Expert: Dick Dennis - 12/11/2011

Question
I live in Ohio and am guardian for my 91 year old mother with Alzheimer's. I put her home up for sale with a real estate agent a few months ago.  I know nothing about selling a home and I feel I was taken advantage of. I just signed the agreement two days ago for a price I thought was a good one. However, the real estate agent took 10 percent for her fee and the buyer pays nothing. On top of that, I have to pay an EPA insurance policy for the buyer for a year. When I started all this I depended on the attorney who recommended this woman to do write for mom. He hadn't even read what I signed. Mom is ending up with thousands less I thought she would and I'm very unhappy.

I know if I refuse to sign anymore papers I could end up in court but I'm disabled and have pretty much nothing. Mom needs the money for her care and the house isn't giving me that much as it is being sold as is so this difference in money is important to her. What will happen if I refuse to do anything further in the sale of the house? Can they take any money off mom? I'm not trying to be rude to anyone, but the seller is a rich man who wants to rent it out and trying to take every penny he can off me and I feel the people who should be looking out for mom's interests have failed me.

Please tell me what I can do. Thank You

Answer
You probably meant that the BUYER is a rich man who wants to rent it out . . ., right Marilyn?

Okay, now that I got that out of the way, you signed a listing with the real estate agent "a few months ago." Right? If you will read (you should have read this before you signed it) the listing, it probably indicates that the sales commission to the agent for selling the property is 10%. If that be the case, you do not have much of a leg to stand on. If it says anything else, you could argue that the sales commission should be what it said on the listing agreement. And in that case, it seems to me that the real estate agent was trying to take advantage of your lack of knowledge of the ways of real estate.

The buyer, according to custom, does not pay a sales commission per se. Actually the commission is buried in the sales price and the buyer actually pays the commission that way. This should have been explained to you. Since you knew you were not familiar with the ways of real estate selling, you should have used a good local REAL ESTATE attorney to protect your interests. Apparently, the real estate agent certainly did not explain everything to you. It's not too late to engage a real estate attorney to protect your interests. It wouldn't be a bad idea to advise the attorney who helped your mother and the real estate agent that you are not happy with how the transaction is progressing and that you are going to hire an attorney to make sure your interests are being protected.

To make sure everything is going according to Hoyle in the first place, you should make sure that you have the authority to sign any and all documents for the sale of your mother's property. The county recorder would have that information. If the attorney for your mother had you sign some documents that shifted authority over to you, especially if he did not explain everything to you, then for sure you should engage your own attorney. The trouble with all this is that you did say that you were well satisfied with the sales price.

If you do not sign and execute any and all documents necessary to close the transaction, you indeed could be forced to do so by a judge. Another reason why you may need to get your own attorney in this matter. I do wish you well.

Dick Dennis
dixiedee13@aol.com