Barnhill Properties, The Barnhill Group at Keller Williams, Barnhill Group Keller Williams Memorial, Memorial Realty Ltd Refused to remove my home listing after cancellation, made me handle all showings on my home Cypress Texas
Refused To Remove My Listings After Cancellation, Made Me Handle All Showings On My Home, Still Holding My Listings “Hostage”, Refused To Remove Signage From My Properties, Hindering My Hiring A New Agent To Sell My Properties
Joseph Barnhill - Barnhill Properties, The Barnhill Group, Memorial Realty LTD, KW Memorial
Sale Agent License # 661928 , sponsored by Memorial Realty LTD, sponsor date = 11/10/2016
Link to TREC (Texas Real Estate Commission) license and education history https://www.trec.texas.gov/apps/license-holder-search/?detail_id=1000031911
Michael Bossart – Memorial Realty, LTD, Keller Williams Memorial
Broker License # 588215 , effective date = 04/06/2016
Link to TREC (Texas Real Estate Commission) license and education history https://www.trec.texas.gov/apps/license-holder-search/?detail_id=881181187
***DISCLAIMER*** The following is not intended to be legal advice in anyway. This is merely a depiction of events I have suffered while dealing with the groups mentioned above.
Overview
I’m sure we have all heard stories of aggressive realtors. What I am completely in awe over is that a person or now persons would attempt to completely take over and control how I proceed with the sale of properties I worked tirelessly to payoff over the years. The last time I checked I paid for both of my properties and nowhere on the deed or on one payment made for either property is the name of Joseph Barnhill, Barnhill Properties, The Barnhill Group, Michael Bossart, Memorial Realty, or Keller Williams Memorial. After failing to show up to one single showing for the sale of my home, failing to sell either my home or commercial property, and at one point offering a potential buyer my furniture without my consent I find myself literally begging for the cancellation of my listing so that I may seek a new agent. To make matters even more concerning Joseph Barnhill (who told me he was a broker, business owner, and his own boss) has now ceased communicating and states I must speak with his sponsoring broker by the name of Michael Bossart. Unfortunately, I do not know Mr. Bossart, never knew he existed, and received a broken-up voicemail from him days ago stating he is on vacation in Cabo. I sincerely wish I was in Cabo versus dealing with this situation. I have yet to communicate directly with the mysterious Michael Bossart and It has now been many days since I cancelled my listings. My properties are still being “hijacked” if you will, but so I digress. I presume this is the reason why platforms such as this exist, regulatory bodies like TREC oversee realtors/brokers, and the legal system was implemented if needed. Unethical or possibly skating the line on illegal behavior should never be allowed in my opinion and I hope by sharing my experience I may help someone else avoid the same uncomfortable situation I find myself in today. I must admit it feels a little like being bullied. I’ll get into detail below with a description of events.
Course of Events
Given that I have friends and family in the real estate industry I chose for months to list my properties (I have both a residential and commercial property) on my own. My properties were featured on most of the standard websites for real estate including MLS, HAR (Houston Association of Realtors), Zillow, Trulia, loopnet, Redfin, and FSBO (for sale by owner)
long before I hired a realtor. I also paid nearly $1,000 for multiple professionally made signs which Joseph Barnhill (my ex realtor) noticed instantly upon visiting my properties. For anyone who has listed a property for sale on their own in Houston you understand that with over 30,000 realtors all working on hot sheets and scouring these sites for those of us without out an agent the 20 plus phone calls a day of realtors begging to represent you can become a burden. This is where Joey Barnhill comes into play. After months of persistent calls from Mr. Barnhill and admittedly entertaining conversation I took a liking to this young man. In complete honesty Joey Barnhill is very well spoken, educated with an MBA, and reminded me of a younger me with his drive and vision for the future. He informed me he had a great deal of experience in real estate, however was a new broker and attempting to grow his business, Barnhill Properties aka The Barnhill Group. He expressed his desire to get into the build side as I have done one day and at one point I thought highly enough of the young man to give him my personal commercial bankers number along with passing on a good word for him. (I will attach text threads if permitted on this site) As I was growing tired of the constant realtor calls and felt like my time would be better served on other pressing matters I made the choice on the last pitch Mr. Barnhill gave me that I would give him a chance with very specific instructions for what I expected out of this business relationship/opportunity. I made it clear that I wanted no part of dealing with realtors or buyers and that I already had my properties listed on the necessary sites so merely relisting my properties in his name held little value to me. There were strict instructions that no one was to be unattended in my home and no lock box was to be used although that didn’t stop him from asking multiple times. I am a private person and still live in my home so I made it clear I would not budge on this topic. We also had a discussion where I discussed if my home was really in his comfort zone being that my properties are located in the Cypress area and his biography online specifically states he specializes in “inner loop” properties. He told me that he sold all over Houston and this wouldn’t be an issue. (from his sales history I am led to believe otherwise) I also made it clear as was documented in our initial 90 day agreement that I wanted to see how he performed before I agreed to anything over and beyond 90 days. To be completely honest I expressed to Joey that even though I have friends and family in the industry I had little trust in most realtors or sales people in general. As in any industry you have great ones and those who may not be so great or honest and not so honest.
In the beginning I was admittedly impressed with Joseph Barnhill and his tech savvy nature. I had never seen a drone video (I didn’t ask for it but it was nice) made before and the virtual tour turned out extremely nice as well. I made sure to express to Mr. Barnhill that I thought he was off to a great start and he was quickly changing my perception of realtors altogether. Again, to be honest I thought to myself, “hey my hunch about this young man was right”. Sadly, once Mr. Barnhill implemented his listing complete with his video and virtual tour this is where the service he guaranteed came to an almost immediate halt. As the showings began on my home one thing became very clear. Joey Barnhill was not going to drive from Houston to Cypress to show my home himself. That burden irritatingly fell on me. Over and over again this young man would call me last minute to do a showing which in turn caused me to stop my work, clean the house (I have a dog who sheds), and many times walk the realtor/buyer through or on some occasions go down the street to leave them to look on their own. I was the one meeting these prospects and their realtor so it was me having to get my realtor, Joey Barnhill, up to speed. In the beginning and in my opinion most of the prospects Mr. Barnhill scheduled were in no way legitimate and some were merely realtors wanting to look (the home was recently heavily updated and the pictures showed well) or my neighbors trying to see my upgrades (I warned Mr. Barnhill numerous times that my neighbors were attempting to view my home and asking questions about my contractors, who I used, and what was done). I rolled with the punches so to speak up until Houston was hit with the floods. This is where things started to become counter-productive and resentment grew.
A result of the Houston floods I had repairs necessary on both my home and residential building. As I explained to Joey Barnhill my primary focus was on the commercial building being that it sustained the most damage and I had a buddy rush out a crew to start work immediately. I made it clear on numerous occasions (as you will see in the attached communications) that I wanted to hold off on any showings until the properties were repaired to my liking. Mr Barnhill is rather persistent and eager so he managed to continue scheduling showings on my home until I finally made it clear. What he failed to realize is that I would then have to stop dealing with contractors at one location to come back to my residence, clean, and perform the showing myself. At times I was with contractors until 2am – 3am in the morning being that they were friends of mine. Joey Barnhill on the other hand couldn’t manage to drive out to Cypress to perform his job duties because he knew I would
gripe but end up doing it anyhow. This was becoming unacceptable as I expressed to Mr. Barnhill on multiple occasions. I refused to stop my work, interrupt conference calls, or inconvenience myself any longer to handle showings that are part of his job description. I want to state again, Mr. Barnhill, performed not one single showing on my home residence.
Let us fast forward to the straw that broke the camel’s back. After I completed the remodel on my commercial building and because I had access to contractors who are hard to come by due to the recent floods I told mr Barnhill that I was going to finish the remodel on my home as well. Rather than accommodate my request he scheduled showings up until the date that I told him my contractors were to begin the remodel. I obliged to all of his showings even though I was growing extremely resentful of having to interrupt my days or weekends to spot clean and handle these showings. This brings us to the two days before my contractors are to begin the remodel. I receive a phone call from Mr. Barnhill that I had to ignore because I was on a conference call with my attorney for another business matter. I immediately received a text that he had a vetted buyer (not vetted and not represented by the realtor as you will see in the attached synopsis I gave Mr. Barnhill) who wanted to see the house right now. I was not happy, but I ended my conference call and as I was expressing my displeasure to Mr. Barnhill my doorbell rings. To my dismay, it was the realtor with two gentleman. Now I told Joey Barnhill that I had not cleaned the home, was not showered or shaven, and quite frankly was embarrassed to be seen this way. The prospect was an extremely nice man, however immediately went into wanting a deal and what he perceived the market value to be, etc. etc. I politely told him to contact Mr. Barnhill and went about my day. Later that evening as I was finishing my workout I get a text from the prospect buyer. I have no idea how he obtained my number but I called him back anyway. During our conversation the prospect said he wanted to make a one-time offer and that would be it. He sent over the offer and I politely told him I would let him know after speaking with my realtor. I then called and texted Joey Barnhill only to be texted back and asked if he could call me in the morning. Frustrating, but ok. Being that I met the prospect and new we were nowhere near a deal that I would take I almost didn’t say anything to Joey Barnhill because I was so aggravated, however the next day Mr. Barnhill showed up to my home for the 2nd time ever only to have me sign a new listing agreement as mine was due to expire (I only signed the extension for the commercial building as for some reason I never could figure out due to the close proximity of my home and commercial property Joey Barnhill did manage to show the commercial property). Anyhow Moving on, I told Joey Barnhill about the encounter and he said “this is what I do let me have his number”, so I obliged by giving him the gentleman’s number. I also told Joey that this man wasn’t going to come up on his cash offer. Within a short time from Joey leaving my house he calls and tells me he thinks he has the buyer right around our asking price and asked what I was doing with my furniture. As I expressed to Mr. Barnhill I typically buy high end overpriced furniture so I had not thought of selling it, but would give it consideration. Joey then scheduled a “furniture showing” for the next day. Keep in mind this is one day before my contractors are due to start the remodel. To begin the “furniture showing” Joey shows up late, secondly the prospect did not come up one dollar on his offer, and offered a mere $10K for my furniture. I have one table I spent $10K on so this was a waste of time as I suspected. To make matters worse the prospect texts me later in the day to tell me (as you will see in the attached text thread) he didn’t want my furniture and that was all my realtor trying to get his offer up. The prospect clearly stated he really only had interest in the home.
When Joseph Barnhill and I spoke again things became far less than professional so I told him I thought it was best that we cancel the listing agreements completely and move on to more positive things. As I stated to him a great deal of respect necessary to continue a business relationship had been lost. After some back and forth for a couple days I finally made it clear that I wanted to cancel and would not change my mind.
This is where things get disturbing. Now Mr. Barnhill says I will need to speak with a Michael Bossart who as I discovered is his sponsoring broker. This came as a shock to me as I was led to believe Joseph Barnhill was a broker and the decision maker. After a few days I realize that Mr. Barnhill has not cancelled my listings under his name so I reach out again to quite literally beg him not to go down this path. Then I receive a phone call from an unknown number which turns out to be Michael Bossart. Mr. Bossart leaves a broken message stating he is on vacation in Cabo. (I will attach the voicemail if permitted on this site) As I stated to both Joey Barnhill via email and Mr. Bossart via voicemail I was fine with a stranger in Mr. Bossart being on vacation, but meanwhile back home in Cypress my listings are being held hostage. I also made it clear that I fail to realize what me speaking with Mr. Bossart has to do with cancelling my listings. It is not like the “mentor” “sponsor” would
ever change my mind. I made it clear numerous times via email and text that I am unable to hire a new agent as I do not want to explain this ridiculous situation and a new realtor cannot list the properties when they are tied up with Mr. Barnhill’s listings. As it stands now Mr. Barnhill has completely stopped communicating, I have not reached Mr. Bossart, Mr. Barnhill’s signage is still on both of my properties, and I am unable to relist my properties for sale.
It is my opinion that this is not only HIGHLY UNETHICAL but completely unnecessary. Depending on a person’s financial situation this could be devastating from a budgetary standpoint. What if someone is close to foreclosure or needed the money for something truly important. I’m wondering if it is even legal to hold a person’s properties hostage and hinder them from selling. I will be reaching out to TREC (Texas Real Estate Commission) to file a formal ethics complaint as well as reaching out to Keller Williams corporate to see if they condone this type of behavior from licensed realtor/brokers. If it becomes necessary I suppose this is what the civil system is designed to resolve, however it seems ridiculous to me that I should need to go this far to sell properties I own and worked my tail off to purchase.
SHOCKED HOMEOWNER!!!!!!!!
If anyone reads this I hope they perform the proper due diligence on anyone they hire to perform life changing tasks such as home or property sales. This has truly turned out to be an unexpected nightmare from a young man who I honestly think has the potential to be great with time and real business experience (the kind you can’t learn in a book no matter how many degrees you earn). It is my opinion that he may be receiving advice/mentoring that may or may not be the best. It is also my opinion that this young man is trying for an aggressive fast growth path in real estate (to be clear I respect it but think he is spread thin) including taking 6 additional continuing education courses since he took on my listing and 5 of which he completed in the last month. Could this have anything to do with why Mr. Barnhill didn’t have time to drive to Cypress to handle my showings? Only he knows that answer, however I have my opinion.
Emails and Text Communications back up docs (to be added if the site allows)
7 Updates & Rebuttals
HAPPY TO REPORT MATURE RESOLUTION
#8Author of original report
Fri, October 20, 2017
I am pleased to report that Mr. Barnhill and I were able to speak maturely and reach a mutually agreed amicable resolution. Far too often in disagreements/disputes you find that emotion rather than reason may escalate what seem like a simple situation into rather unecessary positions. In the end and as in this particular case it is usually easier if the two parties who have the disagreement speak one on one versus involving outside parties who really have nothing at stake in order to quickly resolve the situation.
As I expressed in my original complaint I think Joseph Barnhill is very talented and has a bright future if he continues on the right path. I can attest first hand as to how bright and tech savvy this young man seems I wish Mr. Barnhill nothing but success in the future and hope that both sides honor the agreement so we may both move on and stay focused on more postive ventures.
Customary examle of My giving details of showing
#8Author of original report
Wed, October 18, 2017
As you will see and as was customary being that I handled every showing (against my wishes) I give Joseph Barnhill and synopsis of the prospects.
Joseph arrives late/leaves early im left with buyer
#8Author of original report
Wed, October 18, 2017
As you will see in the text thread I am less than pleased that Joseph Barnhill arrived late to an unauthorized "furniture showing" with the only prospect buyer. I express that I am frustrated being left with the buyers for over an hour by myself talking numbers while he is busy at an "appointment"
I have to negotiate and show home/ texts with prospect
#8Author of original report
Wed, October 18, 2017
As you will see attached somehow on the only prospect to offer any money (although not enough for a deal) I had to show the home, negotiate with the buyer, and politely decline the offer as to not hold up the prospects purchase for another property he was looking to buy.
Emails to Joseph Barnhill (not all review yourself)
#8Author of original report
Wed, October 18, 2017
From: Branden Vigliotti
Date: October 11, 2017 at 4:11:01 PM CDT
To: Joey Barnhill
Subject: Recent conversation / listing cancellations / residential and commercial
Look Joey i think it goes without saying that conversation went sideways/bad. I honestly meant what ive always said. You have a lot of talent and charisma. It will take you a long way. We have a philosophical difference of opinion on how much real physical presence versus technology should be utilized in these matters. I think i was clear on how i did not want to be a part of buyers, showing, realtors, etc. I believe i had voiced frustrations prior in reference to me literally handling every showing on my home. With that said I did not see the two of us ever getting cross the way we did a minute ago and for that i'll apologize for my part. Unfortunately, after a heated exchange like that i dont see how the respect from either side can be repaired in order to continue with a business relationship. I sincerely wish you nothing but success in your ventures and have no doubt you will go far. If you knew me better you would understand that i trust very few and definitely dont attempt to help people in business who i dont feel have the requisite skill sets to succeed. I surely wouldnt have given you my personal commercial bankers number or put in a good word for you if i disliked you. Im not big with emotion in business, however i do want you to understand that i truly did and do wish for you to be successful. Anyhow, please let me know what we do from here. Obviously i have the commercial property we just resigned an listing agreement on and i believe the home listing will expire while im remodeling so that should handle itself. If there is paperwork needed for either please let me know.
Good luck! I mean that!
Branden Dean Vigliotti
From: Branden Dean
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2017 2:45 PM
To: joey@thebarnhillXXXX
Subject: Termination
Find the executed cancellation attached. If you want to provide a list of people who I or my new agent are not to sell to I am happy to honor that request. None of your leads memorialized anyhow and I just don’t care that much. All I want at this point is a complete separation from your services. It is a shame it has come down to this, however you will not control my financial future or make me show and close my own deals moving forward. You did not show my residential property one time on your own. That is unacceptable given the clear instructions I gave when agreeing to utilize your services.
I want those signs out of my properties yards by end of week and an immediate cancellation from the listings. You are now tying up my commercial property which is my priority with your listings. Furthermore I have asked that you update those pictures on that commercial property for two weeks to reflect the remodel and It has yet to be done.
Cordially,
Branden Vigliotti
From: Branden Dean
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2017 6:29 PM
To: Joey Barnhill
Subject: Re: Termination
Please provide a good contact number for your broker. I see no reason to waste any further time.
Cordially,
Branden Dean Vigliotti
-----Original Message-----
From: Branden Dean
Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2017 2:46 PM
To: Joey Barnhill
Subject: Listing termination / Broker Call
Ok Joey this is becoming more irritating than you can imagine. You still have my listings tied up and active. I have not heard from your broker nor have you given me his information. If you are hanging on to some thought that im selling my home i just sent you my correspondence with the Hookah guy. He didnt want my furniture. I didnt want to sell my furniture. As you can see i told him you would be calling and i politely killed the deal. I want out of this ridiculous situation. To be honest im so disgusted with this situation i may not sell my home at this point. Maybe this was some sort of sign. Anyhow, Check your reviews online. I dont make idle threats as you suggested and i dont get bullied as it pertains to the nearly $1 million in properties i own. Im holding on to the TREC complaint until i speak with your broker for now, however im not going to wait much longer. Again, I do not want to go down this path. There are no winners in situations like this. Joey, I will not allow you to hold my listings hostage, especially the commercial as i told you i have a credit line on it and want to move it asap! Have your broker call me so we can put this to rest please. Also, please come remove your signs.
Thanks,
From: Branden Dean
Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2017 4:12 PM
To: Joey Barnhill <joey@thebarnhillgroup.com>
Subject: Re: Listing termination / Broker Call
I have not heard back from your broker. As you know my weekdays are almost entirely devoted to my attorneys for an upcoming matter that has been pending for three years. I do not want my weekdays again interrupted to deal with this matter. Quite honestly im happy to speak to your broker, but i fail to realize what that has to do with you holding my listings hostage. Furthermore if he is in Cabo vacationing that is awesome (wish i was there), but im not going to change my mind after this ridiculousness. Im asking again that you free my listings up for a new realtor. I have no desire to bring a new realtor in and need to explain this situation or as to why my listings are still active with you. This is becoming childish in my opinion. Again, i like you, but the respect is gone. I do not want to take this where it is going. We have had plenty of conversations about business, the litigious industry i work in, and how after 20 years im exiting this industry for something a little more rewarding although less lucrative. These matters become draining and are a waste of time. I never imagined the need to fight over my own properties nor have i ever had a dispute go this far in my personal life. Neither of us need this or want this Joey. Im not worried about me. I dont "have to" sell i "want to" sell. I can and will wait if im forced to, but i will also respond through all channels at my disposal and as i deem suffice. Youve met and talked with me enough to gather i will never willingly let others make decisions, take advantage, or force my hand without a fight (all legally so dont confuse that with physical). Please and for the last time before i start responding, END THIS. This is goofy!
Branden Dean Vigliotti
-----Original Message-----
From: Branden Dean
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2017 7:58 PM
To: Joey Barnhill <joey@thebarnhillgroup.com>
Subject: Cancellation Agreements
I still have not received a counter signed cancellation on my home which expires in a few days or the paperwork for my cancellation on the commercial property. The only thing you brought to my home when i declined to sign the residential extension and resigned the commercial was the signature page anyhow. You and i both know that, and when i asked about the duration the next day you said the extension was for (6 months). It was a little shocking to hear as i never sign more than 90 days as was evident in the initial listing.
I spoke to your mentor today. I hope you know what you are doing. He knew nothing of our agreement and seemed very proud of himself. He had a "talk off" for everything, however i was lost as to what we were talking about. I already agreed in writing to honor the commission for any buyer you brought during the listing for 90 days. I dont want your money and im not a thief. I simply do not think you understood how serious i was about not wanting to interact with buyers, realtors, or do the showings. I was doing that on my own before you came on. I concur with your mentor that you are talented, but be careful allowing others to dictate your actions involving your reputation. From my experience allowing others to make decisions involving your name is usually not a good idea. No one cares about your name the way you do. I told you before that situations like this never have clear winners. Good luck with everything! Im upset with the situation and will handle it how i deem fit, but i really wish you success with your career.
Please send over the cancellations. Both of them.
Thanks,
From: Branden Dean
Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2017 12:47 PM
To: Joey Barnhill <joey@thebarnhillgroup.com>
Subject: Your customary early morning emails
Joey it has become customary to hear my phone go off early in the morning with emails from you as seen attached. I see you still have my listings in your name as well. The cancellation paperwork i requested is still not in my possession either.
After speaking with your "mentor" yesterday it has crossed my mind that you may be following his directives. While responsible for your own actions am i correct with my assertions?
Joey i have a large file im finishing up for TREC and HAR. So far all that has transpired is a superficial dispute between our two sides. Again, i dont wish to go down this path as you are young in your career and i now believe your mentoring may or may not be the best. If you leave me no choice but to respond accordingly i will, but as ive mentioned repeatedly all i really want is to move on with life.
I have a feeling your "mentor" will force this down a much more unnecessary path. For what i ask? This isnt fun for anyone involved. Furthermore lets assume ive encountered your mentor's type before in my career. Do you think he would stand behind you when or if you start to cost the company money? Im asking a simple question. Do you think there is a clause in your agreement with him where if it is found you did or said something they didnt authorize, condone, or find ethical (loose term after my talk with the mentor).
Before this escalates beyond a mere dispute between our two parties im suggesting you and i speak briefly in attempt to avoid involving outside parties/entities. I'm mature enough to speak if you are?
-----Original Message-----
From: Branden Dean
Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2017 1:35 PM
To: Joey Barnhill <joey@thebarnhillgroup.com>
Subject: Extension NOT dually executed
As you remember when you brought signature pages only to my home for me to extend my listings you DID NOT dually execute them at my home nor did you send me a copy dually executed.
Your boker "mentor", Mr Bossart, was out of the country on vacation in Cabo. I, in writing, cancelled that extension 24 hrs later and roughly a week before the original listing was due to expire.
I'd like to receive a copy of the dually executed copy for my records as I'm entitled. I am sure no one would think of back dating a signature on the one signature page you had me sign for the commercial property only. Please forward a copy of that extension as soon as possible. Im quite certain in order to be enforceable both parties would have to dually execute. Did this happen before i cancelled in writing? Did your extension start date reflect a date before or after i cancelled being that the original listing still had a week remaining?
Branden Dean Vigliotti
Listing Extension / Not dually executed
#8Author of original report
Wed, October 18, 2017
Mr. Bossart in discussing the listings went as far as to question my integrity for wishing to cancel. In my opinion if you are trying to salvage something maybe you don't insult the person you are trying to work with and better yet maybe review the promises broken by your agent, Joseph Barnhill.
**Important** I'd like to point out that I did not sign a listing extension for my home. The listing on my home is due to expire on the 20th. I did however for a mere 24 hrs sign a signature page only for the commercial building. When Joseph Barnhill came to my home to sign the extensions he merely brought signature pages and not the entire document. Furthermore he did not dually execute that document while here, and I have not received an dually executed copy since. I also asked in writing to cancel that extension 24hrs later after our unpleasant exchange. I have two questions here.
1. If Joseph Barnhill did not dually execute the document or send it back to me is it even valid? Mr. Barnhill did not sign or dually execute the contract before leaving my hom. I cancelled in written form 24hrs later and the original listing contract doesn't expire until the 20th which is 3 days from today. I'm merely asking a a question.
2. We now know that Mr. Michael Bossart was in Cabo during this time period so it is highly unlikely he signed a simple extension while on vacation. If Mr. Bossart back dates that contract or signs it now would that constitute fraud? Again, I'm merely pointing out the fact that Mr. Bossart was out of the country and I cancelled any chance of him dually signing the contract before he returned stateside. Would a non dually executed extension be valid, signature page only, as Mr. Barnhill only brought in signature pages.
Finally Spoke To Broker Michael Bossart
#8Author of original report
Wed, October 18, 2017
Mr. Bossat and I finally communicated today now that he is back from his Cabo vacation. Early in the conversation it was clear that Mr. Bossart was not aware of much other than that there was a dispute between Joseph Barnhill and myself. At first It seemed as though he thought this was salvagable or like he would be able to step in as the "boss" and save the day. For those reading remember I didn't know who this Michael Bossart was or existed until a few days ago. After we exchanged mundane pleasantries and after he gave me a chance to try and explain it was clear that Mr. Bossart has not read through my correspondence with Joseph Barnhill or the complaint online. Mr. Bossart began by verbalizing that he had some 700 employees for which I congratulated him. He then went on to tell me that Joseph Barnhill is his #2 producer and "he gets it".
To this I responded that I agree Joseph Barnhill is very smart. In my opinon however if a young man who has worked for you for under a year in a commission based environment and is now your #2 producer out of 700 we must be dealing with a prodigy. We may very well be, but I'd like to see the back up to that statement. As a business owner myself these type of statements immediately made me think to be careful as this felt like a pitch. Further into the discussion it became clear that Mr. Bossart did not know I had specifically made clear that no lock box was to be used on my home and no one was to enter unattended. When he figured out that I did not allow a lock box he proceeded to tell me that some of his best producers never enter the premises of the homes they sell. That is great and if that business model works for him or others that is perfectly fine, however I specifically stated and made clear that no one was to enter unattended and contracted out that way so I see no reason to argue over what I will or will not allow in the home I live in.
I finally simply asked him what he was tyring to accomplish to which he stated that Joseph Barnhill was entitled to a commission on anyone he showed the home to while as my agent. If Mr. Bossart had read through my multiple correspondences to Mr. Barnhill he would have seen that I specifically stated that I would agree to pay a commission on anyone Joseph Barnhill showed the home to for 90 days as the contract states. I in no way want to take money from Joseph Barnhill as I'm an honest person and happen to thinik Joseph Barnhill has a bright future if he goes down the right path. My issue was and has been that I didn't need someone to relist my home as I had it listed. I wanted someone, clearly specified as such, and repeatedly asked for Joseph Barnhill to deal with the realtors and buyer so that I didn't have to be burdened with these matters. I was showing the property on my own before Joseph Barnhill came along. If i had to do so with him as my agent I fail to see the value in that. As a matter of fact it takes my ability to vet who is and is't coming in and out of my home because I'm relying on Joseph Barnhill to set up spur of the moment appointments while I handle the burden of showing.