Expert: Sue Bernstein - 4/10/2008

Question
Dear Sue,
A friend inherited real estate in Los Angeles and asked me if I would be interested in purchasing same. I said I would love to buy the property and he reiterated several times to both myself and other individuals that he was not interested to sell to anyone except myself. We agreed that he would contact a real estate friend of his to obtain a realistic selling price. This he did and he called me a few days later with his asking price which I agreed to.We agreed to meet two days later to consummate the deal in writing, however on that day he called me and said that his real estate agent had badgered him into signing a sales contract to one of the agents clients even though he informed and protested to the real estate agent that he had promised to sell the property only to me.  Now he is looking to uphold his promise to me and is looking for a way to annul his written contract to sell to a third party. What if anything can be done? What about the ethics ( or lack thereof ) of the real estate agent and is there any course of action that can be instigated against the agent.
Thanks for any help you can offer

Answer
Dear Tom,

Your friend may be in a very difficult situation.  I would suggest he consult an attorney immediately.  He should also hold the buyer strictly to the terms of the contract.  He can refuse to do any repairs or give any credits towards repairs.  He can immediately serve the buyers notices to perform as soon as contingency dates are due. He does not have to agree to any requests by the buyer outside of what is in the contract. He has to stay firm and realize the agent works for him and not the other way around. If the agent refuses to serve notices to perform the agents manager should be called immediately.   It will be very hard to prove that he was coerced into signing the contract unless he has something in writing pointing to that fact. If your friend believes there was an ethics violation (there might be as he is now representing both the buyer and seller) he can file a complaint with the local Board of Realtors.
I hope this helps.

Sue Bernstein