Contract with bad agent - not sure what to do

[Randy Merritt]

Hello BP!

I need some help!

First-time home buyer relocating with current employer. After cycling through a few agents (they just weren't responsive) I landed what I thought was a great agent. Showed me a few properties and I decided to make an offer on one. Rookie mistake I didn't take the time to fully understand everything I was signing. We are now under contract with the broker until October. Our offer was not accepted and we moved on. This happened several times with my agent consistently suggesting I go over asking around 8-12% to "compete in this market". He also had no issue with my need for seller's assist, around $4k-$6k. He also strongly encouraged me to "put down as much cash as possible for the deposit" which ended up being $4k. Fast forward I find a FSBO and negotiate without the agent. The agent then got involved and we entered into an AOS. We agreed to split the commission and I moved forward with appraisal and inspection. The appraisal came back short but I had an appraisal contingency. I decided to terminate after failed negotiations. This is when it started to get ugly. My agent started using scare tactics to get me to close and bring more money to the table. He told me my deposit could be lost or could be held up for months, told me I wouldn't be able to get the seller's assist anymore because the market is too crazy. Yet before it was no issue? Now it seems the agent has no interest in helping me. My question is how can I get out of this contract? What options do I have?

Thanks for the help!!