Real Estate Agents, Realtors, and Salesmen
(Page 2 of 8)
May/June 1974
by Les Scher
The following story is an excellent example of how a salesman can be used by an agent for the purpose of defrauding a purchaser. I know the principals involved in this case and saw how the buyer was taken. A salesman convinced a buyer to purchase some land by assuring him that a beautiful creek ran across the property. The buyer, without double-checking anything the salesman told him, signed a contract, paid the purchase price, and had his deed recorded. Then he decided to get a survey done before beginning to build his house to be sure that it would be on the property. He should have demanded that a survey be taken before he bought the land. The survey showed, to the buyer's surprise, that the creek was not on his property. Since the land was worthless without water from the creek, he went to the former owner to try to get his money back but was unsuccessful. The former owner had never promised him that the creek was on the property and, in fact, had never even met him. The buyer then tried to locate the salesman, but he had since left the agent's employment. The agent claimed he had never told his salesman that the creek was on the property. But he did admit that when the salesman asked if the creek was on the property, he said that he thought it might be but that he could not be sure without a survey. Getting nowhere, the buyer then filed a complaint with the District Attorney against the salesman and real estate agent for land fraud. The District Attorney found the salesman and brought him in for questioning, at which time he stated that the agent did tell him the creek was on the land and that he knew nothing about the property other than what he had been told by the agent. In rural areas, close ties develop among politicians, businessmen and law enforcers. Therefore, it was no surprise that the District Attorney refused to take any action, whitewashing the fraud for lack of evidence; after all, the buyer had nothing in writing to prove he had been told the creek came with the land. The buyer then retained a lawyer to sue the parties involved, but the outcome is uncertain. The only sure thing is that the buyer did not get what he paid for, and will have to pay much more in legal fees to try to get his money back, with no assurance of success.
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When a salesman misinforms a buyer, by the time the buyer realizes something is wrong, the salesman is often long gone. There is a huge turnover in salesmen because the requirements are so easy and because many people become salesmen in order to find a good deal on a piece of land and then drop out of selling. Few salesmen are paid a regular salary. Usually they get a fraction of the agent's commission for a sale they work on, so there is little incentive to work regularly and they come and go as they please. Unless a salesman intends to apply for a license to become a real estate agent, there is no pressure on him to be well informed or particularly honest. Though a buyer who has been defrauded can always sue the seller, the agent and the salesman, going to court is easier said than done.
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