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The Manitoba Securities Commission has launched an inquiry into the actions of agent Joan Stringer, an agent with Re/Max’s Portage Ave. office.
Those of you who read our last issue will know how Brent and Valerie Gilchrist were inveigled into signing an agent's listing agreement by Ms. Stringer under the mistaken understanding they could continue with their private sale through ComFree (full story is on our Winnipeg home page).
They sold privately with no agent involvement. So they were flabbergasted when Re/Max hit them with a $5,000 bill for ...what?... no services rendered?
When they appealed to the Re/Max broker and presented the facts, they were told to "just pay."
They hadn’t read the fine print in the Winnipeg Real Estate Board’s listing agreement, which does a sterling job of protecting the rights of the agent. They had depended upon the honesty and professionalism of the agent, who knew they were still operating under the misapprehension they could continue with their private sale.
ComFree welcomes the commission’s inquiry. We’ve seen over the years how steeply the playing field is tilted in favour of the agents in their dealings with the public. |
This case is but one example, but it raises troubling questions about the inherent conflict of interest agent’s bring to the table when they deal with homeowners.
Questions such as:
1. Why did the agent not disclose at the time of signing, or at any point in the following weeks, that they no longer had a private sale when she knew for a fact that was the Gilchrists’ belief? Because she thought she could get away with it?
2. Why has the Re/Max broker chosen to ignore the evidence and support an agent involved in less-than-ethical conduct?
3. Why is the Securities Commission suppressing a form that would have saved the Gilchrists from this headache?
For six years, ComFree has provided thousands of vendors with a contract form, prepared by lawyers, that allows private sellers to sign a side deal with an agent, but remain a private sale. If they had used that form, instead of the agent’s form, they would not have a problem today.
But the Securities Commission has ordered ComFree to stop distributing this very useful instrument. Whose interest does that serve?
Adequate consumer protection is the issue here.
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