29/49 Optical, Inc.

I take this complaint very seriously and respond to ***
***’s complaint as follows: 1. *** *** is not my client, nor
did I represent him and/or his wife in the transaction he mentioned. I represented the
seller. Mr
***’s wife, also a purchaser, is not a party to this complaint. 2. I did not represent Mr*** and
his wife. They retained the services of
Realtor *** *** *** ***, from *** *** *** *** to
represent them in this transaction. She
had many duties to him and they should be working through her or alleging his
complaint against her but is instead filing a complaint directly against me. I have told *** *** *** *** about this
and have asked her to address the concerns of her client. He is
making his accusation against the wrong party If he thinks his Realtor, who had a duty to
advise him properly, did not properly advise him (to get a home warranty, etc.)
then he should pursue a claim against her.
His complaint should not be against me, the seller’s agent. 3. Mr***’s complaint states that
“At no time did Richard appear to show us anything, nor was he available to us
to review the unit.” This is not a
complaint of wrongdoing or ethical violation; and it is not a complaint for wrongdoing
or damages. This is an accusation that I did not do the job that his Realtor is
responsible for doing. As I
understand it, his Realtor *** was there with him and his wife to see the unit
and review the contract and provide instructions and advice on purchasing a
home warranty, etc. If he had any
questions that only I could answer, then his agent could call me as is
customary in the business.4. Mr***’s complaint states that
I was not available to “ensure that we had a complete understanding of the
transaction”. This is another absurd accusation that I did not do the job that his
Realtor is responsible for doing. It
is the job of his agent *** *** *** *** from *** *** Pacific
*** to make sure that he and his wife had a complete understanding of
the transaction. It is absurd to charge
that a seller’s Realtor has the duty to make sure the Buyer, who is represented
by their own Realtor, “had a complete understanding of the transaction.” 5. Mr***’s complaint states that that
my seller was not willing to pay for the items set forth in the engineer’s
report of “approximately $10,in outstanding items… .” This is
a baseless complaint because he was informed that the seller would not pay for the
$10,in repairs. I believe that
all potential buyers were aware of this matter, and Mr*** purchased the
property with the advice of his Realtor, knowing of the items to be repaired
and that the seller was not going to pay $10,to repair/replace the items. Prior to any offers being submitted I made it
clear to all buyers’ agents that the seller was not willing to make any repairs
to the unit. I was told by Mr***’s agent *** that the ***s had no concern
because the ***s intended to replace appliances and upgrade the unit 6. After the inspection results and
knowing that the seller would not pay for repairs, Mr*** could have
canceled the transaction at any time with no penalty My client had two backup buyers, who would
have purchased the property the event that the ***s cancelled. The
***s bought the property knowing that the seller would not pay for any repairs,
so this is not a valid claim against me or the seller and is irrele***t to this
matter.7. At no time were the ***s, their
Realtor *** or any inspectors denied access to the property or uninformed as
to the contract terms. I was sent the
***s’ approval of J-(approval of Home Inspection, condition of property)
and their additional funds were deposited into escrow. The disclosure statement clearly stated that
the thermostat was replaced on 3-3-15.
The Purchase Contract at paragraph I-clearly stated that “Seller’s
Disclosure is not a Warranty of any kind”.
Under Hawaii revised Statutes Chapter 508D, the Disclosure Statement
shall not be construed as a substitution for any expert inspection,
professional advice, or warranty that the buyer may wish to obtain. The ***’s hired a home inspector to evaluate
the property. In accordance with the
contract, the buyer has the right to inspect the property - not only the
physical unit and all its inclusions but also all public records, association
documents such as house rules, by laws, financial statements etc. It is the duty of Mr***’s agent *** and/or
experts to explain the results of such information and if needed from those
results to have additional inspectors and/or request an extension if needed. It is not my duty to tell the ***’s that
they should probably obtain a home warranty; it is their Realtor’s job to do
that.8. Mr***’s complaint states that
“Approximately six weeks after we moved in the central air conditioning system
died. Based on the seller’s disclosure,
there was nothing wrong with the (air conditioning) unit, and we had previously
been told by the seller that the unit was not used for years. This we know to be untrue based on
information from the manager, as well as the fact that the thermostat was
replaced three years ago.” It appears
that he is stating that my client knew that the air conditioner was going to
break in six weeks but had decided not to tell him. He says about me that “nor has he been
forthright or ethical at any time during this transaction.” He is
stating that my client and I are liars and that I am unethical This is
defamation of my seller and I. He is also
publicly defaming me in my profession with untrue statements that could affect
my future livelihood as a realtor (defamation “per se”) by verbal defamation (slander)
and written defamation (libel), both of which support a lawsuit against him that
I could file against him in the First Circuit Court of the State of Hawaii. 9. Mr*** had substantial work
completed on the apartment by contractors after moving in and was running the
air conditioner during this time. It is
impossible for me to say what caused the air conditioner to stop working. The failure of the air conditioner could very
well be due to the dust and debris from the construction and renovations that
the ***’s were making. 10. Mr***’s complaint states that I
“ignored everything so as to seal the deal” and implies that I ignored his
concerns in order to make sure that the sale went though so I would receive my
commission. He fails to mention that
there were two backup buyers so there was no desperation on my part to sell to
him. On the contrary, he and his agent ***
had wanted desperately to see the unit before anyone else did. His complaint fails to mention this. Prior to our listing the apartment on the
market, the resi***t manager told *** that the unit was going to be listed for
sale. *** his agent, contacted me requesting
access to the property prior to the listing being published. In an effort to accommodate him, my company
arranged to show him and his agent the property prior to the Brokers Open and Open
House that had been scheduled. 11. The ***’s had the opportunity to
purchase a warranty to protect them in the event that an appliance stops
working. Section J-allows the buyer to
(b) inspect all major appliances or hire someone to do it; Section J-strongly
recommends that they get a home inspection; Section J-relates to the buyer’s
obtaining a home warranty Advising the ***’s about these options
is the responsibility of the ***’s Realtor, ***. It is not my responsibility In closing, I believe that the facts above show
that the ***’s eagerly pursued the purchase of the property, were given
ample opportunity to inspect the entire property and all appliances, knew of
the need for repairs, had their own agent to advise them of the contract terms,
had the opportunity to have all appliances inspected by their own
representatives, knew or at least should have been advised of their opportunity
to purchase a warranty protecting them from appliance failure, purchased the
property, performed extensive repairs, replacements and remodeling after moving
in while running the air conditioner during this process His claims against me are groundless. His
claims are nothing more than a disrespectful and threatening way to force me to
ask my seller to pay for his new air conditioner.
I find it very disturbing that Mr*** uses
defamatory and offensive language in his complaint against me. My reputation in the Hawaii Real Estate
Community is outstandingI have been in the Real Estate business in Hawaii since
and have owned and operated my office franchise for the past years,
overseeing thousands of successful transactions. Years ago, I accepted a request to serve on
the Professional Standards Committee of the Honolulu Board of Realtors and
served for years. I hold myself and
those in my office to the highest standards of professional and ethical
practice of my profession. In the thousands of transactions that I
have been a part of over the last years, I have never seen a purchaser
pursue such incorrect, vague and unsupported claims against a Realtor with the
disrespectful vigor that Mr*** has shown