Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Maryland Court strikes a blow AGAINST home buyer's rights
I just heard the final decision of a court case in Maryland about a buyer who was actively mislead by his real estate agent/brokerage.
The short version is he hired a company to represent him as a buyer's broker. Then after the agreement expired they got him to sign a purchase agreement on one of their listings. (He thought they were his agent based on the original contract and their actions.)
Somehow it seems that the real estate company was more interested in the commission dollars. Who would have thought?
So here is the rub... the buyer, thinking the agent was working on his side, signed a purchase contract that was not contingent on the sale of his old home. (Really dangerous since he couldn't afford both mortgage payments.)
Then the buyer finds out the real estate agent is NOT his buyer agent, but working for the seller's best interest.
The buyer realized he was getting scammed and wants to pull the plug on the whole transaction.
So the court decides that even though the real estate agents violated the law and the buyer thought they were still represented, that the buyer must still be bound by the contract. (And loose his earnest money deposit.)
The real estate broker and their agents apparently got away with this without any penalty of any kind.
The poor buyer is out his original earnest money deposit plus tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees and court costs.
The short version is he hired a company to represent him as a buyer's broker. Then after the agreement expired they got him to sign a purchase agreement on one of their listings. (He thought they were his agent based on the original contract and their actions.)
Somehow it seems that the real estate company was more interested in the commission dollars. Who would have thought?
So here is the rub... the buyer, thinking the agent was working on his side, signed a purchase contract that was not contingent on the sale of his old home. (Really dangerous since he couldn't afford both mortgage payments.)
Then the buyer finds out the real estate agent is NOT his buyer agent, but working for the seller's best interest.
The buyer realized he was getting scammed and wants to pull the plug on the whole transaction.
So the court decides that even though the real estate agents violated the law and the buyer thought they were still represented, that the buyer must still be bound by the contract. (And loose his earnest money deposit.)
The real estate broker and their agents apparently got away with this without any penalty of any kind.
The poor buyer is out his original earnest money deposit plus tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees and court costs.
Labels: agency disclosure maryland
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