Dixie,

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles, but unfortunately, it sounds like your "agent" did just enough to avoid an official reprimand. The 01/01/07 printing of the Purchase and Sales Agreement does state (Paragraph 9C Termites) that "Buyer shall be totally responsible for inspecting for any wood destroying organisms and obtaining any Official Georgia Wood Infestation Report that may be of interest to Buyer or required by Buyer's mortgage lender (s)."

That being said, your "agent" still gave a very poor representation to you, and to real estate professionals as a whole. I believe he/she should have pointed out and reminded you of your responsibilities, but in the end, it is vitally important that every client read all contracts in their entirety. I always advise my clients of their obligations, and the risks they face if they fail to meet them. I'm sorry this "agent" did not do the same for you.

As to the other various remarks, I would definitely bring them to the attention of the company's Broker. If they have a bad seed in their midst, as it seems they do, I'm sure they'll want to know before they are contacted officially by the Georgia Real Estate Commission.

I wish you good luck in the future, and ask that you do not hold this incident against the rest of us, who do care about doing the best for our clients!

Mon Jun 30 2008, 11:44

I think this is a pretty simple question. Basically, it sounds like the agent did all that was required of them legally (assuming they didn't get a brokerage agreement with you) but failed to do the real job of a professional agent. In my mind a good agent doesn't find the home rather they negotiate the best deal and make sure there are minimal issues.

You can file a complaint with the re commission and I agree with the other answers ... To contact the broker.

Sun Jun 8 2008, 08:02

Hello Dixie:

It is unfortunate that you had such a terrible experience with your Realtor. Obviously customer service was not important to him or her. The legal responsibilities of the Agent are spelled out in your Buyer Brokerage Agreement. If you recently purchased the home, I believe the Termite Letter should be good for 90 days from the date of inspection. If you are in that 90 day window, you can call the termite company and have them revisit the property. Regarding your Agent experience, my recommendation would be to contact the Agent's Broker first, and if a satisfactory response is not received, you could then go to the Georgia Association of Realtors website for more information. Here is the website: http://www.garealtor.com.

Good Luck with your resolution! Make it a great day!

Sun Jun 8 2008, 05:31

Dixie,

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I would contact the agent's broker immediately to report your experience. I know my broker would not tolerate such actions. There are limitations to a realtors duties. Such as reccomending contractors. I can reccomend people to you such as lenders, contractors, attorneys, etc. but It's important that a realtor not just give you one reccomendation. If you needed a contractor for work I would give you 3-5 choices and let you decide who's best for the job. There are some fine lines when it comes to these things.

In response to the termite letter it used to be the responsibility of the seller to provide this letter. It's now the buyer's responsibility due to a lack of trust with the report provided by the seller. Would you trust a home inspection report provided by the seller or depend on a inspector that you hired and represents you?? You get my point and obviously realize now why this is important.

You do have the right to choose the closing attorney. My wife is a real estate attorney here in Georgia and other than a buisness relationship between realtors & lenders the Attorney does not make much difference to the buyer/seller because they only represent the lender in the transaction. One of the first things the attorney should have disclosed to everyone at the closing table is who they represent. I usually fight to close all my transactions with my wife so if there are any problems I know she will get the job done and get any issues resolved in a timely manner and not delay the closing. However, I won't lose a deal over choosing the closing attorney. One of my clients put an offer on a home and the agent counter offered with no changes to the contract but the closing attorney. In the meantime my clients found a home they liked better and we did not sign the counter and they bought the other house instead. That was one ticked off agent, but she left the door open over something petty.

I don't agree with how your realtor handled the situation. It sounds like they just didn't care much about customer service and repeat buisness to me and that's how you make a living in this buisness. I'm not sure based on what you told me if they broke any laws or anything, but it sure doesn't sound like good service. The termite issue is a tricky one if your agent didn't explain that it was your responsibility to have an inspection and what risks you were taking depending on the seller provided report. Your best bet is to write a letter to the real estate commission regarding their performance.

Let me know how everything turns out. If you need any assistance or want to get in touch with my wifes firm for representation let me know.

Thu Jan 17 2008, 15:31

you may also want to consult a Real Estate lawyer

Thu Jan 17 2008, 14:18

Hi Dixie. I'm sorry that you had such an experience. I would suggest that you contact the agent's Broker and discuss what happened in the transaction.

Thu Jan 17 2008, 14:09

HERE I A LINK TO GEORGIA REAL ESTATE LAW...
http://www.greab.state.ga.us/about/relaw.html
GOOD LUCK

Thu Jan 17 2008, 14:07