Question...?

Question

Can a realtor buy a house out from under you? Even after getting the financing,loan approved,closing date on signed
contract (which was never honored) and waiting 30 days,presumably for nothing?
N.

And this realtor guy keeps ignoring us,why? Aren't realtors supposed to keep in touch with their clients? My hubby gave him 100 dollars for an inspection (we did NOT do that for this crook realtor)so my hubby got mad & told them to go to hell. The seller is the realtor's cousin and she claims he won't answer her either. So she & my hubby are going to the office tomorrow to talk to the guy.
At this point,should we tell them to go to hell or keep on?
Thank you.
N.

Answer 1

I don't see how any lender or financial institution would approve a mortgage loan if you didn't have a written legal sales contract? It sounds like you somehow picked or ran into a real estate agent who does not practice with the highest ethics and together the agent and the Seller are going to take advantage of your lack of knowledge and experience in buying and owning a home.

Perhaps you just have a letter saying from your bank saying you are qualified to purchase a house up to $xx,xxx dollars and basically what you all signed was an offer to the Seller that typically has what is referred to as normal boilerplate clauses.

Also I might add that the Purchaser does not ever give the Real Estate agent $100 for a home inspection. Rather the Purchaser might give like a $100 or more check that would serve as a deposit and normally put into an escrow.

The Seller has a right to request a HOME INSPECTION where the Purchaser normally calls qualified home inspectors and is present where the home inspection is made. The inspector will hand over a detailed list of what he inspected that most likely will identify problems where they discovered something wrong in turn for the $xx inspection payment directly from the Purchaser. Then the Purchaser and his agent notify the Seller to correct or settle the discrepancies, otherwise the Purchaser can legally walk out bec the Seller did not uphold his end of the deal.

From everything you described, I might advise you to seriously think twice whether you really truly want to buy this house bec say it went through but you discovered many hidden problems down the road bec the Real Estate agent and Seller took advantage of your lack of experience. Now you're stuck with a lemon and need to spend more money to hire a good attorney to put you back to where you are now. Seriously you will never be happy or enjoy that particular home and you might even have difficulty selling it so probably you should just forget the deal and look at other potential homes. Regarding the $100 hopefully you didn't give cash and wrote a check where you might want to call your bank and simply pay the $15 to $25 fee for STOP PAYMENT. You could also ask for it back nicely but why go through any additionally harassment when there are GOOD REAL ESTATE AGENTS and so many nice homes out there for you to pick and enjoy? God Bless!

Answer 2

Wow..that's a tough one without more info. If there was a attorney review period in the contract (usually a week) and you are pass that date, and you have satisfied your mortgage contingency or any other contingencies and contingency dates in the contract, than there should be no way she can buy it. You might have the right to take them to court and "sue for performance"

Vicki Watzlawick
Broker Owner
Exit Platinum Realty
Illinois Real Estate
www.vickisdreamhomes.com

Answer 3

Once you have a contract to buy the house from a specific seller, that is what you stand on and no one can buy the house out from under you unless your contract is out of date and you did not close on it, then you are out of contract.

Answer 4

Since I don't know everything, it's hard to say but this guy sounds shaky. If this guy is a member of the real estate board, he will have a code of ethics he MUST work by. Contact them and they should be able to give you some pointers.