Hi. New here and hoping to get some help.
Short, condensed version...

We had to move out of state (job) and put our home on the market back in May....by July it had a contract....great, or so we thought. Our agent allowed the buyer (she was representing herself) to have access to the house whenever she wanted. She brought contractors in, plumbers and a few rooms were repainted. We asked that if the buyer wanted to enter the house, to please ask/give a heads up....and nothing. We instructed our agent to remove the lock box ASAP when we found out she was going in without our agent (September...we asked for a printout of the entry box....she never sent it). She said she did (remove box) and the buyer wouldn't enter again....our agent lied. The box was never removed. The buyer continued to go into the home...and had a contractor in for 2 hours....again, as soon as we found out we told her get the box off or she was fired....she complied this time (and again asked for the print out...she said she'd send it but we still don't have it)...this was about 2 weeks ago.

2 inspections have been done...both with just the buyer and her inspector (our agent didn't see the need to go)....in the one inspection, the water main was turned off by the buyer....she then refused to turn it back on, so we, from out of state,had to make arrangements to get it back on....so we did with our agents broker and someone who was a former home inspector.

The buyer never showed for the 3rd inspection....because we asked that a rep. from our agency (or even our agent) please go to the home inspection (our agent allowed the buyer to pick up the key at her office....we put a stop to that)...the buyer refused to go to the inspection with an agent. We were supposed to close in 2 weeks....and we just got a letter for release from the buyer as well as her request that all her earnest money be returned. We haven't signed anything. Her reason....because she doesn't think that water is really on. Our agent is okay with this reason (this buyer "really wanted" the house and even put 3x the payment down) and begged our agent to stop showing it....

Is this even a legit reason? Can this really happen? Our agent seems more involved/concerned for the buyer than being our advocate.

ETA: in going through the paperwork last night (had just been faxed)....we found that our signatures were on a piece of paper we had never seen....paper was notarized by our agents notary....how can that happen? We had to have something notarized in our new state....went to a NP, had to show ID before he would notarize it....

Thanks in advance:)

The property is in New York . . . . or your new job is in New York ?

property is in VA....moved to NY

Guess where I'm from?

I'd file a complaint with the real estate board at the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR)
[url=http://www.dpor.virginia.gov/dporweb/enfocomp.cfm][/url].

I may have screwed up trying to get the url posted correctly but the path is correct.

Your agent should NEVER have given keys to an unlicensed person. Only YOU can prevent unethical agents from continuing with a real estate license.

No - the excuse that she doesn't think the water works or is on is NOT a valid reason to get out of a contract. Your CONTRACT states your rights. If you back down and let her out, I suggest YOU keep the earnest deposit and, if it were me, I'd be suing the buyer for the damages she caused to the property, and, I'd be taking that agent down. Your agent broke ALOT of rules if she doesn't have your consent to all this in writing. I'd GO after her. There are many violations posted on the DPOR website, and, you will find, some agents DID forge documents!

Who's holding the Earnest Money ?

Demand that they NOT release it until this matter adjudicated.

we think the title company (to be honest, we didn't even know the buyer had put a deposit down....we had asked and our agent brushed us off)...

Is there anyway we can "force" the closing? We just can't believe our agent is accepting their excuse (it's not financial, we've been reassured....it's truly the buyer doesn't think the water is on.)

I absolutely intend on reporting her....and even her notary public for falsifying the document....we've been compiling a list and last night, she just added to it...

We're more worried too b/c we don't/can't hold the mortgage for that house and the rent on our current one for another 6 months....we're not thrilled about this new position we're in.

Oh and thank you for the link....I think that's the same sight I found today:)

falsifying a document could be a crime. the agent and notary should be reported to law enforcement. If convicted, the agent will certainly lose her RE license.

If you do not have an attorney, get one now! it will be the cheapest money you have ever spent.If you do have one call them now before you do anything.

Some questions to ask your attorney,

If all the contingencies have been met, can you force the close? this used to be easier than it is now but in the right situation it may be possible. ( I have only seen it done twice)

Can you keep the earnest money? (you will probably never get it, but neither will the buyer)

You said some rooms were painted, if a contractor was hired you need to make sure that they were paid, if not there could be a lien on the home. This maybe an extreme response, but technically it could be considered criminal damage to property.

Ask your attorney to review your listing contract as well, if the property closes you will want to see if you can escrow the Brokers commission until you settle the breach of contract suit he is going to suggest.

Probably getting an attorney involved will be all you have to do to make this close according to the contract. But without consulting an attorney you really wont know what your options are.

Document everything! and definitely file a complaint with the state when this is all over.

Thanks....we're looking into attorneys down there....we're also meeting with one up here to help us go over the contract.

We've been documenting since we found out the buyer was allowed to go into the house alone...we've been asking our agent to not allow this but she said "she's buying the house, she has a right to do what she wants" (we have this in an email from our agent!!!). Since she wouldn't stop it, we knew then we would report her when it was all done (we also got the broker for that office involved)....

All we asked was that the "rules" be followed....the process of buying/selling be followed....I don't know why this agent pulled this:-( And it's a large name agency....I'm surprised she has no regards for the reputation of herself, the office and the agency....

So the stated reason for trying to terminate the Contract is "that the water isn't on"? Does s/he doubt that the house is equipped with running water?

That rationale just sounds so bogus . . . . there must be something more here !

We've asked the agent if there's something we don't know...all she says is that the buyer yes, doesn't think the water is on....that's her only reason....that's all she keeps insisting...and for whatever reason the agent is ok with this....there has been a contract on our home since July....she went through all this trouble....spent time, energy in the house...again, put 3x the required deposit down (if I'm wording that right....the earnest money)....she was bringing contractors in, plumbers in (for remodeling,which she didn't do yet)....

She turned the water main off...we really don't think she realized it and panicked when she went to use the water and it wasn't working....we even had the town go check and they verified it wasn't off from the street but inside the house. We had it turned on (the right way....nothing fast, just slow and all faucets opened)....the broker double checked....and the buyer wanted the 3rd inspection....she didn't show b/c we had a rep there....

Our agent keeps stressing that, yes, this is her ONLY reason for walking away....and again, she just wants us to "hurry up and sign" the release so she can re-list it this weekend (we have no intention on using her again)...

It just sounds so bizarre!

I think someone just got cold feet . . . . OR it's a case of "familiarity breeds contempt". Buyers never like a house as well as the first time they saw it . . . . it's all downhill from there. Maybe those estimates are now starting to accrue . . . . and scaring someone ?


Is it a fact that the current Listing Agreement expired ?

The Listing Agreement can continue on, with a life of its own, even though the property went under deposit (and possibly fell through).

Maybe it expired while the property was under deposit, and your anxious Agent,, neglected to get it extended or renewed at that time (while you were maybe in a better mood). She may have been so confident that this would go through that she didn't bother with such a piddly detail as keeping the Listing "current".

Do NOT lose this email! The buyer does not have an 'right' in the house, I believe she has an 'interest' to some degree, but certainly not a right to do whatever she wants to it without owning it.

The buyer's 'rights' are spelled out in the contract the same as your rights are spelled out.

Even though the buyer is representing herself (I take it she's not a r.e.agent), is there any possibility that your agent is also representing her without your knowledge and/or consent? I ask because it sounds as though she may be. DPOR doesn't just define representation by a piece of paper, they also define it by an agent's actions.

Seriously, just yesterday, a potential buyer asked if I'd give them the lockbox code to a property because we couldn't meet at the time she requested. She, of course, got a big "NO" as my response despite her rantings of 'retired military, upstanding citizen."

WOW, I can't wait to read your complaint in DPOR, if they find the complaint valid.

this kind of incompetence and breach of fiduciary duty by licensed agents is deplorable. unfortunately, plenty of agents have this mentality.

the agent works for you, the seller. you call the shots. the agent is bound by law to always do what is best for you, end of story.

There are many issues here. So let's try to break it down.

You say that you've had a contract for sale between you and this buyer since July. Do you have a copy of that contract? It should have the amount of the earnest money, it should have the period of inspection (so many days--inpections are not open-ended), and if it's gone on since July, there should be several extensions that you and the buyer have signed.

In the main, if the buyer did not report problems to you within the inspection period and now wants out of the deal, the earnest money is yours. If, however, these "repair" issues arose from financing conditions, meaning that the buyer cannot finance the sale due to a repair condition that you've been unable to fix-- you say the water is "slow" so that's a pressure problem-- she gets her earnest back. (With the exception of the final paragraph in this reply)

You say that some of the "repairs" the buyer made included painting rooms, correct? Why did she need to do that? That doesn't seem to have anything to do with a repair needed for a purchase or lending requirements. Something isn't adding up here. You've also said that the buyer put down 3x the "down payment"-- do you mean that, during negotiations you asked for X$ of earnest money and she up and gave you 3x that amount? Sounds unlikely. There's no set amount for earnest money, it's negotiated. Again, another unusual aspect that makes this transaction not seem like a purchase but more like a lease-purchase or owner carry.

You also say you don't know where the earnest money is. How can that be? Are you saying that at NO time have you been contacted by either an escrow officer OR an attorney? If there's been a contract since July, SOME title work had to be done. You say someone notarized your signature on a "paper"-- what exactly did that paper say? You also say that you had something notarized in your new state. What exactly was that? This is all very murky.

Regarding whether you can force this buyer to buy the house, no you can't. Your "balm", your compensation is only the earnest money deposit. While a buyer can force a seller to sell, it's rare that a seller can force a buyer to buy. A buyer can say that he/she realizes they hate the kind of shrubs in the yard, the color of the roof, any number of things to withdraw. They will lose their earnest money, but that's the limit of the seller's recompense.