Sueing My Agent!?
Hi everyone
To make my story short, I had been negotiating on a property for the past week. We finally got to agreement with different terms so my agent fax me yesterday an amendment, I fax it back and wired the money to the title company. Today I’m getting a call the property had been sold by the owner to someone else, I asked my agent what is it about and she told me she doesn’t understand it too. I called the title company to find out what’s happened and she told me (after investigating), that the person who signs the contract or the amendment is no longer exclusive agent from the seller side and doesn’t have any authorization for signature, and the deal is off. My questions are what can I do to get the property or can I sue my agent or the seller agent?
Thank you and sorry it’s to long story but I’m frustrated!!!
>
> > >
You leave out a few things, or need to explain an item further. Did the seller sign the contract? If so, you should contact an attorney because once both parties sign a contract, they are legally bound to that contract, irregardless of another offer coming in after all of this. You state something about the agent not being the agent and allowed to sign?
all the negotiating was through my agent and as far as I knew the seller agent did all the negotiating with my agent. I don't know who sign the contract but I know that the final paper (amendment), that was to cancel all contengencies was signed by the seller agent which appear to be no longer exclusive agent
I hope that's help to understand the picture
Be sure to have someone check the dates on the contract of the current sales agreement and compare it to your dated contract. Yes, the seller may have retained the right to sell the property independently of the agent. The real estate agent should have access to a copy of the listing agreement. It sounds like the exclusive agent clause expired before you had a signed agreement. While this should have been checked by your agent before negotiating a contract, I'm not sure about you going to the trouble to sue. I would think it reasonable that the real estate company pay any expenses you incured. Your conscience would have to decide, with your lawyer, whether to proceed with some kind of legal suit against the real estate company. I seriously doubt, however, that you could win the house unless the dates indicate that your contract preceeded the expiration date. The sellermay have had the right to sell independently the entire time.
Take care,
Terry
The Sellers Agent is not authorized to sign the Final Acceptance of an Offer. Sounds to me that he signed the offer, sent it forward to settlement officer to draw final documentation for everybodies signature. In the meantime the Seller effected a sale to another party.
I would look at your Agent, the Buyers Agent, he should have gone forward and watched the Seller sign the Acceptance.
Then gone forward to Settlement Officer for the drawing of the rest of the paperwork. He would have of course kept a copy for his file and one for your file.
If your Broker is a member of a Realtors organization, you might bring it forward, ask for arbitration and see what is the result. Of course you would lose his future services. My advice, have a nice long talk about it, inform him he owes you and wait for a future performance as partial settlement. Perhaps a house to be moved, bought for pennies. A lot to move it onto, bought for pennies, and a highly skilled contractor to move it. Not for pennies, but the new foundation partially dug by the broker himself!
Cheers Lucius