Can we file and ethical complaint against a realtor who was working for the sellers of a home we bought?

When we closed on our house 3 months ago, the seller's realtor told us that in exchange for letting them live in the house for a month after closing without paying us anything, the sellers were going to leave us half a tank of oil without asking for anything for it. The oil was specifically left out of the closing papers for this reason -- there is no legal agreement about it. After the papers were signed, the seller's realtor came to us telling us that the couple wanted the money for the oil. Our realtor reminded her of the deal, and she was embarassed to tell her that she had made the deal without talking to the sellers, and now couldn't tell them that she had. Instead, she offered to pay them the money for the oil. Now, the sellers are asking again, and their realtor says they won't accept the money from her (we doubt she has ever even offered it to them). It's now being negotiated upon between our realtor's boss and the sellers' realtor's boss. Is there anything we can do?
Additional Details
They needed to live their for a month because their new construction home wasn't finished yet.

Yes, you can file a complaint with your local board of Realtors. And you should.

If both principal brokers know about this, I'm certain that someone is going to make this right with you.

No, you're pretty much screwed. That is why you get everything for a contract put IN WRITING! If it's not written, it doesn't exist.

The best thought here though is if the seller's agent is offering to pay for the oil, let them pay you and you can pay the sellers. It still won't cost you a dime. Like you said, the seller's agent likely never had an intent to pay for it though.

Both agents involved need a good kick in the backside. Why? Because BOTH agreed to terms of a sale which were NOT put in writing, and that's a NO-NO. There is nothing you can do, since you have nothing in writing with which to back up your claim of the agreement. With any kind of luck, both managing brokers will find a way to resolve it to everyone's satisfaction.

You should wait to see if all parties can come to a reasonable resolution. Depending on what state you are in, an employing broker (your real estate agent's boss for example) is personally liable for the acts of agents in her employ. Therefore, both employing brokers in this situation have a very strong interest in resolving this amicably. However, if no resolution is reached, you may consider contacting the agency in your state that regulates real estate agents to file a complaint. Typically, the agency will then conduct an investigation to determine exactly what happened. Hopefully it will not have to come to this. Good luck.

You may have the "back-up" of your agent but, s/he dropped the ball by letting them live there free. There should have been a substantial rent charged for the time they were there. It is YOUR agent who should bear the blame. It's their ethical responsibility to protect you.

As long as you have the backup from your realtor, this will be resolved in your favor.
Dont sweat it, and let the process work it out.

Anyone can file a complaint against a realtor with the state board. Ask your realtor for the boards phone number.

The listing agent is the one that needed to get approval from her seller. She didn't. She should pay for the oil if her greedy sellers are asking for it. She's the one that took it upon herself to approve, she should pay for it.

If you get dragged into the mud on this, then you should pursue getting compensation for the delay in posession to the tune of 1 month (an amount equal to one house payment).

You & your agent acted on the implied agreement with the listing agent that the seller was OK with the verbal arrangement. Yes, it would have been better to have it all in writing, but it isn't.

The truth is that unless you have a buyer-broker agreement with a Realtor they are always working for the seller.

As far as the tank of oil goes, take the money from the agent and give it to the seller.

Done and done. Good luck.

You need to talk to your lawyer. They should have drawn up a Use and Occupancy Agreement that spelled out all of the terms of the seller staying in the house after the closing. The oil should have been put in the agreement and all parties should have signed it, and they should have shown you proof of insurance on the house. They are in your house now, and you need to know if they have insurance covering it, in case of an accident or damage to the property. The other issue the Use and Occupancy Agreement spells out is that they are not tenants. Please talk to your attorney.

Not much the seller can do if you don't pay.
Tell the realtor to stick it, and pay it out of her damned commission. Maybe both can split.
I wouldn't care.

You pulled my string with realtors.

I could write all day.

Rule #1 in real estate:

ALL VERBAL AGREEMENTS ARE NOT LEGALLY ENFORCEABLE.

You are right...the listing agent has never presented the issue to the sellers, but YOUR AGENT is EQUALLY to blame for not insisting that the agreement be in writing.

YOUR AGENT had a fiduciary duty to protect your rights and didn't do that...so if you should blame anyone--blame your own agent.

The listing agent doesn't represent you.

Since you have already closed on the home, and the sellers have moved out, they CANNOT sue you for the money because nothing was in writing.

Period.

There isn't anything more to negotiate and I cannot believe that all of the Realtors involved are too stupid to figure that out.

ONCE THE DEAL HAS CLOSED IT IS D-O-N-E.

ya know what gets me going all day; people who think they know the laws in every state. Sure there are national regs. regarding Real Estate, but what about at the local level? The big question is what state are you in... Then find a someone licensed in that state *Finding a good broker would be ideal, or even better a Real Estate attorney* Cause, for what everyone here says about VERBAL ONLY... BLAH BLAH... that is true 99.9%!!!!!!! *I am a REALTOR here in Phoenix, AZ.... here's one thing that goes against Arizona Revised Statute 24 regarding statute of frauds (everything in writing)... You can have a legal BINDING VERBAL!!!! yes lemme write that again, VERBAL lease if it's less than a year. well so much for everything in writing right? The point im getting at, is you find some great advice, but unless someone is accomplished in your state and sometimes even county and more specifically city regs... it's just an educated guess. For example ALSO in arizona. . . We don't use attorneys to draft up a purchase contract... it's awesome, we get to write a contract and out with it.. The bad? You are WAY liable. Either way the big thing IM going for is any answer someone gives regarding real estate will never be 100% effective unless they deal specifically with your locale. They even have a name for this whenever someone buys real estate in another state, area, etc. It's called Law of Situs. Ok sorry, i Had to get that out :D AH... now to your question: *and my meager Phoenix understanding*

you let them have post possession for a month, *NEVER a good idea... what if when you give post or pre-possession, the house burns down? what then? it's a pretty sticky mess, anyway* and you didn't receive any proceeds from it. I don't know why you would leave ANYTHING out of the contract... but ok, it was verbal *red flag 1* well, they want money for the oil, too bad, nothing in writing. *not to mention you gave them 1 month free board* Now the selling agent is violating her fiduciary to her agents. . . that doesn't affect you. Your broker and the seller's broker won't really come to any resolve, cause what is there? A verbal agreement for stuff. It won't happen. Now as for when a deal closes it is D-O-N-E. That's not always true... *c'mon expert REALTOR... you mean to tell me you're the expert and haven't heard about people going to mediation... then arbitration and then a full blown court order to rectify a situation in a "CLOSED" deal?* The question here is, what do you want to do?? if the listing agent was so concerned with gettin this resolved quickly and without shenangans, she should JUST give the sellers the money, and say it came from you. Believe me, no one is going to say no to money regardless of source, ESPECIALLY if the agent blew the lid on their fiduciary. Once they are contractually obligated, they owe fiduciary *here is another tidbit for whoever earlier said "if they don't have a buyer's broker, they work for the seller" THAT IS A LOAD OF MANURE!!!! You can have implied agency, where there is no paperwork, and can violate fiduciary *good friend of mine's rookie agent got my friend *broker* sued for it.* (the rookie agent decided to tell the other side what how much her buyers would pay for it. dumb REALTORS) Either way,. . . No ticket no taco. They can go on all they want, but how is it going to get proved? That's why there is a statute of frauds; so they can get to the underlying facts of everything. (Lord knows why Phoenix, AZ lets there be verbal leases... those can be a nightmare). Best of luck

There really isn't enough information to answer this question correctly, but I'll try.

If the other realtor tried to give the sellers the money for the oil and they wouldn't take it, she should have given it to you so you could pay it. It sounds like she is trying to decieve someone. Not sure who.

If there is nothing in the contract or closing papers about the oil, you don't have to pay for it! It's part of the property and is included in the sale unless it states otherwise.

And you can probably go back on the previous owners and demand payment for letting them live there for a month after closing unless it states in the contract that you're letting them stay there for free.

A closing is a legal agreement that all of the paperwork is finished and that there are no disputes. You could call the realtor on breech of contract if the laws in your state will allow it.

I'd contact a Real Estate lawyer and explain the entire situation. If the previous owners want to play dirty, let them, but don't go down without a fight!

Good luck.

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