vs. ) CASE NO. 76-011
Respondent. )
A hearing was held pursuant to notice on March 25, 1976 in Room 921, Seybold Building, Miami, Florida, at 10:00 a.m. before Stephen F. Dean, assigned Hearing Officer of the Division of Administrative Hearings.
This matter arose upon the Notice to Show Cause and Administrative Complaint filed by the Florida Real Estate Commission against Alexandra Ramos, Melvin D. August, Alan William Jacobson, s/k/a Alan W. Jacobson; and Carolyn Rosen; and Executive Properties II Riteway, Inc. Count I of the Administrative Complaint alleges that the Respondents violated Section 475.25(1)(a) and (d), Florida Statutes, by virtue of Ramos' having told Mrs. Sally Firestone that a house located at 6401 Southwest 44th Street had recently sold for $33,000 as an inducement to have Mrs. Firestone accept an offer of $34,500 for Firestone's house at 6421 Southwest 44th Street. Count II of the Administrative Complaint alleges that the Respondent Executive Properties II Riteway, Inc., filed suit against Mrs. Sally Firestone to recover the commission earned for having found a buyer for Mrs. Firestone's house as represented by the contract for sale between Mrs. Firestone and Mr. and Mrs. Jose Alonso, negotiated by Alexandra Ramos, and that by filing said suit the Respondents are guilty of fraud, misrepresentation, dishonest dealings, and a breach of trust in a business transaction in violation of Section 475.25(1)(a) and (d) and Section 475.42(1)(e) and (f).
For Petitioner: Richard J. R. Parkinson, Esquire
Alexandra Ramos was a registered real estate salesperson employed on or about March 28, 1975, by Executive Properties II Riteway, Inc., a registered real estate broker corporation.
Melvin D. August, Allen William (or W.) Jacobson, and Carolyn Rosen were at all times relevant to this proceeding and the factual situation presented a registered real estate brokers and active firm members of Executive Properties II Riteway, Inc.
Mrs. Sally Firestone contract with Bronze Realty for the sale of her home at 6421 Southwest 44th Street, Miami, Florida, for $40,000.
Alexandra Ramos presented the offer of Mr. and Mrs. Jose Alonso for
$34,500 to Mrs. Firestone for the purchase of her home at 6421 Southwest 44th Street.
Leo C. Grande testified that Ramos presented the Alonso offer for
$34,500, that Mrs. Firestone told Mrs. Ramos the offer was too low, whereupon Mrs. Ramos told Mrs. Firestone that the house on the corner next to Mrs.
Firestone's house had sold for $33,OOO. Grande did not know the street address of said house. Grande stated that he thought that $35,000, to which Mrs. Ramos raised the $34,500 offer, was a good price for Mrs. Firestone's home.
After a discussion with Grande, and a telephone discussion with family members, Mrs. Firestone executed a contract for sale and purchase, Exhibit 3, between her and the Alonso. Grande's opinion of the value of the house was
$35,000 to $36,000. Grande also stated that he knew of no other offers submitted on Mrs. Firestone's house while it had been listed with Bronze December 1974. See Exhibit 4, listing with Bronze.
On the day following, Mrs. Firestone called Grande and indicated that she did not desire to go through with the purchase because she had determined that the corner house had been sold for $37,000.
The issue raised at this hearing is whether Ramos misrepresented the sale price of the property on the corner.
Firestone testified on Page 53 that Ramos quoted a price for the corner lot of $30,000 and a price of $31,000 for the house in the middle of the block. The corner house would have been 6401 Southwest 44th Street. On Page 54, she stated that Ramos had said: "I sold this for thirty-three and sold that for thirty-one." Mrs. Firestone stated that this made her feel that $35,000 was a good price for her home. Mrs. Firestone stated that when she found out what the corner house sold for that she backed out of the deal whereupon Riteway II sued her for the commission they alleged was due.
Kaufman, who was present in an adjacent area of the room but who was watching television, stated he heard the amounts of thirty some odd thousand dollars, and $32,000 for another item.
Ramos testified that Firestone asked her about the corner house, and that she didn't know what the price was, but that she had looked into the sale price of the house at 6451 Southwest 44th Street, and had learned the house had a listing price of $3,500, and the realtor had an offer for $31,000. However, they did not know whether sale would go through. Ramos identified the final sales contract for 6451 Southwest 44th Street which she later obtained and which showed that this house eventually sold for $30,750. See Exhibit 8. Ramos stated this closing statement related to the negotiations for purchase which were going on March 28, 1975. Mrs. Ramos stated that she had called Klock Realty, the listing broker on the corner House, and had been advised that the house had sold but had not yet closed. Ramos was unable to get the sale figures
because she stated it was not the practice for companies to reveal the offered price before a closing was complete.
Counsel for Florida Real Estate Commission attempted to show that Ramos knew or should have known the price of the corner house, by attempting to develop a connection between Carolyn Rosen, Riteway and Executive Properties II, Riteway, Inc., Mrs. Ramos testified that there was no connection, that they were separate competing businesses. Ramos developed her information on the corner house by calling the listing broker, Klock Realty, not Carolyn Rosen, Riteway, Inc.
If the testimony is compared, it is easy to understand that confusion could arise among the parties regarding which neighboring houses were being talked about. It would appear that the figure of $33,000 was used according to all four witnesses. The figures of $31,000 and $33,000 were recalled by Firestone on Page 54. Mrs. Ramos testified that the figures were $31,000 and
$33,500. On Page 71, Grande stated the figure he heard was $33,000. On Page 14, Kaufman placed the figure slightly over $30,000 and the other around
$43,000. The only conflict is to which house they were referring.
Kaufman was uncertain to which house Ramos referred. Grande and Firestone both stated that Mrs. Ramos referred to the corner house. Mrs. Ramos said she stated she had told Firestone that she had no information on the corner house, but the middle house was on sale at $33,500 and that there was an offer pending of $31,000.
The Hearing Officer is presented with the question, did Mrs. Ramos intentionally make a material misrepresentation of the value of neighboring property to induce Mrs. Firestone to sign the contract for sale and purchase. The burden of proof lies upon the Florida Real Estate Commission to prove that Ramos so misrepresented the facts. The Florida Real Estate Commission presented the testimony of Grande, Firestone, and Kaufman, each of whose stories differed in some detail. Mrs. Ramos also testified as to her recollection of the events. The Hearing Officer, having observed the demeanor of the witnesses and tested the creditability of their testimony against other testimony and the evidence, finds the case in Count I against Mrs. Ramos not proven.
Regarding Count II, the Hearing Officer reiterates the findings above, and further finds that in the absence of showing a violation by Ramos, the Florida Real Estate Commission has failed to prove Count II against the named Respondents.
The Hearing Officer having found factually that the Respondents did not violate the provisions of Chapter 475 Florida Statutes, as charged, recommends that no action be taken against the registration of any of the Respondents.
DONE and ORDERED this 14th day of June, 1976.
STEPHEN F. DEAN
Division of Administrative Hearings Room 530 Carlton Building Tallahassee, Florida 32304
Richard J. R. Parkinson, Esquire Florida Real Estate Commission 2699 Lee Road
