http://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/We_are_in_the_process_of_selling_our_house_and_buy-114967figured out we would net close to 60,000 to put on another home. Well, come to find out she made a mistake in calculating and we are actually only netting 52,000. She agreed to take a cut in commission of 1,000 but that still leaves us 7,000 short...Do I contact her company and have them pay the difference or is this something we just have to eat?en-ushttp://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Toledo_OH-126524/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Toledo_OH-126524/Great discussion. As a helpful hint to other agents ... and sellers ... my net sheet I give sellers is titled "Estimated Net Sheet". And it is just that ... an estimate. I also have a signature line at the bottom that asks the seller to sign off on the estimate. One thing you can also do is call a title company and ask them to do a preliminary HUD for you. They will figure in tax prorations and commissions and title costs and etc. Very helpful indeed. I am having one done tomorrow for my sellers who can't quite decide whether to accept and offer or not. I would rather be safe than sorry. This is a huge financial decision for most people and accuracy is so important - but I'm a realtor, not a mathematician, nor do I have a crystal ball for unforeseen expenses. Hence the word "estimated'.Sun, 31 May 2009 10:01:22 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/That and the fact she didn't get to me in a timely mannerMon, 04 May 2009 04:40:34 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-New_York_NY-82052/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-New_York_NY-82052/If you did not receive an answer in a timely manner from her, you have to go to her broker. That wasn't why you said you went to her broker, though. . . you said you went to the broker to see if there was anything else that she could do above that.Sun, 03 May 2009 17:27:33 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Toledo_OH-220757/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Toledo_OH-220757/It seems to me that this has potentially moved into an ethical and/or legal issue (I am not a lawyer, please consult an attorney on legal issues). If the agent is a REALTOR, she is bound by the Code of Ethics. Also, if this commission change was signed by the agent, there could be legal implications to rescinding the change. If I promised to change my commission for someone, I would stick to that promise, no matter what my feelings on the matter were. To me, losing $1,000 is a much better alternative to all of the negative word of mouth from a ticked off client, although it seems to me that the word of mouth isn't going to be good regardless...Sun, 03 May 2009 16:32:34 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/My point is she shouldn't be able to take her thousand back after she offered it to us...the only reason I went over her head was because she was not giving me any answers and I needed them as soon as possible....I didn't do it to be mean but when you are not getting answers in a timely manner what else do you do?Sun, 03 May 2009 08:36:07 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-New_York_NY-82052/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-New_York_NY-82052/As I see it, she did offer to rectify an honest mistake by offering you the thousand. When you went over her head to get more money after she'd offered to compromise with you, she took her thousand back. I would have done the same, and many agents would have simply apologized and moved on.Sun, 03 May 2009 07:55:18 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/She told me after she made the error she would take 1000.00 off her commission...I called her broker to see if anything else could be done above that and after I did that she said she would not take 1000.00 off her commission...of course, I make mistakes but when I make a mistake and offer to fix it, I don't then back off from fixing it...we haven't lied to her at all...but she said she would take a less commission so she should stick to that correct?Sun, 03 May 2009 07:40:46 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-New_York_NY-82052/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-New_York_NY-82052/I don't know, I don't have enough information. How do you know she rescinded her offer of a lower commission because she was mad that you went over her head. Perhaps she offered to take 1000 off her commission because she felt bad that she made an error, and when her broker found out he asked why she was giving you money because she'd made a mistake. Do you never make mistakes? I once made an honest error and offered to give a buyer some money, but when I found out the buyer had lied to me, I changed my mind. I was not obligated to rectify the error, it was an honest mistake, and your agent's was also.Sun, 03 May 2009 07:02:59 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/Here is another question for you all...when she realized she made a mistake she offered to take 1000.00 off of her commission and I have the paperwork where she crossed off her commission to reflect taking 1000.00 less. However, after I contacted her broker to find out what else could be done, she then said she could not take off the 1000.00.. Can she then rescind her offer of taking a lower commission based on being mad I went over her head?Sun, 03 May 2009 06:29:44 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-New_York_NY-82052/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-New_York_NY-82052/In both cases, I am simply saying that people are too quick to blame others especially when money is involved. I have my taxes done every year, they are complicated because I own a business in addition to being an independant contractor. I always review the taxes. If my accountant makes an error and I do not review and catch it I wouldn’t ask if his superior can make up the difference. It is up to the seller or buyer to check the math.Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:58:25 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/Thanks for backing me up guys...we are definitely just taking this as a lesson learned and moving forward with buying a house we really like...and JR we are not trying to swindle money from anyone...the agent admitted to making a big mistake that cost us our ability to negotiate a lower price on our new house, or at least ask for all of the closing costs paid. Totally different than from what you are describing but thanks for your advice...a good attitude about things goes a long way :)Tue, 28 Apr 2009 04:44:08 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Toledo_OH-220757/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Toledo_OH-220757/JR, I understand what you're saying, but in your example the agents/lawyers hadn't made any mistakes, their estimate was off. In this case, the agent admitted to making a mistake, which in my opinion is quite different. From what I can see, Courtney has approached the situation in a very civil manner.Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:30:22 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-New_York_NY-82052/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-New_York_NY-82052/I once had a seller accuse the two attorneys at the closing of stealing money because the estimated proceeds were off from the actual. They hadn't. She was wrong. Money seems to bring out the worst in people. If that sounds harsh, oh well.Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:00:38 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Dayton_OH-84164/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Dayton_OH-84164/Courtney, Sounds like you guys are happy and have moved on. Glad to hear that... buying and selling can be stressful so it's good that you are now able to enjoy the sale and purchase of you new home. Enjoy! PS: I think JR was harsh... I don't blame you for asking, she did make a mistake... I still stick by my last thought and sounds like you agree. Sometimes things just don't go smoothly... My best to you, MarkMon, 27 Apr 2009 07:51:17 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/Why are you astounded?...we based the sale of our house and the buying of this new house on the number she gave us, which was incorrect...I felt she should have been somewhat accountable for her mistakeMon, 27 Apr 2009 06:28:56 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-New_York_NY-82052/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-New_York_NY-82052/I contacted her broker and basically he said there was nothing they could do and we as sellers should have known what our net was going to be. so basically his agent gets to make a major mistake and they hold no responsibility for that. ~~~~~~~~~~ What did she make? A math error? I'm just amazed you asked the broker to make up the difference in your loss of equity. Astounded, actually.Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:49:52 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/Thanks Mark and I agree...we actually didn't lose the money because it was never ours in the first place...Those were the things I was telling my husband because in the end she did mess up but we still get a nice house that we can afford out of the deal...so we can be mad but in the end we still get what we want...Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:04:06 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Dayton_OH-84164/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Dayton_OH-84164/Courtney, Thought about this some more and here is something for you to think about... This is really most likely an academic discussion. The home most likely sold for "market value"... meaning that what your "net" was is really irrelevant. Don't take offense but the home will sell for what it will sell for and while there was an error it did not cost you money... you accepted the offer because it was the best you thought you were likely to get and it was not wroth the risk of waiting or trying for more... Now, you could have rejected this offer since it netted you 8k less then you wanted and may have gone months without another offer and/or months and sell for even less after making many more payments... I see it all the time where if people had just accepted the 1st offer they would have been better off... the 1st one is usually the best... So, take a step back and realized that what we are talking about is "paper" loss not actual loss... right? maybe?Sun, 26 Apr 2009 19:47:04 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Toledo_OH-220757/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Toledo_OH-220757/All brokers carry errors & omissions insurance. I don't think that your situation would apply, but maybe something worth checking into. The problem for the agent and broker is that by making 2 sales short term (your sale & purchase), my guess is that they are losing out big time long term by getting a bad rep & no referrals from you. Do I assume correctly that you have already gotten an accepted offer on a house? If not, you could obviously look at slightly lower priced homes. Feel free to refer friends my way, I'll double check all of their numbers for them! (I actually use a spreadsheet that calculates everything so that I won't mess anything up)Sat, 25 Apr 2009 11:10:17 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/I contacted her broker and basically he said there was nothing they could do and we as sellers should have known what our net was going to be. so basically his agent gets to make a major mistake and they hold no responsibility for that.Sat, 25 Apr 2009 10:06:41 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/I agree we probably should have checked her numbers but why would we question that considering that is her job to figure out the numbers? I completely understand mistakes happen but that is a pretty big one...I don't think she purposely made the mistake or took advantage of us, but we in turn are having to pay for that mistake.Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:44:57 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Venice_FL-133970/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Venice_FL-133970/Courtney, This is a most unfortunate situation for everyone involved. Agents, businesses, or brokers don't have the financial capacity to pass out money without pretty serious motivation. Mistakes do happen...... If you feel you were truely wronged and cannot get beyond being taken advantage of (if this is the case), you can always go the route of consuting an attorney. Unfortunately, when taking this direction the majority of money recovered may go toward legal fees. Could you have determined there was a mistake by checking or questioning her information? Do you share some responsibility in this situation? Good luckFri, 24 Apr 2009 05:14:26 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/No, our stuff was correct, she literally just calculated them wrong and admitted doing that...I did contact her broker because even though she is a nice lady this will affect our down payment on the new house, in turn making our mortgage higher, so really even though I know we are getting money back, in our minds we are in fact losing some because of the number that was given to us in the beginning...even if the broker gave us half that would be better than just an extra 1000.00 she is taking off her commission...Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:08:41 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Dayton_OH-84164/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Dayton_OH-84164/Courtney, Sorry to hear that this surprise happened. Keep in mind there are many variables that go into your "net". 9k is a LOT to be off... there are always things that change and/or just cant be estimated perfectly but 9k is again a lot... With that said, also, keep in mind that the agent only has to work with what you give them in many cases... are you sure the mortgage payoff information you provided was accurate? Not to point fingers but what I typically find is that when there is a large difference it is a result of an inaccurate estimate of the mortgage payoff not usually agent error... Just want to be fair and not to "kick yourself" if that was the case just know where the error really happened... Best of luck to you!Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:52:55 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Both_Buyer_And_Seller-Toledo_OH-228859/Just human error...I did contact the broker just to make sure because we based our down payment on the new house on this and it was a big error...I guess I could overlook 1000.00 but when we are talking 8000.00 that is a bit much...Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:27:13 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Toledo_OH-220757/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Toledo_OH-220757/Courtney, I think that Alma's probably right, you likely will have to eat the loss. You certainly have the right to call the agent's broker and see if there is any other solution, but it seems that it came down to human error. It's just unfortunate that it came to that amount of an error. You are fortunate that you will be coming out ahead at all, many sellers are struggling just to break even right now. Good luck to you, I hope things can get resolved.Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:05:04 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Toledo_OH-612087/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Toledo_OH-612087/It is something you are probable going to have to eat. Do you know where the mistake was made?Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:47:50 -0700