Kathy - I am sorry to hear about your story. I have been in the real estate business for 30 years and my most important asset is the reputation for honesty and integrity I have established over this time. I agree with the other respondents - about contacting the agent's broker. If you even have an email confirming the conversation about the "rebate"; that would go a long way to helping you recover what is due you. The agent you were involved with is very short-sighted. Over the next few years, you may have well referred several friends and associates to this agent. But now, when you hear this name or someone asks about this agent; you can only tell the truth which will probably eliminate this agent from further consideration.

Tue Apr 15 2008, 22:46

Hi Kathy,

In online world, reputation is everything. You should consider posting a negative review on both the realtor and the realty house inhttp:// www.yelp.com or similar services.

Also please inform us who is the realtor so we may avoid her. With this in mind, you could also purchase a domain name such ashttp:// www.'realtor's name'.com and include your experience. This way whenever some performs a search on this person, this domain is sure to come up.

Zeke

Sat Apr 12 2008, 14:28

get it in writing
learning is painful
you learned some stuff

anyways

good luck

Mon Mar 31 2008, 10:22

Try using Honey to get the Bee to come back!

More than likely, the agent has only been in the business for a short time and probably is flat broke. Thankfully alot of agents like that have not lasted as long, but soon many of those pretenders will be completely out of real estate sales. However, to error is human and to forgive is to be devine.

what i would do, is call the agent, and be very calm and relaxed and sympathetic. No one likes being in that situation ever and where the problem really lies is the breakdown in communication not the money. Becasue if the agent would have explained the situation they were in and worked out a plan to get you the money or at least a plan then more than likely you would have gotten something rather than northing.

Attempt to re-establish some common ground and demand a payment as a sign of good faith.. if you do get a payment you know have evidence of a referral to be paid to you... if they flake again,.. you can always to write a complaint to their local board of realtors..

If the $10K more you spent made it unaffordable...then you probably spent $50K over your comfort zone...

More than likely if you approah this agent and not attack him, they will cough it up.

Sun Mar 30 2008, 18:08

In addition to my answer before, I'd like to comment on an article I read recently regarding Realtor Rebates. The IRS is beginning to scrutinize these transactions. These arrangements have popped up in recent years and there were no clear rules. Because the rebates usually get passed around in the escrow procedure, nobody is paying taxes on it. When the listing agent pays the Buyers Agent a commission, then the Buyer's agent gives it to her Buyer. It is unclear whether the Buyers Agent or the Buyer may be subject to paying income taxes on the money. There are many other ways to give my clients a good deal without subjecting them (or myself) to scrutiny from the IRS. "Don't mess with the IRS".

Sun Mar 30 2008, 13:25

Any consumer can check the CA Dept of Real Estate at http://www2.dre.ca.gov/PublicASP/pplinfo.asp to verify license info on real estate agents. This will also tell consumers who the agent's broker is. I also recommend double-checking your closing statement (HUD-1) that you received from the escrow/title company. It should say "FINAL" and "SETTLEMENT STATEMENT". This shows both sides (buyer and seller) exactly where all the money went.

Sun Mar 30 2008, 12:35

Please tell us who the Agent is and broker so we consumers can avoid them.

Thanks,
Nael

Tue Mar 25 2008, 23:51

Kathy,

Putting things in writing is the only guarantee, and even then it isn't a guarantee. If it were me, I would contact her broker first. See if he/she has any sympathy for the situation. If you do not find satisfaction there, every Realtor is the member of some governing Realtor Association.

Explain your situation to them and they will advise you from there.

AND, just to make sure that you are correct about the commission not being reduced, consult your closing paperwork (the HUD) and confirm the commission that she received.

Tue Mar 25 2008, 17:58

Kathy Lee, if you encountered fraud, you need to contact your Dept. of State to report it- I'm sure they'll direct you to the right person. The Realtor "code of ethics" is only as good (or bad) as the participants. A slap on the wrist from a local or state real estate association isn't the answer for fraud (which this appears to be). Good luck.

Tue Mar 25 2008, 16:31

Kathy,

Sorry to hear about this. I was in more or less similar situation few years back. My realtor was reluctant to sign any paper for the money back. I made sure that she signed all legal paper work including stating that this money back will be as part of the escrow closing, before all contigencies were removed.

It is best way to take money back in escrow - comes as a realtor credit. It has less implications and little to no chance of cheating to buyer/seller.

Is she/he independent agent or working for a firm? You may contact firm and she will be forced to respond.

Tue Mar 25 2008, 15:35

In California Commission Rebates are not illegal. It is legal to pay a referral fee to someone who introduced the client to the agent (provided no other services are performed), and the agent can share their commission with the client (I have reviewed this information on RESPA). What can not be done is that the buyer receive funds from the Seller without disclosing that on the HUD statement. However the Lender/Broker can not give rebates.

Yes, everything in real estate should be in writting to be enforceable. But with that said, the Broker has a duty to oversee his agents and this needs to brought to the Broker's attention. The Broker is the one who actually receives the commission and it is then disbursed to the Agent.

Sat Mar 22 2008, 17:25

Hello Kathy,

I don't have good news for you...
Rebates are not in-and-of themselves illegal but if it was not approved by the lender's underwriter at the time your loan was approved and then listed on the HUD-I Settlement Statement, any money passed back to the buyer at or after closing is loan fraud. It is fraud because all of the condition of the transaction must be approved as fitting within the boundaries of the loan program and all monies trading hands must be on the HUD.

Tue Mar 18 2008, 20:12

So sorry Kathy.......usually when an agent will credit a buyer some commission, it must be written on the Purchase contract and all parties must agree - Seller, Listing Agent, Buyer, Buyers Agent and Lender. You agents broker must also agree and it must be in writing. Since it's against respa to give commission (cash) to a non licensed person, I don't think you can ever get that money from the agent. Any rebate has to be in the form of a credit towards closing costs or something like that during escrow. Good luck.

Tue Mar 18 2008, 20:01

Kathy....

Your situation does not feel lika a pleasant one. Please call the broker and discuss the situation to get a resolve. You may also consider a mediation if that does't work.

Tue Mar 18 2008, 18:47

Kathy, I am so sorry for your troubles! I would give the agent the opportunity to explain and I would notify her that I plan to speak to her broker, contact the realtor association in the area and contact the Department of Real Estate. But, do allow her to explain why she is not keeping her word.

We are held to a code of ethics and most of us take it very seriously!

Tue Mar 18 2008, 18:38

Reputation is very important in any business. If someone is dishonest, you should give them an opportunity to fix the problem, otherwise let everyone know your awful experience so that it may not happen to another person.

Contacting the broker, real estate board are all good options. You may want to add a negative review to some agent review sites out there too. All in all, without a contract, it'll be tough, but reputation is everything, especially in our business.

There's also a consumer mediation complaint department at Santa Clara County affiliated with the District Attorney. They help protect consumer's rights and give you options. That might be a good direction to go too.

Ping me and I can give you their contact information.

Tue Mar 18 2008, 18:29

Kathy Lee, I am so sorry to hear of your troubles! I am with Deborah on this. Honoring your word is very important. Erk! This frustrates me when agents do stuff like this because it makes all of the good agents look bad too.

Anyway. I may be wrong here, but I didn't think that a buyers agent could give money back. However, I am not an attorney, but you might want to check with a real estate attorney. Although you could be headed up an uphill battle since you have nothing in writing other than the e-mail that says your agent only took 1%. I always think it is better to have too much in writing than not enough.

Talking to your agents broker would surely be the first step I would take. After that you might even file a complaint with the local real estate board and maybe even the state. Then they will have to look into it. However, I am not sure how far you will get with nothing in writing. I am so sorry.

I hope this information helps! Best Wishes!

Tue Mar 18 2008, 18:22