BUYERS AND SELLERS BEWARE…read more
We hired Maria Nunez (DRE# 01822317) from Lux Living Estates to represent us in the sale of our home. Sonia Amen (DRE# 02050128) is the broker. We completed a home sale with this brokerage under dual agency, and unfortunately, our experience fell far short of basic professional standards. Everything I am saying can be backed up with receipts, including texts and emails.
The way the brokerage handled our concerns after closing also says a lot. We emailed the broker, and she requested our contact information, which we provided the same day. She then went silent for 4 days before responding. Her response contained inaccuracies and conclusions that, in our opinion, were made without understanding the full story. We responded with detailed documentation, and she went silent again.
She began by saying she "was surprised" that we raised these concerns after closing. These concerns had been raised directly with the listing agent throughout the listing period and escrow. It was not until the material financing change came to light that we realized the communication and representation issues were more significant than isolated incidents. Escalating to the brokerage before closing was not practical because we still needed the agent to continue working on the transaction and we were near closing.
Our biggest concern was a material change in the buyer's financing: the loan switched from conventional to FHA without timely disclosure to us. We were only informed after an FHA appraisal had already been completed and we were presented with the FHA Amendatory Clause for signature. Our complaint was never that the buyer switched loans or that the transaction ultimately closed. Our concern was the quality of representation we received as sellers: communication, proactive updates, guidance, transparency, and our ability to make informed decisions.
The agent told us in writing that when she first submitted the offer, it was conventional, but the lender changed it to FHA because of the buyer's FICO score. She also stated that the appraisal was for FHA and admitted: "Since I was dealing with his sale, I forgot to mention it to you." She acknowledged that FHA and conventional financing are different. The FHA appraisal was completed only a few days after escrow opened, so the financing change was known well before we were told. We found out weeks later. We were also later informed that the buyer's loan officer was associated with this brokerage and had been listed as an agent associated with our listing. Given that relationship, we expected the transaction details to be known and communicated to us.
The loan contingency was extended once, which we accepted before knowing about the FHA financing. The second loan contingency deadline was also missed, and we had to aggressively follow up just to find out what was happening. When we brought the agent's written admission to the broker's attention, it was essentially ignored. Instead, the broker explained why the financing changed and stated: "As the listing broker, our responsibility is to protect your interests... ending a transaction because of a financing change could mean starting over... In this case, the buyer's financing change ultimately allowed the transaction to proceed. To us, this reads as though the brokerage evaluated the agent's failure to disclose and decided it was an acceptable business strategy. The broker's response effectively justified the lack of communication by assuming the agent had the authority to weigh the risks and make that decision on our behalf.
She also explained that ending the transaction could mean additional property taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, utilities, maintenance, and other carrying costs. But deciding whether we, as sellers, wanted to accept the risks of a financing change or proceed with another buyer was our decision to make. We were on the market for only 3 weeks and had only one open house weekend. It was not their decision to make for us.
A successful closing does not retroactively excuse a failure to communicate a material change. We felt cornered and bypassed during a transaction involving one of the largest financial decisions of our lives. Sellers rely on their listing agent and brokerage to protect their interests, especially under dual agency where transparency is paramount. Unfortunately, that standard was not met here, even though the brokerage received compensation from both sides of the transaction, with us paying both the seller's and buyer's commission.
Future clients should proceed with extreme caution. If you are looking for an agent or broker who practices honest communication, respects your contractual agreements, and takes client concerns seriously, I would look elsewhere.
