Can you see why these roles become important to answer your original question? Not being anymore nitpicky than I need to be, to answer your question. Simple questions sometimes have complex answers.

Cindy would have been the Seller’s Agent. She might have been a Dual Agent (the contract that failed would say) but Dual Agency can’t be forced on anyone, so I think it’s a pretty safe bet that Jane can use Kevin now. Cindy may freak out and scream about it. But not likely she would win on that. But she could convince her sellers to not go down the same road with the same person Jane should have a full pre-approval and quick close, if she expects the seller to give her a second go at it.

I have met many agents who freak out and scream at other agents to scare them into backing off.  It is also often effective.

Oh, I see… what you’re saying (technically WHO is a client?)… I can’t understand why I seem to be writing so vaugely today..usually what I write is easliy interpreted..I will try again..

Cindy is the listing agent.
Cindy is the agent broker.
Property Owners (Fred and Ethel are Cindy’s clients)
Jane is not represented by an agent.
Jane makes the call to Cindy about her listing/her company’s listing/her broker’s listing (all the same).
Cindy shows Jane the home.
Cindy writes Jane’s offer.
Cindy takes offer to Fred and Ethel.
Now, at this point…is Jane her client, too?

I totally understand the occasional freak out…but in a professional world I still believe they’re best done out of public view. Regardless of whether Fred and Ethel were her clients and Jane was not, Jane should have not been “shushed” nor have to stand by during a shouting match. if you are being technical or facetious by the word “client”, Jane was indeed a client, a potential client, a “customer, buyer, purchaser, consumer, shopper”
– as the thesaurus says.

I can’t figure out how you were “lost” at that particular point of my issue…

If during all of this, Kate and Will and their children, Molly and Matt were in the lobby awaiting their first meeting with Cindy (Agent/Broker/Owner), and witness the outburst…They are not clients, so are you saying that it’s okay for everyone but Fred and Ethel to be a part of her dramatic overture?

Lost in translation I suppose…
KB
BTW..are you Cindy?

If Cindy is the listing agent, then the seller was her client when she met Jane. Depends on what state she is in at that point. Was Jane ever a “client” of Cindy’s? Maybe not if the seller is her client.

RARELY can a buyer consumer be forced to use the Listing Broker as the Buyer Broker. That requires written consent of all parties, and Jane probably gave that, but likely can rescind it.

Tell her to talk to Kevin about it, and as long as he is OK with it, and he likely should be, then the rest is all moot. Kevin will handle it or Kevin’s broker will handle it.

NO ONE can be FORCED to use the listing agent. Buyer’s are entitiled to separate representation in most areas. Maybe not NYC FL has some quirks in that regard too.

What State are you in?

As to the rest of it, agents do get into heated discussions often. Not usually in front of their clients though. I almost always wait for the consumer to leave before talking to other agents or lenders or closing agents. I was in the car with a client the other day when the listing agent called and we were cancelling the contract. It was a bit uncomfortable for me. Usually I wouldn’t have that conversation with the buyer client next to me.

Agents do freak out at least once a year, hopefully not in front of their clients.

Maybe I wasn’t clear when I said Cindy was the listing broker ( I used the term agent, when in actuality she is the owner/broker of the company as well as the agent.) I probably would not have made that error had I any training or experience in Real Estate. )

So Cindy will confer with Cindy to see if she wants to give anything to Kevin? And if Cindy agrees, all is well..if not, Kevin sees to the priorities and needs of Jane, earns respect from her and perhaps a handful of client referrals, Jane has her home.. pretty much win win, in a way. In a low dollar amount transaction such as this one, the few dollars Cindy receives for losing dignity in the eyes of her client won’t amount to as much as Kevin who is her “fiduciary” agent, will receive in the long run..(reputation, referrals, etc.) yep… win win..

Thanks!
KB

I think you missed the part where the listing company decides who gets paid, not the buyer.

However, it does seem that more professionalism should have been shown in front of and towards Jane, from both Cindy and Hagatha. The shouting, the high school mentality (my teacher doesnt LIKE me, that’s why she gave me failing grade) does not represent either of them as professional.

If Cindy is essentially saying, “Yes, I acted unprofessionally, but I did it FOR YOU!” doesn’t excuse the actions taken in front of Jane, does it? And, if they both chose to “show themselves”, there will probably be a lingering “bad blood” when VA sends Hagatha to do other inspections involving Cindy’s future clients. (of course, not Jane’s problem)

I really can’t see Cindy’s turning her anger to Jane (who asked politely for them to calm down and just talk things out), and telling her, “DO NOT SPEAK OVER ME.” In any job I’ve ever held, I know that the client is the most important thing, whether they’re right, wrong, rude, yelling, etc.. I doubt any of my supervisors would have stood for my addressing a client in such a manner or having a verbal altercation with another employee in view of my client…even if I did say…”I did it for YOU. I did it so this company could get PAID.” (They’d probably make that money up with my former salary after I was dismissed.) I also know of other situations where the work was performed, such as a food server who takes your order (writes your contract), gives it to the chef (submits the order), is told that something is wrong with the food (the appraiser)… What would happen if she began to scream at the cook, tell the customer to be quiet she is doing this for THEM, and then say..Eat it anyway…if it makes you sick, you always have ten days to let us know. (Cindy: Just sign the papers, if it’s inspected and something is wrong, you arent bound to contract.)

I can bet in that situation, the customer might receive a free meal and choose to eat future dinners at the competition across the street, where she is important regardless…

Anyway, Jane was left with a bad taste of the home buying process and without her new home… Seems a little unfortunate for her.

But, live and learn.

Thanks again!

There are no “rules” for consumers if they did not sign a buyer agency agreement. There are rules for agents. The Listing Broker (not Cindy or Kevin) is the one who pays Cindy or Kevin.

Agents are supposed to cover the seller and buyer’s backs, get the house sold, and figure out the who gets paid AFTER it closes and not involve the consumers, other than a notarized statement maybe of why they used Kevin and not Cindy.

That’s what fiduciary means. Addressing the client’s needs without regard to self interest. Doing the job at hand, and not worrying about whether or not they are going to get paid, until after the consumer is done with their business at hand.

If Jane wanted to switch just to save some money, then the listing agent and the buyer agents would be in a bit of a pickle. But in this case, someone has to step in and give the buyer what they need to get through this, even if it turns out to be pro bono.

Let’s use a little common sense here.

1) No a buyer should never have to use an agent they don’t want to use.

2) No the first agent shouldn’t have to work for nothing.

The normal solution would be for Kevin to speak with Cindy and work something out. Sometimes the Broker of Cindy finds someone else at Cindy’s Company, but that can be awkward for the buyer if they are in the office with the new agent and have to run into Cindy.

Depending on how long they worked with Cindy, Kevin could suggest a 50/50 split or at minimum a large referral fee to Cindy. If Cindy starts screaming at Kevin, then Kevin should work this out with Cindy’s broker.

I would simply call Cindy and say I’m going to give the consumer what they need and have escrow put the fee aside. You and I can deal with it after the fact. Let’s just get the buyer covered and into the house they want.

If Jane did not sign a Buyer Agency Agreement, then it’s up to the agents to figure it out, not the buyer consumer. If Jane did sign an Agency Agreement, then Jane should call Cindy’s Broker and tell the broker the problem.

Seems from the story that Cindy was screaming on the buyer’s behalf. Seems from the story that Cindy worked her butt off too. Doesn’t seem fair for her to be left with nothing…does it?