We recently sold our home, but had a very bad experience. Our home was on the market from June to October, and when we were negotiating with the buyer we were given misleading information about the profits from the sale.

On numerous occasions, our realtor told us we would make x amount of dollars, after closing. He even went so far as to include the amount we would have deducted for our closing costs, the buyer's closing costs, commisions, etc. He came up with a dollar amount and told us that would be the amount the check would be for after all is said and done.

During the summer, we moved out of state, so he told us he would take care of closing so we would not have to come back to town. All we needed to do was give him power of attorney. We did.

We received our settlement papers and were a bit confused. The amount of our check was $2000 LESS than what he told us it would be ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. He talked to my husband on the phone and said, "Don't panic. I know you were expecting more, but you will receive another check for $1800- $2000 shortly. What we received was a check from our escrow account for $500. We are now short $1500 from what he told us we'd get.

When we confronted him with this, he lied and said he never gave us that number. He said he always told us we'd receive the amount that we ended up getting, which is wrong. Now he says he did nothing wrong and that he talked to his broker and he agrees with him. I am planning on calling the broker this week to discuss this.

The difference in the amount we received and the amount we were told is the taxes from January to November. He never calculated this amount into the big picture for us. We did not know we would owe this at closing. I think he knew, but failed to tell us because that would change what offer we would accept. We got a pretty poor offer anyways. He also told us that we probably would not sell it anytime soon if we didn't go on and take the offer now.

I know we were misled. I think he feared the house would not sell before his contract was up and that we were already unhappy with him, thus he would receive absolutely nothing on the sale.

We made no money when all was said and done. Our realtor actually made more than we did. We are upset and furious with this.

Another reason I feel he was unethical is some other numbers he threw our way. Once we moved, there were a few items that needed to be completed before closing. He said he'd call and get estimates. When he called us back, he said the first place wanted $1200, but he had a friend that was int he business that said he'd do it for $600 plus material. My husband called him back and said no thanks, we wanted to save some money and would do it ourselves. Then he said his friend charges $30 -$40 an hour and his friend said it was an 8 - 10 hour job. Even estimating on the high end, $40x10 hours is $400, not $600 which was the original amount he told us. I don't think he remembered exactly what he told us before, which leads me to distrust him.

I think if we were given the correct information, our negotiations would have been different and we would not have counted on money we were never truly meant to receive.

At this point I do not know what to do. I will start by talking to his broker, although I don't know how much good it will do. What other course of action may we take? What should I tell the broker when I takl to him?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

I just talked to the broker and he believes his realtor. I guess that's expected, but it sure is frustrating. What are the next steps? Please give me some input!

File an ethics complaint with that realtors local board. It may not do much good, since NAR and it's subsidiaries don't do a whole lot. But it's a start.

Did you have a lawyer representing you at closing? I am shocked you were willing to give your real estate agent power of attorney!!

When we, as agents, give ESTIMATES of seller's closing costs, that is exactly what it is, estimates. We always tell our client to check with their lawyer or title company to see what the exact figures will be.

Taxes are likely paid in arrears in your state, which means you did owe them for the time you owned the home, and it was credited to the buyer on the HUD statement. When taxes come due shortly, they will use the money from you and the time you lived there to pay them. That is how it is done in my state as well. Not fair to expect a buyer to pay taxes on a home for a time period that they did not live there.

Sounds like you put all your eggs in one basket - not only did you rely on your real estate agent to market your home, but also relied on him to be your legal counsel as well, which is unfortunate.

The amount you did not get is not an error on his part - he did not charge you a processing fee, or something like that. That money was simply owed as part of being a homeowner and selling your home. I am not a lawyer, but I am not sure how you would win in this situation in court - the judge would ask who you contacted for legal representation during the process.

Check your contract and see if it states anything to the tune of "all parties are being represented by a broker, not a contactor, not an attorney"......."If you should have any questions regarding this offer, please consult an attorney before signing"....

I think your agent should have refused to answer your exact questions without making it abundantly clear that the figures he had were ESTIMATES and also, no way I would have been power of attorney for any client of mine. No way, no how.

I hope you can consult a lawyer and get final legal answers.

Cheri, Realtor in Iowa

Hello
Regarding teh escrow amount, go thru HUD1. If possible take your contract, HUD1, addendums to a real estate attroney.

Do you have a copy of the estimates and the invoice for the work done in the house?

Ritu

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Ritu Desai
Buying or Selling in Northern Virginia? Contact me for all your residential real estate needs

SAMSON REALTY,LLC
Phone: 703-625-4949
Email - rituadesai@yahoo.com
On the web: http://www.homesdatabase.com/ritu

I would have: 1) Never relied on an agent's estimate of our sale proceeds. He/she is not a tax expert or a financial advisor. You received $1500 less than expected because the pro-rated property taxes had to be paid. Your realtor forgot to deduct taxes from the proceeds in his estimate(which was dumb since it is standard with every sale), but it was your responsibility to know it had to be paid from the proceeds. You paid, directly or through mortgage escrow, property taxes on that home every year of your ownership, right? Why did you forget about it this time? You were the homeowner, it was your responsibility and your liability if the taxes weren't paid;

and 2) I would never rely on an agent to coordinate/authorize home repairs. I know agents tend to involve themselves in this aspect of the home sale because they want to ensure a glitch-free closing, but the homeowner is responsible for all aspects of the repair. Maybe the agent was receiving a cut from his friend which accounts for the difference between $400-$600; if so, it was slimy for him/her to not disclose that to you if that was the case. However, that may not have been the case at all and he was just bad at math or had a poor memory of what figure his friend told him or had ten other closings and simply got you mixed up with someone else.

Since you didn't take him up on his suggestion to use that friend, you have no grounds for taking your "case" any further. There is no case and you'll just waste a whole lot more anger and frustration (and money) by engaging an attorney. Any attorney who has an ethical bone in their body won't encourage you that you actually have something prosecutable in the first place.

And, no, I'm not an agent. I'm sorry that you are upset, but it's time to move on.

I always stress to my sellers that the seller net sheet is an ESTIMATE of proceeds from sale. I think ours even states on the net sheets themselves that it is only an estimate. There is no possible way to know what the exact dollar figure will be until you see the HUD.

I'm with, OH REO. I'm not sure that the board can do much since it's the agent's word against yours. You'd have to prove he was being deceptive.

You should check your contract because you're ultimately responsible for reading it. The Texas contract has a section on how prorations will be handled and yours may too. Ours specifically informs sellers that they will be responsible for paying assessments, prorated taxes, liens, etc.