Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are building a new home with a very reputable company. I thought I selected an excellent real estate agent to be our buyer's agent. Unfortunately, it looks like I was very wrong.
We never signed an anything with him or his agency. We met with him for 1.5 hours and then he did attend the contract meeting with us. He was of no value during the contract meeting; he told a couple of irrelevant stories during the meeting, sat silently during pricing (no price negotiations were suggested/offered), left the meeting early, and has not been in contact with me since (10+ days).
I emailed him today to express my disappointment with the lack of communication thus far. I did receive a response which completely ignored my feelings and has further increased my level of distrust and uneasiness with him. Is there anyway to have him removed from the contract or am I stuck with him?
You are free to no longer use him, but if he was registered with the builder as your agent, then they will pay him a commission. If you bring in a new agent, then you will have to pay their fee.
I told my husband I thought we were "stuck" with him. Live and learn I guess.
You may be stuck- but you're not out. Demand that he earn his commission. From your OP it sounded as if you excepted him to take the meeting by the reins. That's not he's position. He's there to help and advise- but if you don't ask, mums the word!
You need to be in constant contact with him, making sure that everything is on schedule, and all selections are correct. If you're still vacillating over mortgage companies and/or possible locks- get him involved.
He should be able to advise you on when and who to hire to do private inspections. If you are unable to attend an inspection, make sure he is there to do it in your behalf.
Communication, communication, communication!!!
If it sounds like he will be unable to fulfill these wishes, talk to the broker. If that doesn't get you anywhere I'm sure the broker will be happy to dissolve the "contract" for the sake of saving face.
The last thing any brokerage firm needs is someone "stirring the pot"- sales are hard enough to come by as it is.
Well, I did the same stupid thing – I figured “why notâ€â€¦ since it’s free. I just got rid of him even though he was going to get paid because he was doing damage. He was happy to get his money for absolutely nothing... I can't see why anybody would have a problem with that.
He basically acted as the builder's attorney ! However, whether I hired him or not, I wouldn't have seen the money spent on him as a discount to me, so it really doesn't matter from a financial standpoint, but he did cause me a lot of irritation for no darn reason!
If the builder brings in the real estate agent and/or the attorney, they are more than likely representing the builder. Here in Georgia we have to fully explain to the client/customer who we are representing and get them to sign either an agency agreement or a disclosure stating that they understand we are not representing them.
Thanks for the feedback. I do appreciate it. Initially, the builder did "recommend" an agent to us. Then after further conversations with the builder and that agent, we realized that the agent recommended represented the seller....not us. Which is one of the reasons that prompted us to find a buyer's agent. The other major reason we decided to get a buyer's agent was for expertise/guidance during the inspections/building process. I know the guy who is our buyer's agent has a lot of new construction experience and I am hoping he will earn his money during the construction process with the inspections and helping ensure things stay on schedule. ...He certainly hasn't saved us anything on the purchase price of the home nor did he find it for us. If he wouldn't have talked so much about being able to save us money and get the best price possible, I probably wouldn't be so disappointed. But he did NOTHING to save us money at the contract appointment.
While there is nothing I can do regarding his getting paid for this transaction, we can choose to work with another company when we are ready to sell our current property. I can make sure that I let my coworkers and friends who are shopping for an real estate agent know about my experience and urge them to look elsewhere. And after the transaction, at minimum I will post reviews on yelp and angie's list regarding our experience. What those reviews say are up to him....right now they aren't looking too positive.
While there is nothing I can do regarding his getting paid for this transaction, we can choose to work with another company when we are ready to sell our current property. I can make sure that I let my coworkers and friends who are shopping for an real estate agent know about my experience and urge them to look elsewhere. And after the transaction, at minimum I will post reviews on yelp and angie's list regarding our experience. What those reviews say are up to him....right now they aren't looking too positive.
Personally, I would let the agent know exactly what you are thinking. Let him know he has a chance to redeam himself a bit through the rest of the process.
manderly- I did communicate with the agent on Monday and told him how I felt in the hopes of turning things around. I got a curt response and no acknowledgement of my feelings which left me even more frustrated and disappointed. I am angry with myself for choosing him.
When I initially called the company, I spoke with his wife for 30+ minutes and told her what I was looking for in an agent as well as my desire to find a company that I can work with in the years to come (I made it known that we have a property that will need to be sold in the future). I know she told her husband what I was looking for prior to our first meeting with him- he mentioned and acknowledged it. We were assured that he would take good care of us and we would have nothing to worry about.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
However, whether I hired him or not, I wouldn't have seen the money spent on him as a discount to me, so it really doesn't matter from a financial standpoint, but he did cause me a lot of irritation for no darn reason!
