need help with bad agent

[Morgan Carmichael]

currently selling investment property with an agent but I feel that the agent is not representing me well, is there a way to get out of the contract?

[Nick Cuttonaro]

I had an experience with a bad agent a few years back in Maryland. My wife and I were trying to purchase our first home. I met the agent at a networking group, felt sorry for his situation, and let him represent us to get him out of a "slump". We already had the house picked out, so we let him handle the paperwork and transaction. He was a stranger but I wanted to help the guy out, big mistake.

It was a nightmare from the very start. He was representing his own interests during the process and was a terrible communicator. We missed closings a few times as the Seller wasn't ready to close. After the 3rd missed closing I chose not to sign another addendum to extend the original contract and had enough of being strung along by a crook.

Several times (by email) I requested to terminate the contract with our agent and he said "it couldn't be terminated" and he's entitled to his commission on the deal no matter what. I engaged my law firm because the agent was rogue and I needed help. We learned he was actively involved in other legal cases where he's suing clients / clients suing him, this is how he rolls and his success in the court system was high, not good.

My wife and I walked from the deal, we had enough. A month later we were sued by the agent for the entire commission ($14,200) for a house we never purchased. We fought and fought and would likely win a case against the agent (who was actually a broker!) for breaking fiduciary responsibilities in a counterclaim. However, from a financial perspective what would winning the case really mean other than being right?

Time is money and I didn't want keep fighting so I tried to settle. Long-story short, with the agent's commission + legal + other fees and expenses we lost over $23,000 as first time-home buyers, for a house we never purchased.

Takeaway: Be careful how you approach the situation. I wanted to fire my agent out of the gate and it was leveraged against me because I expressed by email how terrible of a job he was doing and that I could do it better on my own. Talk to your attorney first and play it cool. Good luck!