Weichert Realtors

The agent I am complaining about represents the seller of a property I am trying to acquire. I am concerned about behavior that is unprofessional and possibly unethical with regard to the tactics being used by the agent.

Specifically, Eric Payne (1110917) is the listing/selling agent for a property I am trying to acquire at 928 Edgewood Avenue in Trenton, NJ. During the course of this transaction my agent and I asked for an extension on the closing date. Mr. Payne had previously communicated that he must first seek verbal approval from the bank (seller) and if they are amenable he would send the addendum with the details. The original closing date was scheduled for 7/22/19 and an extension was requested and granted until 7/25/19. When we missed the 7/25/19 closing date we requested another extension. Again, as per Mr. Payne's behavior he sent the addendum extending the closing until 8/2/19 which I immediately signed and returned. On/about 7/31 a message was sent from the title company that the seller communicated that the contract was being cancelled; I contested and advised that we had an extension in place until 8/2. My agent then called Mr. Payne and, according to what she told me, he responded by saying that the bank called "screaming" at him that they needed to close. Mr. Payne then followed up by sending another addendum from 7/25-8/2 with $100 penalty per day. I told him that although we didn't have a fully executed agreement Mr. Payne had represented that the seller verbally approved the contract until 8/2 (without penalty). The communication went back and forth with Mr. Payne that his client would cancel the contract unless I agreed to the penalty and me threatening legal action for breach of contract. Finally, on 8/2 Mr. Payne sent an addendum extending the contract from 8/3-8/6 with a $100 per day penalty. By the time the addendum was sent it was near the close of business on the East Coast (between 3-3:30 PM). I contacted my agent and expressed my concern that that the seller wasn't likely to return the addendum until 8/5 which put me in a position of vulnerability because it gave less then 24 hours for my lender to process the documents. She advised that she brought this to Mr. Payne's attention and, to my knowledge, never acknowledged the concern only sending the executed addendum on 8/5/19 at approximately 1:20 PM EST.

At the very least the selling agent's conduct seems unprofessional and his inability to be agile and flexible in a matter that seems routine to me is of great concern. I have shown throughout this transaction that I am acting diligently and in good faith. The delays have primarily been beyond my control with the lender requesting documents, delays in the seller responding/producing documents etc.

I did try to discuss and resolve this matter with his manager, Mr. John Burke but to no avail. I am asking that some one review and respond to me in a timely period.

I appreciate your consideration.