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A US vendor is suing his agent after he allegedly deliberately overpriced the property to deter buyers while he made a copy of the key to use the home for ‘sexual escapades’ with a colleague.
Listing agent Robert Lindsay, who was also the former president of the county’s local Board of Realtors, allegedly overpriced the New Jersey home at $650,000 to keep buyers away while he and colleague Jeannemarie Phelan used the home for at least 11 sexual encounters.
Unfortunately for the agents, the homeowners had previously installed surveillance cameras as a security measure.
One of the vendors happened to be watching a live video feed and saw two people in the house with what appeared to be flashlights and called police, according to the suit.
According to local media, when police arrived they found Mr Lindsay pulling up his pants, claiming he was preparing the house for an inspection.
Hal Maxwell, president of the agent’s group Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, said the pair were promptly fired.
“Immediately after learning of the allegation of improper behaviour at the property by two independent contractors in January 2012, we ceased our affiliation with the agents,” the statement read.
“These agents have not listed or sold properties on our behalf since the allegation of misconduct at the home was first reported,” Mr Maxwell’s statement added.
“The alleged misconduct at the home does not in any way represent how we conduct business as a company, and certainly is not reflective of the quality, commitment and integrity of our management or the more than 3,200 sales professionals affiliated with our company."
Despite their ‘passion’ for the job, the owners have launched a lawsuit against the agents for invasion of privacy, infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract, trespass of land and other civil counts.
To add insult to injury, still frames from the video have been released by the owners, including a short clip showing the pair’s horror when they stumble across the hidden camera.
Mr Lindsay has since been employed by another agency, where his online profile claims he “works hard to provide my clients with the most positive real estate experience possible… one of the many things that has made me one of the most respected real estate agents in the neighbourhoods in which I work.”
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