Expert: Dick Dennis - 2/5/2010

Question
QUESTION: Hello ~
Attempting to sell my condo with a nationally known company has gone seriously off-track and I seem to be getting no where.  
I have been in contact with the head of the listing agency; I tried contacting the telephone number listed for the company headquarters; I have contacted the Real Estate board in Pittsburgh, and still I feel that I am not having my concerns and problems addressed.

I keep being referred back to the head of the agency - who seems ONLY to be interesting in having contact by Telephone.  
This is Not an option; as each time we speak there are major miscommunication issues and I end up getting talked into letting her handle things a little longer.  



In September 2009 I signed disclosure documents with a listing agent while packing to move out of the state of PA.  
It was my understanding that 'my agent' would return a few days later with information concerning market conditions (to help set a listing price), take pictures, and finish up the transaction of our 'contact'- as I had not signed All the needed paperwork - only "enough for (her) to get started."
I was Not given my copies of the disclosure documents (didn't press hard enough for copies to be made) and the agent had not even walked through my condo.

In the days before I left Pittsburgh - I found a buyer who was Very Eager to buy my unit, and was aware of the state of my condo, which was to be marketed "as is."  
He was part of the moving crew and SAW the condition of my unit, which was then at it's worse.
This man was very excited about having "tripped over a place that was ideal for his needs (amount of space and location), at just the time that he was looking."
We immediately called my agent to put him in touch with her.  
He was still so eager that he had his parents (former real estate agents) come over to walk through it two days later, and again they asked if I had heard from my agent as he "(was) willing to pay cash and (he had) not heard from her."

I left Pittsburgh, Twelve days after I signed the disclosure documents - still without having seen the agent. Indeed, her only calls were about how my moving was going.
When asked, she would only say that she was still talking to (the cash buyer.)

The agent told me that she - "had to put a number in for the listing price in order to start the ball rolling and access sales records and such.  But we will readjust the price once I have time to do some research -but it will most certainly will go UP.  I will get back to you with the information in a day or so."


My property was not listed until a full month later and at a Lower price than is on the 'temporary papers' I received !
I had to asked Repeatedly for the copies she promised to finish filling in with me Before I moved.  
The copies of my documents did finally arrive, in mid November -however, they are NOT ones that were filled in with me; the dates have been changed; and the listing price lowered !

The ONLY Documents I initialed And DATED were the disclosure agreements - to the best of my knowledge and given the paperwork I have in my hands.
Only the "Sellers Services Guarantee" has My signature AND the date written in MY handwriting.

I have had to go begging for information, and even then got few answers as to what was going on with any showings.
My agent seemed more interested in trying to badger me into upgrading my property.
She began insisting it was in "our best interests" for me to release to her, information I had collected for a Full and Complete restoration.  
I relented and sent her only the most basic information, with the costs removed - I found out later that she had "turned over it over to the agent whose buyer had asked."

After contacting the Real Estate Board in December - I received a letter from the agent relating that there had been a few showings but suggesting that I think about lowering the price.
When I refused, asking why the property was still not being marketed as we had discussed before I moved - she told me she thought "that would attract the wrong sort of buyers."
She then launched into a tirade about how my property was "a total disaster area and you need to completely upgrade it if you hope to sell it at all."
Then, two weeks later - still without the marketing changed nor any additional contact - she began pushing me to accept two offers that would have had me Paying the 'buyers' to take my property.

Yes - My condo needs to have repairs done.  
There was hidden pet damage when I bought it sight unseen while still on the West coast.
Parts of the subflooring should be replaced to prevent the problems I had discovered from happening again.  

I could not let another buyer go through what I had, and decided to list at a noticeable price reduction.
My condo is in a desirable area, close to colleges and hospitals - there is a HIGH Demand in that area for houses that are for sale.

I was to have Started at almost $24,000 LESS than the AVERAGED prices condos in my building have sold for in the past 6 months.
The estimate for a COMPLETE Restoration and Renovation is $12,000.  
The agent has listed it at ALMOST $30,000 Less than the LOWEST prices of recent sales !
Other than having the subflooring repaired - the rest is cosmetic work consisting mainly of painting and installing new carpet or the buyer's choice of flooring.
I was Very Clear that I was willing to work with interested buyers to have the flooring and painting done.

I have sent SELLING information from the country records to show how I arrived at what I feel is a reasonable price for my condo.
I have Repeatedly asked that my neighborhood be factored into the marketing strategy, along with the great opportunity and value my condo is for it's area.
Even asking that someone check my figures and information - and correct me if I am confused - has not gotten a response.

TWO WEEKS AGO, I again contacted the head of agency, requesting that the property be checked and re-evaluated.
All I have gotten in response are emails about the trouble of co-ordinating scheduling between the head of the agency and the listing agent; and the head of agency keeps insisting that we speak by Telephone to work out a new marketing plan...  

I am sure that I do not want to continue with this company.  
However, I have been advised that should I have my property removed from the listings (MLS?) that I may have to wait 3 months or more to relist with a different agency.  I have Already wasted more than 4 months.

I do not feel I can trust the people at the agency nor the Real Estate board to give me honest answers.
ALL the people I am referred to for advice and answers are working for or tied to this company in some way. It seems that they are more interested in protecting each other, rather than helping me sell my property or alternately releasing me from my contract.

I am Not in Pittsburgh any longer - I am living in Wisconsin.  I have the feeling that were I In Pittsburgh this would not be happening.  
That it is only happening because I am not there to take them to court - if needed.


To add insult to injury, I appear to be locked into a One year agreement that began a full month Later than the documents I signed !!
Any insight and advice would be Greatly Appreciated !

I Do appreciate the time you have taken in even reading this.  
Thank you.

ANSWER: Based on what you wrote, Robin, I hope you still have a way to contact that person who wanted to buy your condo because it seems that the "agent" did not have you sign a valid listing, especially when it was changed AFTER you initialled and signed a disclosure form. I think you should contact another GOOD real estate broker and tell that broker that you have a buyer for the property and you want the sale taken care of. That broker is going to investigate the forms you have and the forms the old agent has to see if there is a valid obligation in existence.

Is your mortgage up to date? Are you behind in your payments? How come the old agent didn't take care of the sale with the buyer you had? Somehow all this doesn't make sense. Agents usually do not alter listing papers without disclosing it to the seller. Is that agent a discount agent? Is your condo supposed to be sold on a short sale? There are too many questions that need to be answered before I can give you a good input. I wish you well.

Dick Dennis

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your prompt reply !

Yes, I am up to date and current on All payments for my mortgage, taxes, condo fees, insurance, and utilities.  I have never missed a payment.

There IS a concern with the property insurance, Because I am not living in my unit... I am struggling to keep them from canceling my homeowners insurance - which states I must be living there for it to be valid.

The only 'issue' seems to be that my condo is not in pristine, recently remodeled, 'move in' condition - which the 'listing agent' keeps pointing out at every opportunity.  
Oddly, I DO know this fact.

The company is well known nationally and is considered reputable.
There is nothing I can find that says anything about the company handling either 'short sales' or employing 'discount agents'; nor can I find any info about my property on the MLS (available to ME on line) that uses these terms.

Now that you mention it though - while the 'listing agent' is shown on the company's agent profile page as a multi seller of $500,000+ homes, I noticed in January that her Current listings are all well outside the area where my property is located and ALL ARE Very Low priced (at $15,000 - $45,000.)  

This woman was recommended because several residents were familiar with her showing/handling other properties in our building in the past few years.

Unfortunately I am not sure how to reach this interested cash buyer at present; it has been Over 4 months.
Following an earlier round with the agent (in December 2009) telling me there was no interest because the prospective buyers were "shocked and horrified by the condition of the unit" - I asked if she had checked back with this first interested person.  
When she got around to contacting me again - she told me he was
"unable to buy Anything now because he is in divorce proceedings and his assets have been frozen my his wife."   ??!?  

I agree, None of this makes any sense.  
I am used to dealing with people whose word is their bond; the paperwork is strictly a formality that must be taken care of for business purposes.

The national agency's paperwork and website states that part of the services I am paying for with their fees and commissions include - an open house, print and online advertising, prompt written feedback after showings, individualized marketing tools, agents knowledgeable and skilled in all aspects of sales, marketing, etc.,etc., etc.
Not being in Pittsburgh - I have been unable to ascertain if my condo was even shown at an open house, nor do I know if there has been Any effort to market my property other than the MLS page.  

 
It was only after I sent a second set of emails to the Real Estate board
(on 29 January 2010 - the first being the 17th of December)
asking AGAIN what to do about the lack of response from the listing agency -
that the head of the listing agency wrote to tell me that there had been scheduling problems between her and the agent, "but I will be able to look at your townhouse on Tues" (02 February 2010.)
 
At the end of the business day on 04 Feb, after I wrote again, I finally got a reply from the head of the listing agency.  She has been "out of the office for two days and needs to talk to (the listing agent) first, but will get back to (me) tomorrow afternoon..."
As this is almost the same thing I was told by her on the 29th of January - Incorrectly or otherwise, I am guessing that she still has not seen my property nor researched the information I had forwarded to her.

The head of the listing agency has in no way addressed nor attempted to answer any of my questions concerning the problems I am having.  
I have sent her very detailed letters, copying entire emails both to and from the listing agent to assist her in understanding the gravity of the situation.

True, some of these emails DID reference in part that 'marketing' (or lack there of) which seemed to be drawing house flippers which the agent then tried to insist were the best offers I was going to get...

The response I got from the head of the agency to these emails was -
"I understand your frustration with the property not selling at this point in time. I would prefer to speak with you on the phone at your earliest convenience. I believe we could better communicate with each other as to what our next course of action is in regard to the marketing of your property."

To date I have over 90 emails documenting the deterioration of this 'business relationship.'

I have the national company's "Sellers Service Guarantee" which I signed and dated.  
I also have the copy of the "Estimated costs to seller" which has the 'temporary' price  given to start out with, and which was to be discussed later.  
These are the ONLY PAPERS I RECEIVED ON 11 SEPT 2009, other than the company's "Guide to Real Estate Services."


To this I now have received (when I insisted that I be sent My copies of the missing documents) -
a Different LOWER "Estimated Costs to Seller",
and a "Standard Exclusive Listing Contract" which is NOT in My handwriting nor is there any place for a signature to be.  ?!?

Also I have the "Sellers Disclosure Statement" which is in My handwriting - but to which someone else has later added a date.  It is Not dated in my hand nor is it even in the manner I write dates out !

My signature on the "Property Input Statement" which Was filled out in my presence and with my input - HOWEVER I made a point of NOT DATING this document either.

I SPECIFICALLY DID NOT FINISH filling in the forms with the dates, so as to allow me to view ALL the required documents before the final signing was done.
Again, the listing agent was to have gotten back together with me in a few days after she had a chance to do some research and develop a marketing strategy !
 
The dates on three of these four documents are Not in my handwriting.

Indeed - there are a total of FOUR Different dates on these four documents.  
They are "9/ /09" on the UNFINISHED "Property Input Statement";
"11 Sept 09" in my hand on the "Sellers Service Guarantee" - which is the only paper signed and dated by both the listing agent and myself !
The "Standard Exclusive Listing Contract" has the date of "October 11, 09"; AND
the "Sellers Disclosure Statement" has had the date 10/13/09 Added after my signature !!

I hope this helps to clarify things better.
It is indeed a confusing and unbelievable situation.


Please Note that I am currently in WI, while my property is in PA - 14 hours away.  
I am also not a native of Pennsylvania - I am at a complete loss to understand the PA system for doing things.
I am unable to even get a straight answer as to WHOM I should be addressing with these problems.  It seems that I should be talking to the Real Estate Board - but that is getting nothing resolved except that I get a response email from the agency with my listing..
Is there some higher overseeing body for real estate ?

Am I WRONG ?  Should I be letting this drop because I am at fault here ?

Any advice you can give or direction you can suggest to help me resolve this nightmare would be Greatly appreciated.


Sincerely
I DO Thank you for your time.

ANSWER: Each state has a real estate commission (the name probably varies in each) to which you can communicate with. It's probably in Harrisburg. Here is their address:
State Real Estate Commission
P.O. Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649
Phone - (717) 783-3658
Fax - (717) 787-0250
ST-REALESTATE@state.pa.us

A commissioner of some kind will probably respond.

But the date on documents is of no concern, Robin. The date usually is that of the date the agent signed the document, not when you signed it, since the client usually signs it last.

Are you saying that your property is worth only $15,000 or so? Well, it's up to you if you think you should drop the whole matter. After all, your credit would be affected negatively if you do let it go.

To me it appears that the agent is so involved in much higher-priced property that she and her agency continually put you on the back burner. They do just enough to not have the state commission to come down on them. Give a call to the commission or email them and see what comes out of that. Be well.

Dick Dennis

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Mr Dennis ~  

Thank you for all the time you have taken helping me with this.

As far as what my property is "worth":
From what I can tell - there has been NO Re-assessment of the condos in my complex since they were built in the mid 1980s.
All those in My building were/have been assessed at $54,000; in the other building they are assessed lower.
When they were sold Originally, there was an income restriction and were Only for first time home buyers (akin to the Habitat for Humanity properties.)
More than half of the owners bought under the Original restrictions and the local taxes have more than doubled in the past 25 years.  This may explain why no one has asked for the property to be re-assessed.


Two units, (in my building And on my floor - top floor with cathedral ceilings - to  compare 'apples to apples') SOLD in 2009:
at $106,000 (North/West corner, view of parking lot) with only new carpeting;
and $119,000 (for the North/East corner, view of large park) with new paint only.
The only other unit in my building that sold this year was at ground level facing out onto the parking lot.  It sold for $110,000 and had No work done.
I have taken this Sales information directly from the county tax records.

Living in the building, I am familiar with the other units and their turnover.  
I have also watched and listened to the various work projects being done.  
Additionally, having been on the condo board for the past 2 1/2 years I got to hear All the complaints from owners about the work others were doing...


The property is located close to bus services and within a 15 minute walk of several colleges and hospitals (in the Oakland district of Pittsburgh.)  
We have assigned parking for our complex, which is a Very valuable asset in the Oakland area !
My unit is considered to be "the most desirable in the whole complex"; being on the top floor with South/East exposure opening on to a green belt.
The two units on the top floor that have sold this past year look out onto shabby rental housing 6 feet away...

I Realize that this is not entirely relevant - I tell you this only to explain some of my frustration. I, "I" have had to point ALL this out to the 'listing agent' as well as my view of a Large park (and not our parking lot.)

The agent put in $87,000 on the "Estimated Costs to Seller" that I received from her hand.
Remember, this was to be Reviewed after she had done some research and developed a marketing plan (but it would probably 'go Up')- at which time the Final listing price was to be decided Between us before the property was listed.

She listed the property on the MLS at $84,000 without consulting me.  
After all the fees,handling charges and her commission, I would be lucky receive enough to pay off the balance of my mortgage !

MY calculations were based on the market in my area using MEDIAN prices of comparable properties -
factoring in the costs for a Complete Professional Renovation, allowances for rent while work was completed, various fees and handling charges, $4,000 to allow for price negotiations, AND an additional allowance of $5,000 for any unknown variables.
==>> I calculate that  The MINIMUM Listing price Should have been $87,900. !

This is part of the information I sent to the head of agency; along with the information of Sold prices in my building from the county tax records.
I would have thought THIS research was part of what I am to be paying the agent to do FOR ME.  No one from the listing office has written to let me know that MY information, and how I arrived at it, is invalid; Nor have they sent me any information to explain how the agent arrived at Her price.  I Have asked.


I am confused as to why having different dates on Each of the documents is Not an issue.  It was my understanding that all the dates had to Match; and that dates next to my signature Must be in my hand for the papers to be legal.  
Admittedly, this could be a West coast concept.
The one DATE that is in my handwriting, is the EARLIEST on these forms !

It concerns me Greatly that the agent seems very willing to release my Confidential information to anyone who asks - and that she seems to be using it to Lower the price to sweeten things for a buyer.  
This does not seem to be ethical; nor is it in My best interests as the Owner and her 'client.'

It did occur to me that she might be used to selling 'move in ready' higher priced properties - until I saw her other current listings.


Please understand - I do NOT want to let this matter go !  
I firmly believe that I am being taken advantage of and being given a raw deal.
It is not in my nature to just drop things when they aren't working out for me...

I am willing to admit - it is 'possible' that I may not really understand what is going on here.  
It is 'possible' - that this really IS "how real estate is done every day" as the agent keeps telling  me.  
It is even 'possible' that the agent and her agency really are working as hard as they can to assist me in selling my property.
Sure - it's All 'possible'.

It is also not only Possible but Extremely Likely that I am being played for a fool.


Thank you for enclosing the contact information for the State Real Estate Commission.  That was very kind of you.
Is there a proper tact to use when I contact them ?  
That is - Do I just 'dump this in their lap'; or should I be asking them to look into specific areas of concern ?  
Which of my concerns will carry the most weight with this office, and get them to move quickly ?

Thank you again for all the help you have been.
Sincerely

Answer
I can assure you, Robin, that you are not familiar with "the process." After all, this is your very first sale of real estate (that is very obvious). And granted that the agent, I feel, has indeed been taking advantage of you and your naivety in this matter. However, it does seem you are quite verbose. I can see why the agent and her boss hesitate to communicate with you.

What it boils down to, Robin, is that you may not have a valid listing agreement with a REAL ESTATE office. If that be the case, I strongly suggest you talk it over with a commissioner with whom you will talk from the address and phone numbers and emails I gave you.

Based on your information, my estimate (without seeing the property) of value of your condo cannot be more than $68,000 when in consideration of the real estate market. And yes, you will have to sell the condo on a short-sale. In case you do not know what that is, it is when the lender is willing to accept a lesser figure than what is due on your mortgage. That applies in this case. My guess is that it will take at least $18,000 to fix up your condo.

Finally, this must be the very last response I can offer in this matter. I do wish you well.

Dick Dennis