If buildings could have explicit connotations, realtors could definitely get dirty!
Two Coldwell Banker realtors have been sued by a couple in New Jersey for using their listed home for 'sexual escapades' instead of helping them sell it, according to several news reports.
The brokers, Robert Lindsay and Jeannemarie Phelan have been accused by Richard and Sandra Weiner, the N.J. based couple who own the house, of breach of trust and contract, emotional distress, invasion of privacy, trespassing and intentional infliction.
The couple claims that Lindsay deliberately listed the home above market standards to lure away potential buyers, reports The Daily Mail. Apparently, Lindsay, a former president of Passaic County Board of Realtors, made a duplicate key of the home and used it as a 'play pad' for his 'sexual relations'.
In what sounds like a perfect 'porn film storyline', Lindsay and Phelan were caught having sex on camera, several times in various locations inside the house.
It all started off in Dec. 2011, when Lindsay was assigned to represent their home after failing to sell it in about a year. Coldwell Banker promoted Lindsay as one of the best realtors in the Wayne area with more than 35 years of expertise in the profession. According to the complaint, on Dec 27, 2011, security cameras captured Lindsay and Phelan doing the dirty in the kitchen and the master bedroom.
The Weiners reportedly found out about the incident in early 2012, when Sandra was checking the cameras and found some feed of strangers with flashlights in the house. They informed the police and when the officials entered the house they found, "Lindsay pulling up his pants."
Lindsay and Phelan have been fired from the company. Representatives for Coldwell Banker said that all affiliations with the brokers have been cut off.
"These agents have not listed or sold properties on our behalf since the allegation of misconduct at the home was first reported. 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. We hold affiliated agents to the highest ethical standards," Hal Maxwell, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in New Jersey and Rockland County said in a statement to North Jersey News.
The home sold, albeit a lot below the asking price quoted by Lindsay, especially after word about what they did in the house got out. The Weiners are still seeking punitive damages and are being represented by Ronald Nagle of Morristown.
This is not the first case of a realtor exploiting a client's privacy. Back in March, a real estate agent, Stephen Brumme of Silver Spring Md., was caught stealing a woman's underwear from a home that was up for sale in Arlington, Virginia.
However, not all realtors will sacrifice a listing for carnal temptations. Instead, they will use sex to sell a listed home. In a feature by the Commercial Observer, Adelaide Polsinelli writes:
"Without sounding like a cliché, the oldest trick in the book, no pun intended, is still sex. Don't look shocked. It took me awhile to believe this too, but there are brokers in our industry who trade sexual favors for listings."
