CREDITABILITY - there is always the other side of the coin:

a) did the agent have a fiduciary obligation ?
b) did the agent fulfill their fiduciary obligations to the client ?
c) was there a verbal agreement in place between the client and the agent ?
d) did the agreement relate to out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the agent on behalf of the client ?

WHAT IF: ????

What if, the agent claimed that there was a verbal agreement in place between the agent and the client, whereby the client authorized and instructed the agent was to procure an inspection of the subject property, the cost of which would be in the nature of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the agent on behalf of the client and repayable by the client.

Further, the agent believing that they had a fiduciary duty to fulfill all lawful instruction received from a client, did obtain the the inspection as lawfully instructed, relying upon the client for reimbursement of their authorized out-of-pocket expenses.

Therefore, in this instance, in a court of law, a “trier of facts” might be persuaded to base their determination and decision on some of the following:

a) the facts surrounding the verbal agreement;
b) the meaning and intent of the parties;
c) the credability of the witnesses; and
d) the established legal precedents;and
e) why would an agent advance funds on behalf of a client, if they thought they would not be reimbursed ?

Important Notice: This information is provided as basic educational information by the author and is not a substitute for the advice of an expert and/or the advice of a lawyer. There is NO representation as to legality, accuracy, correctness of the herein information and the reader is strongly urged to consult a lawyer in the relevant urisdiction to ensure accuracy before acting on this information .

That too....going off of one side of the story is always risky.

Well I am not in Canada. In my state of Georgia in the U.S.A. verbal is held to be a binding agreement but almost always unenforceable in a court of law.This is why EVERYTHING is in writing. You also have to be very specific in your contract details. If you are not the judge can strike that portion of the contract as non-enforceable for being too vague.

This agent is an idiot. I don't care who it is I never front money. This is like sellers saying give a discount on listing commission and we will buy through you. Then they go through a rebater on the purchasing end to double-dip.

Many buyers and sellers are clueless as to the costs of running a real estate business. They just look at it as you win some and you lose some.I am always extremely clear in the beginning how things are going to go. If they don't like it we part ways.

It just sounds like a green rookie agent that learned lesson 1 in the real estate school of hard knocks.This agent had an opportunity to get referral business from this buyer. Often times when brokers/agents do selfless acts buyers and sellers will feel they need to reciprocate to pay back the good will or they feel guilty.

Now instead this agent has alienated themselves and the buyer will say guess what so and so agent said and is doing to me. Do you believe any of those people will want to EVER be their client? NO!

You would have thought their broker would have helped them through this before making a decision like this. I know first hand dealing with agents however that they call you AFTER they have done something stupid and rarely before. If I drill it into their head anymore they will turn to mush.

I am always amazed at what goes on. I guess this is how E and O got it's start back in the stone age.

On its surface, I don't see that there was any "Agreement to Reimburse" . . . . only the supposition that there would be a Transaction from which a Commission would be earned and cover the costs of the Inspection.

It's like playing Black Jack always on the Supposition that the next card drawn will be an Ace.

There is no "sure thing" in Real Estate, so if you want to gamble, you have to recognize that sometimes you lose !

ISSUES UPON ISSUES

Many of the issues noted herein also raises the question of whether a brokerage firm’s needs and/or benefits from an established "Policy & Procedures Manual" which may be of some assistants to both new and old agents within their firm.

A policy & procedures manual describing the brokerage firms current policies and procedures to be followed and the appropriate forms to be utilized in relation thereto, with a caution that if not listed herein, speak with the broker manager before proceeding further, may have prevented some of the issues noted.

A brokerage firm should require all of their agents to read the firms “Office Manual” and sign an acknowledgement to that effect and should draw to their agents attention that non-compliance is not an option, unless specifically authorized in writing by their broker manager.

Further, a indemnity clause within the firms "Independent Contractor’s Agreement", indemnifying the brokerage firm should reinforce the idea that non-compliance with firm policies & procedures could have serious consequences.

As a side note:
In some jurisdiction, many litigants without the benefit of written agreements, file and have their claims successfully adjudicated in what is known as the “Small Claims Court” , which is generally referred to as a “Court of Equity”, meaning the court’s decisions are based on what is fair and impartial.

Important Notice: This information is provided as basic educational information by the author and is not a substitute for the advice of an expert and/or the advice of a lawyer. There is NO representation as to legality, accuracy, correctness of the herein information and the reader is strongly urged to consult a lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction to ensure accuracy before acting on this information .

I would like to add to what I said before. The agent offered me to pay for home inspection only because she wanted me to become her client. I was doubtful on getting a mortgage but she told me she worked with a mortgage agent with whom she had discussed my case, and it will surely be approved. After signing 'agreement to sell' for a selected property, I was given 5 days to get mortgage approval as well as home inspection done. I wanted to wait for mortgage approval before getting home inspection done (because to me mortgage approval was a bit doubtful) but the agent insisted not to waste time and get it done as mortgage approval was a sure thing and in any case she was paying for home inspection, so there was no risk for me.

Also, we had a verbal agreement on payment of home inspection fees.....so I'm doubtful how much value does a verbal agreement carry. The only evidence I have is a copy of the home inspection invoice in the name of real estate agent. BTW, the home inspection agent was bought by the real estate agent and I had no say in his selection.

Here's reality:

She's not going to small claims court for this small of a fee.. isnt going to happen..the realtor would be wasting her time and she knows it. she ordered the inspection in her name..she bought it..

I disagree with others comments holding you responsible for the confusion. The Realtor is the professional here, advising you and directing you and claiming to be the licensed individual with knowledge of the process
You are the non licensed client seeking her advice. She has the duty to disclose, document etc and this her error.

Call the office, ask to speak to the Broker of Record and explain that she is threatening you. Tell him you plan to file a complaint with the local Real Estate Board regarding this behavior if she contacts you again.

I'd be willing to bet you dont hear from her, if you do hear from her; file the complaint. Include the details of the entire transaction. Specify that she directed your to her lender, etc.

Then let it go.

The next time you are interested in buying a home, interview several Realtors, talk to be people who have had favorable outcomes with Realtors and use them.

my 2 cents.

Ontarian

I would expect you to do the right thing and use her in the future, it is apparent they was a failure to communicate and she should have reduced it to writing so there would no misunderstandings. Truth is you don't want to pay it because it's a lot of money, and I think you know there was a misunderstanding and now you have this situation.

As her Broker I would have chewed her out for how she handled this and then told her you just received an education, now work with your client to help work out his buying problems and then help him find what he's looking for.