I'm so sorry. Keep us updated...everyone is going to ask...was the buyer agency signed?

That's a shame Maureen, if the Lender was one of the ones you gave those clients a number to call....I would never recommend them again.  Holy Conflict of Interest Batman!

what amazes me is, The buyer agency question. I have seen so many agents have this problem and nothing gets done, you bring them up to the board  on Ethic Charges and same thing. NOTHING gets done.

don't sit on this one, you can go straight to the Insurance and banking commission on this one. I am sorry this happened to you. Good Luck and keep us all informed

Maureen, if the laws in MA are the same as here, you should have a pretty good procuring cause case.  If you have a strong broker, he (or she) should withhold the selling commission from closing, and then appeal the selling commission with the REC.  The other (agent) wasn't the procuring cause of the sale, and so isn't entitled.  

A lot of brokers would let it go instead of fighting, though.  Check with your state's real estate commission as to exactly how to proceed, though.  You don't want to lose on procedural grounds.   

Lane- QUOTE> A lot of brokers would let it go instead of fighting, though.  Check with your state's real estate commission as to exactly how to proceed, though.  You don't want to lose on procedural grounds.

I am NOT going to let this go- I am going to go after it and do what has to be done.

NO- an agency agreement had not been signed. We were suppose to meet and fill out the documents. We spoke on the phone after open house and they wanted to move forward. i didn't think i was going to have to go out at 10:30 on a Sunday night and sign that with them in case the lender wanted to snag the buyer away.

Maureen please do not sit quietly and do nothing, I had a lender try this with me once he tried to be sneaky about it because at the time I was a new agent so I truly know how you feel, report him or her and let your broker know what is going on.  Don't forget to always have your buyer's sign a buyer broker contract that would have helped you big time and work find a few lenders that you can trust.

You will get through this, have a wonderful day!

Keep us informed.

Maureen, I have experience with this stuff as an escrow person, and asking the escrow to hold the commission is certainly another sticky situation for everyone. Be careful and good luck.

1. Think Procuring Cause.

2. File a Standards and Ethics complaint.

3. If VA/FHA, this might be a violation of law.

So sorry to hear about this Maureen, yikes! When I left the Realtor world I turned my license inactive for this very reason! Did not want a conflict of interest. Does the guy do FHA loans? You might want to look into that avenue because a licensed realtor cannot do FHA financing. This whole scenario is another example of why having 1 or 2 lenders that you trust 100% is so vital! Giving out more then 1 or 2 lender cards to clients just brings pain. Good luck!

I  already informed my team leader and he is meeting with our broker as we speak. She is hard core and she is one tough cookie!! We will not let this go away- we will do what we have to do. The first thing I did was called my team leader so we could do what we needed to do.

If I knew at the open house they were going to make an offer, I would have had them sign the agency agreement then. It wasn't until Sunday evening they decided to do so.  I will not go quietly into this good night......

Thank you Jeff- I will find out if he does FHA loans.

Maureen,

The same thing happened to me. I took a client to a lender and she referred her to her husband who had a house he needed to get rid of. Needless to say I was left out. Abuse me once shame on you. abuse me twice shame on me. I have not sent any more clients to this lender for financing.

I hate that this happened to you. I would report it to the appropriate officials, including the licensing board for mortgage professionals in your state, as well as the local board for real estate agents. This is definitely an ethics issue.

Maureen first and foremost what a damn cute meez.  LOL

Secondly I hate that this happened to you and I hope that you guys get this nasty lender.

Lenders are a necessary evil of our business.  But that is just going to far.  Procuring cause and buyer agency agreement should set this matter straight for you.  That is a conflict of interest.  Thats got to be a violation some where. Check out hte state's banking commission or the RESPA Laws

You are the procuring cause and that agent should have his licensed revoked. Bad ethics, really bad...I hope you get something out of this.

Maureen, my assumption was that you were the listing agent for the property, so I didn't ask about a buyer's agency agreement. 

If you aren't the listing agent, it might be a little tougher, and you might have to get the listing agent's broker involved.  I wouldn't bother with ethics charges in front of the Board of Realtors(R)... I'd go straight to the state licensing authority.   

Sorry that popped up three times.  I deleted the two extras... 

You might want to start a communication log from  the very first meeting at the open house and continue logging until this gets resolved.

Write down what was done and said by each party,  this may help establish your argument. This guy has a big conflict of interest.

Ralph

I have just discovered that not only does the lender OWN /Broker the real estate office- he also OWNsBroker the lending office too AND most of the other lenders are REALTORS in his office ALSO and the ARE doing FHA!!

Maureen,  I can't feel sorry for you and I don't know why you are mad at the lender.  You gave the buyers his name.  You referred him.  It is a little to late to do your homework now.  You should have had a lender you trust ready to refer when you met these people at the open house.  While I am being harsh here I think you need to own up to your mistake and not make it again.  Find a lender (or 3) to work with exclusively. I guarantee if you are sending leads to a person you are not going to lose another deal. 

Maureen, what are the laws in your state regarding lenders and agents licensing.  In LA, a person cannot act as both lender and agent.  We can hold both licenses,but cannot use them to double dip a client.

Maureen post his name to a blog and toast him on the web, then send him the link.  I would also contact the state.  Did you contact the sellers broker, I have had a seller who actually refused to take a higher offer because he said he was a man of his word.  maybe these sellers will refuse the deal, unless they come through you, hey you never know. 

What a sleeze, I can't believe people are willing to stoop so low, hope you can resolve this to your satisfaction.

Maureen, go get em, woman!

I love that little cockroach crawling thru your blog. 

You didn't say, but I hope this wasn't a lender you referred them to!  I'm betting it wasn't.

Probably got one of his other agent/lenders to jump in as whichever he wasn't playing. 

DON'T toast them on the web, yet!  Wait until it's over and done.  They and the commission and boards can read this site.  You don't need or want that mess tripping you up during the process.

BUT, please be sure to come back and tell us what happened after it's over.

I am curious as to the outcome of this.  What state are you in.  It would depend on the laws there and it looks like someone already pointed out the FHA/VA restriction.  Hope it works out and doesn't turn into MORE work in the longrun.

The lender is NOT a nice person, in fact, very much so the opposite.  I feel sorry for people that have to do business in that manner.  It will come back to bite them.

Unbelievable.  If the lenders are licensed in your state, he should lose his!  Certainly his real estate license is on the line here.  If not, there's a problem with the system, for sure.  I believe lenders cannot be licensed agents in my state.  Now I see why.

Did you have them sign a transaction agency agreement?

Jimmy- Apparently you are one of those lenders who would do something underhanded if you are going to blame the victim here.  I am sure by your response- you are guilty of the same act. (( Dismissed))

I will be hearing from my team leader this morning and then I will have the sense of direction we will go on this matter.

Maureen, I had this exact thing happen to me a few months into the business when I was with ERA...The first question my broker said was, where is your agreement, did you have them sign an offer, buyers agency papers, anything??? no...well then this  is a good lesson to learn, write the offer and have them sign it, you don't have to have all the disclosures ect, you don't need the whole packet....but get the offer on paper, signed and hand deliver them to a trusted lender with the signed contract in hand.....

That was nearly 2 years ago Maureen, I have a contract ready to go in my car for every property I have listed, and several blank packets for situations I might run across. Get them on paper, its your job to do this...I wish you well, and hope you learn this without losing too much money on this deal

God Bless, and Happy New Year

Maureen, Jimmy is nuts.  I am a lender and I agree with you.  The lender should not have stolen your client.  It is completely unethical and and something needs to be done.

Maureen, Jimmy is not nuts..our best defense in these times is a great offense...When you have a precious commodity, like a ready, willing and able buyer, then STOP and close the deal. i don't know the situation totally, but as I said earlier, its your JOB to get the deal signed. We know there are scumbags, liars and thieves everywhere. What the guy did was heartless. But he got the deal signed, and for right now, possession is 9/10s of the law. If I was your team leader, I would spend time preparing you for tying up deals with signatures to protect your rights. To me, this is the issue..Learn how to be firm, professional, and not real pushy, but learn to make the move to make the offer to sign now. You say they wanted to make and offer on the house,,,,,then  close the doors, and write it up..... Down here in Fla, a bunch of us go fishing for game fish....when we have one on the line, the next strp is set the hook, then reel....when hunting for deer, then you get them in your sights, then pull the trigger...This is our job.. Happy Hunting Maureen

PS..Don't be mad....just learn to protect yourself.. 

Mike- I am not mad, however the client tells me at 10;30pm that they want to make an offer. Do I leave and go to their house at 10:30 at night to do all the paperwork? I figured it was a safe bet to meet with them at 10am that next morning.

moral of the story is work with just one good lender, and you will be alright,   too many chefs spoil the broth!

I agree Steve-it has been a lesson learned. Besides I do beielve in the 10 fold rule- what he has done willl come back on him~

Maureen, I have one word to say, document, document, document everything. Write everything down in a log from the time you received the call from them to the call when you spoke to the buyer and he told you they were "all set". This is a war you can and should win. You go girl we are on your side.

Thank you Judy- the client registered at the open house which also is documentation and I have started a note-to-file.

Yikes.  I'm sorry to hear about this.  Stay after it!

What a crappy deal!  I don't like to refer any buyers to lenders who are married to realtors.... you never know.

Hey, I'm confused...at the middle of your post you refer to the lender as "she", then at the bottom it's "he", did it get handed over to someone else? And where did this lender come from anyway?

Obviously you never worked with this lender. Unbelievable!!  I work with two lenders and one of them - her dad is a very popular realtor and she used to be one. Not once has she even shared my ideas with him. She is so loyal so I'm lucky. Personally, I wouldn't let it go either. This one is worth fighting for.

Sorry- Beth, yes during their mortgage inquiry, the she was the starting lender and the he came into play also. They are both realtors and lenders.

LaNita- I am not going to let this go......

There is a lot of good advice on here.

I would summarize with the following:

1) Did the lender coerse your prospect into using them (I know your personal information-- If you don't use me -- something might slip)?

2) The person who brought up the FHA issue-- if they are right-- I take my hat off to them!  If it is in fact a violation of lending FHA to be an agent as well (and represent both sides)-- Then you have the loan officer by their groin

 3) You should have a good procuring cause issue-- if you can document (produce a visitor log?)

 4)  I have 2 or 3 lending partners who I partner with.  I only recommend one at a time -- to avoid them competing with each other.  They are loyal to my customers-- and I trust their ability.   I do not deal with brokers anymore-- because the market in its current condition does not trust them (Some are GREAT--But they are SO hard to find)

 No one needs to tell you that you can't trust this guy-- it has already been proven.  However, I would suggest that you interview 2 or 3 people -- and work with them-- until they make a mistake that you can't forgive (i.e. tank a deal due to their stupidity)

For those people who are saying that "It served her right" -- Shame on you.  I'm a fairly experienced agent--- and I can see this happening to me!  No one ever asks their loan officers "Well Mr. Loan Officer-- Tell me, do you have a real estate license?  What about your debt to income ratio?  What about your family life, how is that?" Some things we assume positive-- otherwise we would be quite paranoid.

-Jason

That is so wrong.  I would not let that go either. Keep us informed

They are totally unethical.  Do the Right Thing ... in this case it's get your paperwork in line, take it to the board and the state and the local association.  Take the high road, but be solid and firm. 

List and Sell (at least we operate under the WI4C2TS)   Gary @ RentonHomeFinder

Don't let it go.  They continue to do this sort of thing because it is time consuming and a hassle for us to fight it, but you must for  you and for all of the rest of us.  We all need to act as we would like to be treated.  Gee whiz...greed, manipulative behavior.  The buyer will wonder when something goes a little awray if they made the right choice.  Small consulation for you though.  Sorry these are the people who give us all a bad name.

I have had a couple of buyers inform me that the lender said their pre-approval is only good if they use their real estate agent instead of me. 

Hi, Maureen!  Sorry this happened to you and sadly it happens too often.  You received some good info and advice and I'm glad to hear that you're not letting go.

Just for the record, a signed buyers' agreement does not automatically trump procuring cause.  Get your documents together and report him/her and if need be get a lawyer.  Good luck!

Jason- Thank you for your support and words of wisdom. I do have a log in sheet and the buyers did in fact sign in and provide their home and phone number along with their name.

We are going forward to do what we have to do (team leader, broker and myself) and I have checked into he FHA issue and have made the proper reports.

Terrylynn- I will not go gently into this good night. I am sure this is not the first time it has happened and I promise you it will be the last time!!

Randy- Report it!! Do not let that go and make sure to do what you have to do!

Yolanda- Thank you for your support. I will make sure to do what I have to do and get this resolved!

Frankly, lenders shouldn't be doing real estate and realtors shouldn't be doing lending. Reason number 422 why we have forclosures. This would eliminate that from happening to you at least from the realtor/lender types.

What happened to you is lousy.  Good luck to you this year.

If there are 421 other reasons, then I'm not as worried about lenders doing real estate!

It is a conflict of interest and they should not be doing lending and selling at the same time! I myself wrote loans before I was a Realtor and I walked away from it because it is a conflict of interest.

Way to evil, what a double dipping, stealing jerk!

Thank you all your feedback and support- so much more has transpired since this entry which I have written another posting for it.

I just didn't know how bad this guy really was until this posting. here is the link for the  Updated posting of this situation.

I just read the updated post, which had the link in it to read this previous post. I am posting a comment here because I want to stay updated of this situation!

I hope he gets what he deserves! 

I just saw your post - a little late. Unfortunately, it was while searching for information on similar ethics violations. What a shame this happened and keep us posted on any disciplinary action!