What should I do about an agent stealing my listing?

Just be glad you weren't in escrow when this happened.

I had a similarly weird experience a few years ago, except I was representing the buyer and we were in escrow when another agent tried to steal the listing. My client and I were alarmed to see the listing go from pending to active and that a different broker had listed it. The new broker contacted me asking me to rewrite my contract with her as the listing agent. I pointed out that we already had an accepted offer with the other broker, and asked for clarification. I have had transactions where agents changed brokers in mid transaction, and took their listings with them. That was not the case.

It seems that while we were in negotiation, the seller canceled the listing with the broker after accepting the offer. The seller was a corporate entity - a bank trustee service - and apparently, the new agent was a good friend/relative of someone at the current bank. The beneficiary of the trust had switched bank trustees while her house was listed with the other broker.

I contacted the local board of Realtors, as well as California Association of Realtors Legal Hotline. Per their advice, I contacted the seller and conveyed that we had a valid contract, and we would not be re-writing it. If the seller had entered into two contracts that was their problem, and that I expected them to abide by our contract, and pay me my commission. The MLS changed the listing data. I don't know whether the new agent was paid a commission or not. To my knowledge she did nothing except copy the listing information of the original agent. I did get my commission, as did the original listing agent when we closed escrow.

Michael

Since you left your phone number, I left you a recorded phone message,

For others reading this chain, I raised the concept of TORTIOUS INTERFERENCE WITH CONTRACT and discussed the practical ramifications thereto, such as WHO is the Defendant [the other agent] and is it worth the aggravation to pursue [probably not.], set out above by another commentator,

I also agree that Article 16 is probably also relivant, though Article 16-2 is usually the boggyman here though it is not so apparently in your matter.

Would I pursue a procuring cause issue with your Board Grievance Committee? No because to have procuring cause rewuires MORE than merely what you have and you can only proceed upon completion by the other Realtor. Some organizations themselves, i.e., the other Agent's Broker, will do a fee intercept upon learning of a dispute, where the fee payment is delayed by the interfering party's broker, pending either a 'settlement' or greivance resolution on the procuring cause, but that must then occur BEFORE payment is disbursed, [very quickly.].

If you wish to discuss this firther, I left my phone # on your answering machine.

Quoting cathy10:

An early termination fee is a great tip! We will definately put that in all of our Listing Agreements from here on out. It's time that we quit selling ourselves short and actually get paid for our work.

I've been saying that for years. There is a class you can take that will teach you how to be a real estate consultant, figure out hourly fees, pkgs or traditional comm. or a part of all. If you want to make money when there is not even a house to sell, you should check this out. It is a growing force whereby we are trying to get agents to do business the way every other professional does. You go to your CPA, you pay him. You don't pay only if he gets you a refund. Same with a Doctor, you pay him, not only if he cures you. We should all do the same thing and this wouldn't be an issue because you would have been paid for your time.

www.myreconsultants.com/PaulaBean/RealEstateProfessionalsOnly.html

should you have more questions, or want to take the class, let me know because I can get you a discount.

This was definitley unethical, and as you are a very busy realtor and have many fish to fry, I would have probably have just let her have the listing and let it go, this was time consuming, stressful, irritating, and took far too much energy on your part to deal with it, but I would have collected the signing fee, all this could have been done by your assistant too. You need to make deals, not fool with unethical people that don't know what they are doing, report her too.We sometimes have to weigh out our priorities, and just let some of the negativity go, take three deep breaths slowly and go ohmmmmmmm and you will feel a lot better, go to the next deal of the day.

Evvy Boggess

Boggess Realty and Financial Services

Santa Maria, CA.93455

There will always be real estate agents who break the rules, violate the code of ethics, and worse. My advice is to forget about it and move on. It is really the sellers who allowed this to happen. Don't wast any more of your valuable time or expend and more negative energy on it. Filing a grievance and reporting it to other governing bodies will only prolong your agony.

I would TOTALLY agree with the reply from Donald Carmy about "letting it go" and wasting energy...I have been in the same situation and have done the same - HOWEVER, and this is HUGE...in doing so and not being pro-active and filing ethics complaints - this agent has done it again to another agent - and this is also setting a horrible example for new agents that this is the expected behavior - so I'm re-thinking my and Donald's decision and I'm going to file an ethic complaing - for the reason stated that this sets a bad example as well as to put an END to this agents unethical behavior once and for all...

Let me take the opposite side of "letting it go" and say you need to file a complaint with your association's grievance committee.

You're actually doing all the other Realtors and the offending Realtor in this case, a favor by showing them the error of their ways and the correct way to conduct business.

If we don't police ourselves it is not going to get done.

File a complaint and soon.

Jim Lee, CRS, ABR, GRI, ACRE, NAR Certified e-PRO Trainer
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