Buyer's Broker and NAEBA Alleged "Buyer's broker" only looks out for her own bottomline - $$$$! Redwood City California
Back in July, 2006, we decided to buy our first home in San Jose, CA. At the time, after reading about home buyer tips, we decided to "hire" a Buyer's agent to help us through the home buying process. We were referred to a company titled "Buyer's Broker" by NAEBA (located at naeba.org)
Within a day of asking for a referral online at NAEBA's website, we were contacted by one Barbara D (works out of the Redwood City, CA office) who offered to assist us with the home buying process. We were informed, upfront, that we'd have to sign a contract with the agent we "hired" and Barbara acted as if she was giving us a break by telling us that we could work with her first and see how we "gelled". So far, so good. Actually, up until we were ready to make our first (and ONLY!) offer, Barbara acted as if she was looking out for our best interests even though she was snipy with me now and then.
After a few days of searching, we found a condo that we liked in San Jose, CA. The unit was listed at $476K and after looking through the CMA, we decided to make an offer for $465K. Right off the bat, she insisted that we sign an exclusive buyer's agent contract with her, and she insisted that the contract be for TWO months. She wanted this done first EVEN before we started writing the offer. When we signed the contract - we really liked the condo and didn't see a problem - then, the woman's colors came shining through and the claws came popping out.
The first thing she did was to insist that we were to put down more down payment in order to make the offer "more attractive" to the seller! Well, we refused. We had already been pre-approved at that point of time and we didn't see why we had to increase our downpayment. The property had been in the market for TWO months at that time and had not received a single offer until then. The seller was getting married and his agent had let on that he was desperate to sell the property, so we knew he'd be glad to just have an OFFER. But Barbara didn't think so. She insisted that we increase our downpayment and also increased interest rates to 6.5% although our lender - CALHFA - had agreed to finance our loan at 5.75%. Her argument was that the seller would not "believe" that any lender would agree to give us the loan at that %. Ummm, I still fail to see how it was any of the seller's business... but it gets even better.
After going through the CMA, we decided to make an offer of $440K. Barbara, "our agent", did not like that we were offering less than asking price. When it came to the part where we discuss home warranties, she said that since we were making an offer of less than 10k, we should pay for the home warranty ourselves!! Her words were "Why should the seller pay the 300 odd dollars it costs for home warranty when he's accepting an offer of 10k less?!" So much for being a BUYER'S agent! Then she insisted on a 3% security deposit and failed to disclose that this downpayment was completely negotiable. In addition, she did not explain that if the deal fell through in case of non-obtainment of finance or for any reason, we could lose the entire deposit. She probably hoped to put us between a rock and a hard place so that SHE could walk away with her commission and d**n the buyers! I have to admit that we made a mistake too - we blindly believed this woman and were so very keen on buying the property and assumed that the deposit was refundable under any circumstances. The next day, the seller made a "counter offer". We had asked for 14 days to conduct the home inspection and he came back asking for the inspection contingency to be removed in 10 days. I seized this chance to make my own counter offer - we'd remove the inspection contingency clause in 10 days IF we could change the terms of the downpayment and the interest rates. Barbara's reaction? "Buyers DO NOT make counter offers, sellers do!"
At this point of time, I lost whatever little trust I had in the woman. In addition, that very day, the business section of the SJ Mercury News carried a small paragraph about pending layoffs in my husband's company and we simply did not feel comfortable signing the counter offer.The sale fell through, we put a stop payment on my deposit check and thanked our lucky stars that we left when the going was still good.
Another thing that this "buyer's broker" failed to disclose was that closing costs are completely negotiable and could be split with the seller in a cool market. We learned this from friends AFTER the fact, when we discussed this with them.
Funnily enough, Barbara took our decision well. When she emailed asking if we wanted to continue receiving listings, I responded saying No, as we wanted to stop the process at this time and would touch base with her as soon as the job issue was cleared up. My husband, however, still had some confidence in her. HOWEVER, that changed after discussing the contract with our experienced friends who had purchased home before. Our friends helped us realize that we could have gotten a better, pro-buyer deal if Ms. Delantoni had guided us better.
When I called to complain to NAEBA in Oct, 2006, they completely REFUSED to take a complaint stating that NOBODY had *ever* complained about Barbara before! Well, DUH, if they refuse to accept *any* complaints, OF COURSE they would have none on file. I later found out that Barbara's boss, a realtor that sells luxury homes in Souther CA, John R, is an important member (or even founder?!) of NAEBA! OF COURSE they were not going to take any action against either Barbara or her employing broker, John R. John, when I contacted him, claimed that Barbara was a "good" realtor and that we had probably just had a "personality" clash.
Yeah, right.
My suggestion to ALL buyers out there - DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT believe that any realtor is working *for* you if you are a buyer. Their bottom line is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS their OWN commission, even if they CLAIM to be a "buyer's broker" as our experience has shown! Barbara NEVER showed us any For Sale By Owner Properties - which was a dead giveaway to her intentions and motivations. We got off easily but you may not be so lucky. Never, ever, ever believe that anyone is working for you. Remember, in the homebuying process, you, the buyer, are on your own.
Good luck.
Anon
Belmont, California
U.S.A.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Kimberly Kahl, NAEBA Executive Director
Avondale,Arizona,
USA
We Take Consumer Complaints Very Seriously
#5REBUTTAL Owner of company
Thu, May 04, 2017
This complaint was recently brought to my attention. Even though this complaint is ten years old, I felt it was important that I respond as we take consumer complaints very seriously.
At the time of this complaint, NAEBA was a volunteer-run organization and a third-party vendor handled our consumer inquiries. It is likely that this home buyer did not even speak with someone at NAEBA, but rather an employee of the third-party vendor, which is unfortunate. The home buyer would not have realized this because the third-party vendor paid NAEBA royalties to use our name and would have answered the phone as such, creating the confusion.
We no longer use a third-party vendor. If a consumer calls any NAEBA number, they will reach an employee who works for NAEBA. They have all been trained on our policies and procedures in handling consumer complaints.
I personally communicate with the consumer initially to see if I can get the issue resolved. Just two weeks ago, our office was contacted by a home seller who was upset with our agent who was working the home buyer. I spoke with the seller and the agent and the issue was resolved within 24 hours.
In another instance a couple of years ago, a buyer contacted our office at 5:08pm on December 23. Our office was closed for the holidays; however, I responded to the buyer at 6:21pm the same day. We continued to correspond, even on Christmas Day, as the buyer was very distressed about the situation. The issue was resolved and on December 31, I received a thank you from the buyer for answering her emails during the holidays.
If a resolution cannot be found, I let the consumer know the procedure to file a complaint. It is actually a pretty simple procedure. ALL complaints filed are then given to a committee of reviewers made up of members of the NAEBA Board of Directors and/or an Ethics Committee to determine if there was a possible violation of NAEBA's Standards of Practice, Code of Ethics, or other policies.
There have been only two complaints filed since I started with NAEBA in November, 2007. In both cases, the board found in favor of the consumer, not the agent, and the agent received discipinary action. While I don't want to give the wrong impression that the board would always find in favor of the consumer, our process is designed to be impartial and thorough, allowing consumers to truly be heard while giving due process to the agents.
It is rare that a consumer contacts us about an issue with one of our members. Our stats show that it occurs less than once out of every 1,000 inquiries we receive. In addition, this is still the only complaint I've ever seen about Barbara, John, or Buyer's Broker. That being said, I can assure you that if the complaint mentioned above happened today, it would have been handled differently.
The Difference Maker
United States of AmericaLet The Buyer Decide
#5Consumer Comment
Fri, October 15, 2010
Lets see, Home Buyer supposedly ripped off by NAEBA - one. Home Buyers actually ripped off over the years by the traditional real estate industry masquerading as Buyer Agents endless, and still counting. You decide Home Buying public.
Anon
Belmont,California,
U.S.A.
Do not agree with the rebuttal posted.
#5Author of original report
Tue, February 19, 2008
I am the original poster's husband.
While Mr. Rygiol did in fact offer to help us in the purchase of our home, he did not make this offer in Oct, 2006 when we first attempted to file a complaint with NAEBA, after realizing that Ms. Delantoni had not adhered to the NAEBA's Code of Ethics, which include behaving in a trustworthy manner, being loyal to the principal (the buyer), helping buyer reduce closing costs, etc. Not only did NAEBA refuse to register a complaint (for the same reasons that Mr. Rygiol presents here - NO ONE ELSE HAS HAD AN ISSUE WITH MS. DELANTONI, YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WITH THE ISSUE, SO WE ARE NOT TAKING A COMPLAINT!), but also Mr. Rygiol did not bother to contact us even after he probably heard from NAEBA about our grievance. If NAEBA never registers complaints against their agents, how do they ever expect to have any issues on file?
Emails to Mr. Rygiol's accounts also went unanswered, until he finally responded to a phone call that WE had placed. In other words, he did not make the attempt to resolve our grievance but offered to help us when WE contacted HIM to complain about Ms. Delantoni's attitude.
Thirdly, I am not sure how he expects us to continue trusting NAEBA even after our VERY negative experience both with the organization AND with one of their agents. We moved from the area and used a "regular brokerage" firm to buy our house. I am happy to note that the service we received was ABOVE average - the agent (who also takes listings) was very courteous, very accomodative, upfront and helped us through out the sales process, including telling us how we could reduce closing costs.
I found the services of a regular brokerage SUPERIOR to the "service" we received from NAEBA and will gladly recommend our realtor to our friends and family. In this poor housing market, such word of mouth would definitely benefit our realtor. We are very grateful to him and his brokerage for easing us through this process and have learned a lot from him. The best part? No exclusive agent contract, no high pressure sales tactics - we were free to change realtors at any time and we're glad that that pressure of losing us made him more courteous and more service-oriented than Ms. Delantoni.
Jjrygiol
Seal Beach,California,
U.S.A.
Buyer's Broker Response
#5REBUTTAL Owner of company
Sat, October 20, 2007
Gayatri
I am so sorry that this matter continues to distress you so much.
Barbara has been an Exclusive Buyer Agent for many years and has many, many very happy HomeBuyers that she has assisted. We keep getting referrals from her past clients all the time.
In all the time she has been with Buyer's Broker, you have been the only person to complain about her services.
I have apologized personally and have offered, as the owner of the company, to personally assist you in your search for a home, when you are ready.
I cannot do any more than that.
I am distressed that you continue to post negative posts about Barbara, Buyer's Broker and NAEBA on various blogs and websites like this.
I have been a Realtor for 35 years and started Buyer's Broker to assist Home Buyers in Buying a home.
Please let me know if there is anything that I can do to set things right for you.
John J. Rygiol
Buyer's Broker