What we experience can often be considered a cruel teacher, but a teacher nonetheless.
I had a listing that was under contract and and failed to close per the contract as scheduled due to buyer/lender issues. I knew the buyer agent was out looking for her next victim...I mean client, so this transaction had been placed on the back burner. Apparently this agent (newbie) believed her obligation ended when the contract was executed and everything else would happen while on autopilot. It did not.
About a week later than originally scheduled, the buyers (who were local) did finally close their side of the deal but I was not given advance notice. And there was no reaon for me to attend the buyer side closing as my clients were in other states and had already signed their closing docs via a mail-out.
At 4:30pm about week later, it finally closed/funded and the buyer agent calls me wanting to know where the keys to the property are so her clients can get inside "their" house. Yes, she was mad at me from my previous questioning of her involvement in this transaction. Anyway, I told her the keys were left inside the house with the exception of the one key in the electronic lockbox which she had access to. Then she says, "My clients need to get inside so YOU need to meet them there and let them in." I told her that since I wasn't even told the closing would take place this day, and because I had other commitments, she could make the 1.25 hour drive in rush hour traffic to let them in or I would provide them the key early the next morning as I could not drop my other business to take care of hers. Needless to, things went from bad to worse in our conversation and I eventually ended it without her approval. She called back several times apparently in an attempt to continue this argument...I declined to answer.
This is when things went from bad to worse. She refused to fight rush hour traffic to service HER clients, so she apparently told them to have a locksmith remove the door knob, and put a new lock on. This is fine, but based on hearsay, she also told them to take my lockbox and place it inside the house. The next morning I arrived to find my lockbox missing so I contacted the buyer by phone. He wouldn't talk to me, but his girlfriend did. She began screaming at me that this was "THEIR" house (she was not even on the contract) and refused to give me my lockbox. As I had already seen my lockbox sitting inside (I peeked through the back window), I decided to file a theft report with the police department. I did so immediately and the officer who took my report also tried talking to the buyer, but got his girlfriend instead. She then started yelling at him. BIG MISTAKE! He went back to the house with me, looked inside and saw the lockbox. He forwarded his report to a veteran Detective, who also called and spoke with the girlfriend. Yep, she started screaming at him and then hung up on him. EVEN BIGGER MISTAKE. The Detective called me to see if these folks were just stupid or mentally challenged.
Well, within a couple of months, a warrant was issued the the buyer was arrested for a Class B theft. He was not happy. Perhaps he won't allow his girlfriend to do his talking in the future. He was taken to the County Jail and booked for theft. Within a couple of days of that I got a call from my broker at the time who had received a call from the buyer's attorney. They were threatening to sue, file a complaint with our real estate commission, call the President of the United States...you name it. I explained the situation and told him this was a police matter and that is who the attorney should contact.
The end result is that the Buyer spent a night or two in jail and he eventually had to pay me restitution for the lockbox (which was never subsequently found) and how has this arrest permanently on his record. All because he may have been given bad advice by a new agent.
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Guy - I have definitely had my fair share of terrible people to deal with, but this one takes the cake. I was curious to know what part of town they purchased in.