Our broker helped us identify a listing we liked. Through the broker, we placed an email offer which the seller countered. Unwilling to raise our offer, we were told it would never happen. Fast forward to over two weeks later when my spouse casually asked our broker "Whatever happened to the listing where we had placed an offer?" The next day the broker emails my spouse with a message of... [more]
Our broker helped us identify a listing we liked. Through the broker, we placed an email offer which the seller countered. Unwilling to raise our offer, we were told it would never happen. Fast forward to over two weeks later when my spouse casually asked our broker "Whatever happened to the listing where we had placed an offer?" The next day the broker emails my spouse with a message of "Congratulations, The apartment is yours!" Confused, I read the email and turns out that our broker contacted the seller's broker and offered our original offer + $x and the seller accepted. However, we never authorized our broker to go over our original offer amount! When asked point blank over email why the broker did this, the broker didn't answer the question and instead blamed our bank for not approving us for the original offer + $x amount (also not true).
I am really angry and unsure how to pursue this. Unfortunately, my spouse signed an "exclusive buyer's agency agreement" tying us to this broker for over 7 more months, but in reading over this document, it appears the broker isn't holding up the "broker's obligations" portion of the agreement. How do I get out of this agreement? Contact the broker's boss?
I really don't want to use a buyer's broker but it seems like sellers agents in Manhattan won't take us seriously without one.
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