CHRIS SEARS

We found a house while we were without an agent and decided to try our hand at negotiating an offer on our own. Correctly or incorrectly as the case may be, since we were not represented and therefore the seller would not have to pay a buyers agent fee, we deducted what we thought was a fair percentage from our offer. We put together what we thought was a fair offer, explained the logic behind it, and sent it in. We dealt primarily with Chris's assistant during this time. We knew there was another offer on the house and expected to receive some sort of counter fairly quickly. 2 hours later we received an email from Chris that the buyer had accepted the other contract. Although disappointed that they did not counter, we accepted this, thanked Chris, and inquired as to what had been the determining factor in the seller's decision. The email response we received from Chris was highly unprofessional. We've dealt with other agents while we were without representation and never had a problem, but it seemed he was quite offended by our decision to try it on our own. Given the tone of his response, we suspect our offer was not objectively presented and, given the other reviews I've read, I now wonder if he had any intention of passing the 'no buyer agent' savings on to his client.

Chris agreed to work with us and the realtor, and agreed to pay them a 2.5% commission. He told us he was bound by the MLS rules regarding the payment. At the closing we noticed that the realtor was not listed on the HUD to receive any money. I notified both my lawyer and the realtor about this. My lawyer called Chris Sears on the phone while we were at the closing to ask about the money. He said that they would cut the check to them the following week. The realtor said this happens sometimes, so with the nod from my lawyer and them I continued with the closing. Guess what? Next week comes and no check. When we contacted Chris Sears, he then said he wasn't going to pay them commission. And since we get a cut of whatever the realtor makes, when they get less we get less too. So even after agreeing several times to several people, verbally and in writing, he pulled out and refused to pay.