My chief complaint against Oakwoods Realty is that Agent Dean Foust, in the midst of a pending contract we had been working with him on for several days, bought in his own buyers (securing full commission) and sold the home without providing fair opportunity for us to bring in another bid. At no point was my agent informed that we were in competition with his buyers until it was too late. Grant it, Dean was not under any obligation to disclose this information to my agent but, out of courtesy, he could have said something.

Instead, in good faith, we made an offer which was countered. We then accepted the counter, allowing the seller ample time to review the contract. Within 2-3 hours after we signed the counter, returned it to Dean for the sellers to review, the house was sold. My agent tried repeatedly to contact Dean for some explanation as to what may have happened and could not get him to call her back. Immediately becoming suspicious as to why he was avoiding us, we contacted the broker.

The broker, after investigating the matter, determined that there was nothing unethical about the transaction. I am still not satisfied with the results of his findings.

Oakwoods argument is that we should have bought in a higher offer initially. However, the home had been on the market for 3 months and although it was under contract, pending the sale of another home, there were no other buyers competing with us at the time so there was no reason to come in high. It is just the nature of the business.

However, when the first offer was not accepted, we did not get into a bidding war with the sellers but instead gave them what they wanted. It was at this time that things took an unethical turn. Dean Foust, having full disclosure of all the figures, at the time he bought in his own buyers, knew that the potential buyers would need to outbid us in order to get the home. He also knew they would need to make the transaction happen quickly before our counter offer expired. His claim is that it was the seller's decision to move in this direction, not his but I find very little comfort in this claim.

Considering the short time, it is difficult to believe that the sellers even considered our counter before being made a new, more attractive, offer. As I mentioned earlier, at the time we accepted the counter offer of the seller, within 2-3 hours, new buyers were bought in, my agent was cut out, I lost a fair opportunity to purchase the home, although I saw it first, and Dean received full commission.

I make no claim against Oakwoods Realty as an unethical or unfair practice of business as I do not feel qualified to do so based on my one experience. In support of Oakwoods Realty, I would venture to say that its Broker Ray Caldwell has shown great support in listening to my claim and in gathering documents and materials in an effort to determine what may have transpired. It is through my association with him that I regret having to make such a claim against his agency.

Hence, my real issue is not with Ray Caldwell nor Oakwoods Realty as much as it is with how their agent Dean Foust handled things. Although I do not assert that my complaint against working with him be the bases of his overall reputation as a Realtor. I have little knowledge of the reputation he may have earned within the community and therefore do not make a firm claims against it.

Perhaps this was a unique experience, indeed I hope so. Nonetheless, as a consumer in the midst of a debilitating housing and financial economy, I feel it is my obligation and responsibly to share what I have experience with others in hope that this incident will not repeat itself.

Oakwoods Realty may have made some mistakes, but so did I. In dealing with Dean Foust, I trusted his assurance that everything would turn out okay and thought his words were "stronger than oak" (a line used in the movie Jerry McGuire)We are living in a "show me the money" world where honesty and integrity are not as valuable as greed and financial gain so protect yourselves. Please ask lots of questions about your competition when you finally find your dream home. If not, one day you may find yourself making a similar claim. The only thing I hope to gain in writing this complaint is simply a "buyers beware" so you do not go share in my unfortunate experience. I wished someone would have warned me.

I have since found a beautiful home and it's been a thoroughly wonderful experience. We were kept informed by the listing agent as to whether or not other agents was going to show the home while we were preparing an offer. The listing agent let us know when potential buyers were coming in from out of town and if we were going to be competing with any other buyers. If your Realtor does not offer this courtesy, find a new Realtor.