt...and yes, we are protected here as well..I was just more familiar with the CA real estate regulations more so than the MA regs...bottom line..I'm protected..and she's been nailed red handed trying to rip me off...she's not calling or emailing anymore...after my little "explantion" this morning of her contractual obligation. It really bothers me that she behaved in this manner after all the time and effort I've put in on this deal...but it's business...I'll get over it...it just proves...we have to constantly be on guard for people like this... they are everywhere...:mad: :(

Hi, Kathy W. I'm not positive but in IL, I think an owner can not sell to someone who saw the house with a realtor for 60-90 days after the contract is cancelled or that owner will owe the realtor a commission. People are so unethical. How about the people who are looking to buy a house? You research houses, spend hours on the weekends taking them to see them(this can go on for a few weeks or more) and then they decide to buy one "by owner". This has happened to a friend of mine and most of the time, the people are not getting a good deal with the owners. She has had many clients come back with problems in dealing directly with an owner without the expertise of a realtor. I'm not saying that all "by owner" deals are like this. But she has had quite a few come back after their "deals" with the owners fell apart.

Hi, Kathy W. I'm not positive but in IL, I think an owner can not sell to someone who saw the house with a realtor for 60-90 days after the contract is cancelled or that owner will owe the realtor a commission. People are so unethical. How about the people who are looking to buy a house? You research houses, spend hours on the weekends taking them to see them(this can go on for a few weeks or more) and then they decide to buy one "by owner". This has happened to a friend of mine and most of the time, the people are not getting a good deal with the owners. She has had many clients come back with problems in dealing directly with an owner without the expertise of a realtor. I'm not saying that all "by owner" deals are like this. But she has had quite a few come back after their "deals" with the owners fell apart.

Exactly May...not to mention that if someone buys directly through an owner, and cuts out the broker/realtor in the process...the seller can be sued by the buyer if anything goes wrong with the house...very few people have any idea whatsoever of what's involved in selling a home..nor are they very well versed in home buying either for that matter...I am talking about very intelligent people...in many cases...are totally clueless about real estate...it amazes me.

I think you're going to have to confront her, and tell her you know what she was planning to do. I hope she backs down and just lets you do your job. It sounds like she's got the buyer (did you say it was someone you showed the house to?) If it is, maybe you could call them. Either way she's going to have to pay the commission. It would be easier for her to just go ahead and let you handle the deal. Good luck with things, Kathy. I hope things work out. Who needs that kind of aggravation when they're just trying to earn a living?!

Trish...yes, it was someone I had shown the house to..they had seen the listing on my companies website and were interested in the neighborhood..contacted me (by phone)..and I told them to stop by the open house I had a couple of weeks ago. They even expressed interested in selling "her" their condo, which they had not yet listed, and buying her (the sellers) home (as I had explained to them during the open house that she had wanted to downsize to a condo..which was her reason for selling) and asked me to talk with her about it..which I did! I have an open house registery showing they attended the open house without representation, meaning "I" would be consider a dual agent (both seller and buyers agent)...the buyers wanted to move to the neighborhood because their grandchildren live near by...the seller knew ALL of this..I feel either they contacted her directly or vice versa..regardless of what took place...someone owes me an explanation..and yes, I "now" plan to pursue collecting the full commission (legally, if need be) if she sells the home to them directly...obviously, both parties were attempting to exclude me in the deal...very annoying to say the least.

Grrr everytime I think of this I just get angry all over again....

Kathy, good luck. Please let us know what happens.

May

Oh yeah! It sounds like they were negotiating some kind of a deal for her to buy their condo and them to buy her house. Do what you have to do to look out for yourself. As they say at the beginning of "The Apprentice", "It's not personal, it's business." LOL!

LOL...and this is the email I received from her this morning...sad part (for her) is that I have records of everything...she has copies of all agreements and SHE signed them..all. Think it's time to talk to my broker again....ugh...an ongoing saga. :rolleyes: :mad:


Hi Kathy:

You never gave me a copy of the listing agreement I signed with ----. Please fax me a copy of it.

Thanks,

Mary.