[kylewatchhorn]

Hi all,

I'm a new resident and potential buyer in Las Vegas. I got a referral from my previous state of residence and got hooked up with an agent that I don't like. The agent showed me a couple of properties and we wrote a couple offers that went nowhere earlier this month. My relocation referral department asked if I was satisfied and I said no. They gave me a new agent. The old agent has since called me numerous times to harrass me over why I was dissatisfied. He said that every neighborhood, homebuilder, and door that he has opened for me will be his comission by "procuring cause" and he will hunt down every real estate transaction in Clark County to make sure i don't take any food off his table. Needless to say, his neurotic behavior is a major reason I wanted to find a new agent. I'm a little scared of this guy and so far buying a home in Vegas has been a disaster. If a couple months from now I go into a house or neighborhood that the first agent showed me, what is the ramification to me as a buyer if I want to make an offer???

Thank you!

[olecapt]

That sort of dispute is an agent to agent thing. There are risks to the follow on agent but not to you...unless you signed a buyers broker agreement.

If you had a buyers agent agreement with the guy that will put forth the terms under which he gets paid.

The only place it gets to be a problem for a new agent is on those homes the first guy showed you. If you did not have a buyers agency agreement in place I would simply drop the guy and his broker a note that says you are severing the relationship and that you did not find his representation satisfactory. You need not explain any further.

If this is going to cause a problem it is normally that other agents don't want to deal with it and won't take you on as a client. You should tell them about it by the way. If they know they can minimize the problem.

You might also consider a complaint to GLVAR. They take a dim view of harrassing ex-clients.

[jfkIII]

Just wondering...is this becoming even more of a problem as the housing mess worsens? Most agents have a competitive nature to begin with...that I would think comes with working in that field in order to be successful. Given low home sales, and therefore less commissions to be spread around, I'm wondering if this is more rampant now.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by jfkIII

Just wondering...is this becoming even more of a problem as the housing mess worsens? Most agents have a competitive nature to begin with...that I would think comes with working in that field in order to be successful. Given low home sales, and therefore less commissions to be spread around, I'm wondering if this is more rampant now.

It is a very rare event. How would one judge if a very rare event is getting more common?

[kylewatchhorn]

Thanks for the help. I have signed no agreement formalizing a relationship. I also was curious as to how often this type of thing happened. I did tell my new agent today and he said to save the harassing voicemails and not to communicate with him in the future. I should have known from day one when he told me that he was broke and needed to get me into a home by Christmas. Wish me luck in the future!

Thanks!
Kyle

[Eric Young]

Your relo department may be interested in your experience as well - and they may be able to help you.

I can't imagine an agent (or the broker) risking the regular business that comes from a relo department just to save a single commission, but you never know, right?

If you'd prefer that the problem just go away with the least fuss for you, just tell your new agent to take care of it for you. If he's good, all you'll have to do is sign a piece of paper or two and the calls will stop, pronto.

Good luck and welcome to Vegas.