AboutTimmy Chou Expertise I am a experienced Mediator and a partner in a management consulting firm. As a mediator I work as a third-party neutral and specialize in partnership/shareholder disputes, management/labor issues, company culture difficulties, and family-owned business problems. I can help describe why alternative dispute resolution may be a good choice for you. As an experienced management consultant I may be able to offer creative ideas to help resolve your organizational and business problems and disputes. "If you say conflict, I say opportunity".
Question My wife and i wanted to buy a home in apple valley, ca . Agent is a dual agent and i paid $3000 deposit upon signing the contract . THE CHECK WAS ISSUED IN THE NAME OF THE REAL ESTATE COMPANY, and they cashed it later.Two weeks after signing the contract we received property disclosure papers from escrow company that we needed to sign and return them. At that time according to the papers for the first time we realized that the property is located in a high fire hazard area and we decided to stop buying the house. I called my dual real estate agent, she got very angry and talked rudely and hang up the phone. I contacted the escrow copany and i requested the cancellation of the escrow process.Later on the escrow copany sent us a cancellation agreement that must be signed by buyer and seller both,so that everything can be settled and i get my deposit back.Now that two weeks has passed my dual agent is still angry and either she does not answer my calls or if she does, she tries to make me scared by talking about high amount of damages i need to pay including her entire commission, etc.However she is keeping us in a suspended condition, and i don't know what i can do or what will happen next and what she can do as the dual agent who now threats us and acts like a seller agent only and even worse. Would you please tell me what to do before it is too late. thanks.
Answer Thank you for your question!
Mediators act as neutral third parties to disputes and never "get involved" in judging the merits of conflict, but merely use special techniques to help the parties decide how to negotiate their own settlement.
The case you describe here is unfortunately very typical. I am not a lawyer, nor can I mediate your dispute with just you alone but I can respond to your question from my business consulting experience. Note that this issue may develop legal implications and you should consult an attorney.
In my experience, in the absence of specific language--in your case, specifying the deadline for returning any escrowed funds, for example--one party to an agreement can merely bulldoze the other party. So the short answer is that the realtor can do whatever she wishes and make you compel her to do otherwise.
Hence, you should carefully assess the terms and conditions of your escrow agreement and try to see if you have a procedure to follow--though I would guess they may try to keep your money and make you fight to get it back anyway. Be sure you are in compliance with all the terms and conditions.
My opinion is that you are being harassed and intimidated by an unethical realtor and now you have to fight to avoid being screwed.
You may angage an attorney to fight if you wish but it is likely you will pay more in attorney fees than $3k. In fact, crooks count on this strategy in order to pick up cash. The "fighting" strategy will cost you alot of money and time and in the end you will (if the contract does not prohibit it) get your funds returned.
I am not familier with California state resources but here are some other ideas you can try.
Many states have an Office of Consumer Affairs or an Ombudsman's Office as an advocate for consumers. Try to locate them with your story.
Make sure you have a prepared packet detailing your experience complete with copies of correspondence, and make sure you have sent registered letters to the realtor with your demands. If they cannot or will not set forth their arguments why they are keeping your money, that is simply more useful for you in your case.
Copy your letter and packet to every imaginable consumer resource you might have available in your city such as better business bureaus, newspapers, trade associations, consumer advocacy groups, and even sometimes a TV news guy that sticks up for the little guy when they get beaten up.
Make sure she knows that you will stop at nothing to be treated fairly and you will make sure that everyone knows how she (and her affiliate office) does business. Find out if there is a boss at her office and talk to her. If yuo can record her beligerant and abusive phone calls, so much the better.
Another place I would recommend you stop is the State Licensing Board. In many states there are specific resources in place to assist people that have problems with licensed service providers. In some states this is handled by the Realtors Association or other trade group. Find out how you can file a claim or complaint and make sure she knows you will do all you can do all you can to have this lady's license jerked--again with as many other victims
as possible. Be sure you let them all know you will be letting the press, state legislators or other consumer advocacy groups follow how the License or trade association Board handles your case, and that you will not rest until the licensing body takes some responsibility for policing people like this lady.
If you can create enough pain for all concerned they are more likely to take care of you. The goal here is to get them to realize it will cost alot more to deal with all the collateral damage you will cause them by your willingness to proclaim their nefarious business practices to everyone, and they will cut you a check.
If you have to go to court, begin to document, in a chronological way, all these events as they unfold so the judge can see clearly that you have been mistreated.
As you can see, this is a long and tortured path, but it mostly just cost your time and be a reminder to have complete contract documents next time.
These are some ideas. Feel free to follow up with additional questions.
For your information, the pros and cons of the types of dispute resolution methods follows.
GOOD LUCK!
Arbitration, Mediation, and Litigation
Arbitration: the referral of a dispute to one or more impartial persons for final and binding determination outside of the judicial system
Benefits of Arbitration:
Confidential, no public record
Limited exchange of documentation, information
Quick, don't have to wait for a court date
Arbitrators have expertise in the subject matter and are trained in conflict resolution
Cheaper than litigation
Preserves business relationships
Negatives of Arbitration
It's a compromise, no %100 winner
Complex arbitration can be costly
If not satisfied, may litigate the arbitration procedure
Poor results with an unskilled arbitrator
Both parties must agree to cooperate in the process
Mediation: the process by which parties submit their dispute to a neutral third party (the mediator) who works with the parties to reach a settlement of their dispute.
Benefits of Mediation:
Neutral mediator can objectively suggest alternatives not considered before
Parties are directly engaged in negotiating the settlement
Can be quicker than litigation
Less costly than litigation
Preserves business relationships
85% of American Arbitration Association cases mediated find successful solutions
Negatives of Mediation
may not reach a binding decision
unskilled mediator
Litigation: using the judicial system to resolve disputes
Benefits of litigation:
a clear winner and loser
uses a prescribed set of procedures
more predictable outcomes
is final
Negatives of Litigation:
waiting for court dates can do more hare
usually more expensive than mediation and arbitration
part of the public record
