Expert: Karyn Foley - 7/2/2006

Question
My wife and I have been dealing with a real estate agent who's performance, in our opinion, is lacking. We have supplied this agent with most of the ideas that she should have used from the beginning, such as a box with flyers in the yard, and there have been many improvements in the home since my wife and her late husband have done in the past few years which none of the realtors that have shown the home have mentioned, and some have not even been aware of the fact that things like the hot tub are included in the home sale because our realtor has neglected to inform them. It just seems as things are not being done very well. We just had visitors drop in because they told us they had been unable to even contact our agent after several calls to the office.
We have signed a contract, but due to the poor performance we have seen, we wanted to know if there is any way to get out of the contract or if there is any other recourse we can take, other than letting the agent know of our concerns.

Answer
Dear Christopher:  I am sorry you got stuck with an agent who is not performing in a suitable manner.  Please write out a detailed list of all of your issues, and call up your agent's office manager, or the owner of the company.  Set up an appointment to meet in person, and have a candid discussion.  The company probably wishes to maintain a good reputation in your neighborhood, and should suggest bringing another agent in on the contract to be  a partner with your existing agent.  If there is no cooperation with reference to this suggestion, I would tell them that you intend to file a complaint with their local real estate board and hire a real estate attorney. The office may also allow you an unconditional cancellation - if you are lucky. What you might have to pay a lawyer to get you unilaterally and unconditionally out of the contract will be made up by another agent who can better professionally represent you. Try all of the above, please let me know how you progress, and if I can answer any other questions.  Good luck! Karyn Foley