It often
happens, especially in the big cities like New York. Your agent will sue you; probably
you will not find any obvious reason why you are buckled up like this. A real estate agent is a very hard working and
devoted person. He works quite harder than we (buyers or sellers) can imagine. However,
there are black sheep, mostly comprising 1% - 2% of the total number.
Why The Agent Will Sue?
There
are various reasons. According to Dean Graziosi, most common reason is client
not paying the commission. In most of the cases, buyers pay agent's commission.
There is an agreement signed between the client and the agent. Agent shows you
the property; you like it and come into deal with the seller. Now there is
something wrong between you and the seller. Whether you both (buyer and seller)
sign the deal or not, you have to pay the agent his/her commission.
Work of
the agent is to show you property, get appointments and arrange meeting of
buyer and seller. It is a hectic process, not as easy as it might sound in
above written statement. Most of the buyers are sued because they refuse to pay
the commission. Buyers think that they do not owe the commission because the
deal was cancelled due to some reason. However, if both the parties has agreed
on it and then backtracked, it is right of the agent to get his commission.
Some of
the agents use this in negative way. According to Dean Graziosi, there are some
common indications that your agent or broker is not loyal with you.
- He is lazy and does not instantly answer to your queries.
- He keeps your work pending.
- He gives excuses for not meeting up with a seller or owner.
- Often appointment is being cancelled by the other party. (your agent or broker will tell this)
- He will tell you, this document is not legal, that document requires check, those documents are missing etc.
- He will try to get as much money out of the deal as he can.
Once you
get fade up of all this brigade, he will tell you he has finally found your
dream house. If you did not like the house and finally decide to leave the
company or the agent, you will receive a notice from the company asking for
compensation. Do not confuse, this notice is because you visited "so
many" houses, you rejected them and did not pay agent's commission.
Dean
Graziosi suggests you to stay calm at this time. Dean is an expert realtor. He has been working in this
field for more than twenty years. Dean started his real estate career with a rundown apartment
building. Today he signs more than fifty deals every week. He has dealt with a
number of agents, as seller as well as a buyer. He has written bestselling
books and has designed a number of courses that helps aspirants to understand
real estate world.
What You Should Do:
- First thing is to stay calm and keep quiet. Agent will accuse you of mishandling his skills, wasting his time and resources. It is natural that most of the buyers lose patience at this point. But the thing is to tackle the situation wisely.
- Ask the broker or agent for the documents on the basis of which he is going to sue. The documents are usually an agreement (mentioned above).
- If the threat is given by agent contact the brokerage company, if broker threats, contact the board of the company. In any case, the authorities will try to resolve the issue.
- If the case does not work out, this is the time to contact your attorney. Show him the notice as well as the contract on the basis of which they are trying to buckle you up. Ask the attorney if you can counter sue (the fee is a mere 5$ in NY) after all, you have wasted your time money and resources.
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