Congress Realty
Title to distribute funds, made us very uncomfortableCongress Realty is very good on customer service, but my husband and I were unable to use this company to list our house via flat fee here in Colorado because Andrew English added an addendum in the 6 month legally binding contract that stated the total commission at closing would be forwarded to him by the Title company, and from there he (Andrew) would forward the commission to the buyer’s agent.
Andrew was only taking a $299 flat fee for his services, and no commission, and so for him to request the Title company, who is hired to ensure funds are distributed fairly at closing, send him the buyer’s agent’s commission instead of wiring the funds directly to the buyer’s agent, was worrisome to us. Congress Realty is not located in Colorado, and we do not know Andrew and never met him, and so for him to expect us to let him take possession of the total commission at closing, instead of allowing the Title to distribute funds, made us very uncomfortable.
Our title agent said in 38 years of business she had never heard of such a thing, because the whole reason for hiring a Title company is to ensure no one is able to ‘steal’ funds or inappropriately gain access to them. Andrew’s addendum did not state when he would forward the buyer’s agent their due commission once he received these monies that were not his to possess, leaving the seller and buyer’s agent at great risk of losing their commission if he was not an honest Joe and chose to hold those funds indefinitely.
Andrew tried to justify this as being Colorado law, and it is law that the broker pays out the commission to the buyer’s agent, but that should be through a third party, such as a Title company, to ensure all parties feel confident the transaction closes and everyone gets paid. Andrew should not put the seller in this position, but instead should find a few good Title companies in Colorado whom he knows are trustworthy so that all parties can close with confidence, and his customers can trust him.
Had he not added this strange addendum, we would have worked with him, but there was no way we would sign up and worry about that commission we paid out disappearing at closing.