On March 26, 2017 my home was being shown to a potential buyer by HB a Realtor from Weichert Realtors of Sparta. I was not present during the showing but received a call shortly thereafter from my listing agent (from another agency). She informed me that the aforementioned potential buyer had broken a valuable piece of Art during the showing. The piece of Art was a large, very rare geological specimen being a Cranberry Quartz Crystal with a custom carved base that I had purchased as a Memorial to my late husband of 29 years.
The Cranberry Quartz Crystal Memorial was clearly and safely displayed in my parlor at the time of the showing. My agent was told directly by Ms. HB that she was "sorry for the loss" and that her customer "knew he had to pay for it." Ms. HB went on to state that her customer had broken the Cranberry Quartz Crystal Memorial while trying to inspect my stereo system, which was not part of the sale of the house.
Needless to say, I was completely devastated by the loss of the Memorial to my late husband.
The potential buyer initially offered compensation of $500 for my loss, but given the fact that the Cranberry Quartz Crystal Memorial had cost $2996.00, and the personal devastation of having it broken in the first place by the negligence of the customer and the Weichert agent, I rejected the offer.
After consulting with my Attorney and my listing agent , I was informed that even though the loss of this irreplaceable Memorial certainly couldn't be relieved by any monetary sum, that if I chose to pursue the issue further, I should only expect to be compensated for the purchase price. I reluctantly agreed and instructed my Attorney to contact Mr. A Milling, the broker of the Weichert Agency of Sparta and try to settle the matter.
In response, Mr. AM (broker of the Sparta Weichert office) became very caustic, belligerent, and threatening. He denied that his Agent, Ms. HB, had even called my agent and went on to say that I was negligent in the displaying of my Husband's Memorial, or the piece of "quartz" as he called it, and implied that Mr. KA (potential buyer) may have been injured and could possibly be considering litigation against me.
After months of prolonged back and forth with Mr. AM, my Attorney advised me that the only possible chance of any recovery for the damage was to file suit.
I couldn't afford the expense of filing a law suit and decided to pursue other possible remedies on my own.
I feel that it is important that Mr. AM (broker of the Sparta Weichert office) be held accountable for his actions and that other consumers be aware of them as well. read more