Expert: liznarr - 3/14/2009

Question
I am just prior to signing my load docs and my agent is useless.  does not return calls as inaccurate information.  If i fire her what is she intitled to if anything.  And will the seller do busines with me with a new agent, I don't know whate she has told them.  This thing has been going on for four months.  I wanted to sign my docs at an escrow office not a notary, she called a notary to have me sign anyway, .I refused to meet with the Notary.
Now she says my appraisal has expired (it has).  I want to be rid of her but still want the house.Will I have to start over if I get a new agent?

Answer
Hi Sharon,

I apologize for the delay in responding.  I just received a reminder from the All Experts’ system of your pending question and have no explanation why your original question did not come through.

First, if this agent is representing you, especially by way of a signed Buyer Agency Agreement/Contract, she has an obligation by law to obey all your legal instructions.   Assuming that signing documents in your area with an escrow office is a legal custom, and you instructed her to set up the signing of your documents at an escrow office and NOT a notary, she has breached her fiduciary agency obligation/duty to you by ignoring your instruction and acting on her own.

Not timely returning your calls and staying in touch with you can also be considered a breach of contract.

Generally, when one party or the other breaches a Contract, that breach is grounds for termination.

Once a property is under contract and well on its way to a closing, it can be more difficult to fire an agent.  Playing the Devil’s advocate here, one could argue that the bulk of the work has already been done.

I would suggest contacting this agent’s Broker-in-Charge, make a complaint against this agent, and ask the Broker for help.  Explain what all has been occurring and ask the Broker to become personally involved, or either assign another agent to you who will get the job done the way YOU want through an escrow agent.  It is not too late to do this.

Now, on to the matter of your appraisal.  Appraisals are generally good for a period of ONE YEAR.  Unless you have been dealing with this property for over a year, or you might be using another older appraisal on file, your appraisal should still be good.  Are you sure that your appraisal has expired, or could you possibly be referring to the fact that your rate lock with your lender might have expired?

If the appraisal has expired as you reported, and this agent was representing YOU, it was this agent’s DUTY to notify you in advance of the expiration so that you could act accordingly.  If she did not, this is yet another breach of a Buyer Agency Contract.

Answering your specific questions …

If you fire this agent and complete the purchase of this house, there is a rule in real estate called procuring cause.  If this agent introduced you to this property and claims to be the procuring cause, she might be able to collect the commission; but there is a Grievance and Professional Standards procedure for collecting in this manner.  Also, depending on the wording of your Buyer Agency with this agent, there could be additional complications.

If you do not get the help you want and need from this agent’s Broker-in-Charge, I would strongly recommend contacting a good attorney in your area for help.  

If you get a new agent from another brokerage office, yes, you probably would have to start from scratch again – not to mention the aggravation you might have to endure from this agent.

I hope the above is helpful.  Again, I apologize for the delay.

Good luck to you, and feel free to write again if you have additional questions.

Regards,
Elizabeth