Buyers Agents Tresspassing/Disturbing Tenants

[Clark Kirkpatrick]

I'm currently working to sell a fully rented quad, and I had an agent make an appointment for a showing today. The seller had to be there to access the occupied apartments, and he was available at 1 pm.

The buyer's agent wanted to see it at noon, and I let him know this wasn't possible. He agreed to come at 1 instead. I have evidence of this in text messages.

When that agent didn't show up at 1, I learned that he had come at 12 after all, somehow got into the property, and was banging on tenants' doors to get access to their apartments. The tenants were quite upset about this, as was the seller.

Is there anything I can do about this, either this time or in the future? How do I enforce appointment times and prevent tenants getting harassed?

[Charlie MacPherson]

@Clark Kirkpatrick  Serious ethical violation here, and possibly legal violation (trespassing) too.

One lesson I've learned over the years is to get both sides of the story before dropping the hammer.  I can't imagine that there's any excuse that would make this behavior make sense, but I'd give the agent a chance to explain.  I suppose this could be a brand new agent, but even if that were true, he should still know better.

Assuming that there's no rational explanation, I'd contact his broker and file a complaint with the local Board of Realtors, assuming that he's a member of NAR. If he's not a NAR member, you could file a complaint with the real estate commission in your state instead.

I agree with @Max T.  I would tell his broker that if this client wants to make an offer, it needs to come directly from the broker and that you will not deal with this agent, as he's proven himself untrustworthy.

Good luck!