As a Realtor and Mortgage Broker I have worked with a number of first-time home buyers. I understand that you are upset, but the better question to ask yourself is why you are upset. It's because you didn't understand enough about the entire process? What if your offer was accepted and then you learned you needed $xx dollars for closing costs, $xx for pre-paids and another $xx dollars for a 12 month insurance rider? OK, now $xx for utility deposits, etc. Would you have been prepared? I have not even mentioned the word downpayment! If not, do you realize that the very same contract you are talking about could have allowed the sellers to sue you to perform? A GOOD Agent or Lender will take the extra time to help educate a potential new home-buyer of things one might expect in the process. It's not a legal obligation it's just a good practice. Im sure that will create a few posts but I am mearly trying to state that even the best intended agent can not possibly teach a prospective 1st-time buyer every possible situation that might arrise. The fact of the matter is that purchasing a home is a HUGE investment. Do your research and educate yourself before making that kind of decision. Would you marry someone just because you found a court-house that would perform the ceremony? Could you sue if the marriage failed? or better yet, if the pther person changed their mind? Let's be honest.... That's just crazy! If I'm understanding you correctly the terms of the offer from the seller and the lender did not meet your approval. Therefore the offer is no longer valid. That decision was made by you, not the Agent. What exactly did you expect your agent to do differently? They can not change the terms of your financing and you were not willing or able to put more money down, so what did you expect to happen differently? You can't just have it because you want it and you can't expect the selers to to sell just because you are not in a position to buy. If the person who represented you in this purchase had not bought the home, then someone else would have. Don't hate them for that. You were not in a position to make a stronger offer at the time. My advise would be to find a realtor & lender that specializes in 1st time homebuyers and that is willing to spend the extra time educating you in the process. You might just find that the realor you were working with would go that extra mile for you because of the deal you found that worked out for them. Again, it's not their fault that the financing didn't work out for you. It happens. Educate yourself on your credit worthiness and how to find a lender that best meets your needs. There are lender progarms available that might have offered your some alternative financing options. Programs available to lenders are not all created equal. The key is finding the one that works for your needs. You have already proved that you can find a good value... now learn how to make your homeownership dreams a reality!

I love discussions like this because it shows that Realtors are concerned about ethics and the perception of the general public. I commend BuyerBeware for hanging in there with her story and, obviously, taking advice when she got it. A lot of people would not have gone to that trouble and just blasted Realtors forever. I do think a lot of the misperception of the public is due to not being educated about the buying process and I wonder what we as a group can do about that. All else being said, however, I think BuyerBeware's agent had lousy skills and that is something we also need to work on.