ComplaintsforVeterans Real Estate Benefits Network

• Initial Complaint

  09/19/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  **** failed to uphold the terms in the rewards agreement after using their services and closing on a house. My wife and I had closed on a house on or around 06/07/2022. We used c **** throughout the process and one of the items that helped us use **** is the rewards check users receive after closing.. The purchase amount on the house enable us to receive a veterans rewards check of $3000. Shortly after we closed on the house I asked that information including the electronic signature for the agreement be sent to my brother ***************** (I am blind) **** was to act on my behald with regards to signing my name on the electronic signature form. After a while since we had not received the check I asked **** to follow up[. **** informed me he had sihgned the esignature form and forwared it to ****. When both **** and ****** calleded the **** ***; the *** said **** could not send out the check because they did not have a signed agreement. I called again after several weeks and the **** once again said no agreement could be found therefore it was illegal to send out the check., but however to show good faith he would pay for my homeoners insurance for the first year.I just want him to do the right thing and pay me in accordance with the original agreemenrr.

  Business response

  09/20/2022

  Attachment outlinws our written policy on Veteran's reward amount when agent earns less than 3% commisison and the requirement for Veteran's Membership Agreement to be submitted to **** within 30 days of closing. 

• Initial Complaint

  06/24/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Closed on a property with a client in Texas. VREB was supposed to pay that client a reward for using the program. VREB took my real estate commission and did not pay the client any rewards. This happened with two clients.

  Business response

  07/18/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/06/27) */ Complaint is from a real estate agent who refused to pay a VREB an earned referral. After 45 days of that agent ignoring VREB, our broker went to his firm, explaining the documented referral. The firm paid it as it was a legally enforceable and earned referral. Agent than began sending disparaging emails to VREB. None with merit and therefore ignored. Agent is upset and now trying every avenue of complaining about his referral and retaliation against VREB Program. First The complainant on this BBB issue IS NOT the customer. Agent is trying to file a BBB complaint for a third party. it's like him trying to submit a google review for another person. He is not the customer. His referral payment doesnt trigger or automatically have his client earning a reward check from VREB. The second reason his complaint isn't valid is the legal separation of agent and buyer/seller. Our system is we provide the agent a prequalified buyer and in turn the agent agrees to pay VREB a referral if it closes. (That is the end of our agreement with agent.) That referral is completely independent of a Veteran eligibility for a reward benefit. Legally the two have to be and are completely separate programs. The agent never took the time to understand our program nor the real estate law and therefore submits invalid BBB complaints. To further explain the veteran joins our home buying and selling program for free and if they follow the program guidelines, they receive a reward benefit after closing from VREB (illegal for that to be from agent). In this case his two buyers over the last year didn't follow program guidelines and therefore weren't eligible for reward. We provide the Veteran a full reward program agreement that that they have to sign (uploaded-not for public view) that they must follow. I'm sure this agent has never read nor even explained any of this to his clients. We provide guidelines, have staff to explain but a good agent will reinforce and ensure their understanding. Based on this complaint and the agent previously saying he didn't owe VREB a referral, I would deduce he doesn't understand program nor can explain it. Agent has never even asked VREB why the two veterans didn't qualify. The first one was a year ago. Only now that he is upset on having to pay a valid referral, he submits BBB complaint to try to hurt or tarnish VREB good standing. Last year VREB paid out over $1M in reward benefits to Veterans, donated to military charities and have a 4.8 star google review. The agent's complaint is invalid and doesnt involve any agreement nor promise between VREB and Agent. Our agreement he tried to ignore was upheld by his firm and was settled. His complaint is based on a third-party issue that is between VREB and the Veteran. (doesnt involve him nor is he a party to the agreement). Recommend BBB void the complaint as complainant is a non-party to issue. As always , Im availabel to discuss any questions. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/06/30) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) The two clients that VREB supplied to me, when I was active with them, were NOT pre-qualified or approved for loans to purchase homes. The first buyer went through the an initial VREB lender and that lender was unable to get the client pre-qualified or approved. Then VREB supplied yet another lender that was unable to get that client approved for a loan. After months of frustration with VREB and a failed purchase contract due to the lender that VREB supplied, the buyer ultimately gave up. After I had already declined to renew with VREB due to their bad practices, the buyer reached out to me about a year later to buy a home. I ASKED THE CLIENT if he was still working with VREB and HE TOLD ME HE WAS NOT. Taking the client at his word, I proceeded to work with him, found him a competent lender and closed on a home with him. I even honored what VREB had not (with a previous client) and paid the client a portion of my commission since he had so much trouble with VREB about a year ago. I guess VREB periodically reaches out to clients and asked him if he had closed and he responded yes. VREB then reached out to me and I deferred to my broker because at that time I DID NOT KNOW that the client was still with VREB and had not severed the relationship like he led me to believe. So I was not being deceitful or trying to hold on to something that did not belong to me. As a current member of the Armed Forces (a Field-Grade officer) I exercise the highest levels of honor and integrity, something that VREB did not do in. As far as the second client goes while I was with VREB, I processed the closing according to VREB guidelines and gave them all the appropriate paperwork. That client, like the first, was also UNQUALIFIED when VREB referred him to me. The VREB-supplied lender failed that client too and could not get him pre-qualified. I found the client a lender from my network and he was pre-qualified and closed on the house. After the closing, I followed up with the client and he informed me that VREB did NOT PAY him a reward due to the fact that he did not use their incompetent lender. The basis of the rewards for these hero Veterans comes from MY COMMISSION, that is how they get paid! Well VREB took the commissions, used some fake loopholes to not pay the Veterans, and pocketed the money for itself. This is dishonorable and not the way a program that should be for Veterans should operate. VREB should be ashamed of itself, apologize to those Veterans and pay them rewards from the commissions that I worked hard for. Bottom line is this, I don't need VREB for referrals, I get those on my own. They lied and say they provided pre-qualified/approved Veterans and that was not true. I joined the program to give Veterans a reward for their service and sacrifice. VREB found ways to keep the money for itself. All I want is for VREB to pay the Veterans from the commissions that I earned for them. I am available for questions. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/07/06) */ The Agent isnt providing any new factual information to change our response. The agent actually provided several untrue statements. Unfortunately, he is wasting our and BBB time trying to retaliate for his having to pay a legitimate referral. Facts bearing on the issue remain: 1. The agent's referral paid to VREB from their earned commission on a transaction we brought to agent, in no way creates any entitlement to the respective veteran home buyer/seller. That is illegal as commission money can't be shared or provided to a home buyer or seller. Because an agent they pay an agreed referral doesn't establish any right or payment to Veteran Home Buyer/seller. As previously stated, all veteran buyers/sellers must follow the program guidelines (VREB Membership Agreement). This agreement outlines these guidelines and is signed by veteran home buyer/seller. Agent Comment The basis of the rewards for these hero Veterans comes from MY COMMISSION, that is how they get paid! Incorrect and Illegal basis to run any reward program. Again, Agent has no idea on legality of program operation. 2. Agent acts as if he is the customer. Based on above he isnt. The Veteran Home /seller is the customer. His complaint is that a third party wasn't paid a reward. That has nothing to do with his referral or commission money. Again, falsely believes that because he pays a referral his buyer automatically is due a reward from his commission referral. (see above) 3. Both Buyers were prequalified (Prequalification attached provided to BBBnot for public view) and agent was provided with these lender prequalifications. We aren't a lender and not responsible if a buyer subsequently falls out of qualification and can't buy a home. It happens, for example a spouse loses a job and their income drops. They buy a new vehicle and their debt ratio is too high, no longer qualify. He repeatedly states that its VREB fault they couldn't qualify for a loan. A prequalification is a snapshot in time and borrower actions can change the loan eligibility quickly. We don't provide the loan or due to privacy laws know why they don't prequalify after being fully screened by a lender. Again, his inexperience and lack of understanding of loans and our program shows in these statements. Agent comment: The two clients that VREB supplied to me, when I was active with them, were NOT pre-qualified or approved for loans to purchase homes. The first buyer went through the an initial VREB lender and that lender was unable to get the client pre-qualified or approved Both false statements. Every Buyer we send to our agents is prequalified by a lender. 4. The third-party buyers we sent to the agent didn't qualify for a reward based on our program guidelines. Paul ***** (referral from VREB to Agent)- Never returned their signed Veteran Membership agreement. VREB notified buyer over 10 times to include emails and texts for signed copy. It is the legal basis for them to receive a reward check from our home buying program. We require it be signed within 30 days of closing. Because agent refused to pay referral, VREB extended the date another 30 days and still to this date no signed agreement. Legally VREB can't pay a reward check with no agreement nor pay one from an expired transaction (more than 30 days) Extract Page 4 of VREB Veteran Membership Agreement If the required VREB forms are not signed and provided to VREB within 30 days of actual closing, the Rewards entitlement is voided. Rewards Checks are void after 90 days of delivery to Veteran and the Rewards entitlement is voided Fernando Calderon (first referral sent to agent) Closed on their home May 7th 2021 Veteran did not give the original lender( One that introduced them to the program and prequalified them) a chance to compete with a new lender they chose. Based on this they forfeited their VREB reward. Buyers signed VREB Membership agreement that stated this as a requirement for eligibility. They were informed why their reward was forfeited in May 2021. Extract Page 3 of VREB Veteran Membership Agreement 2. If Veteran decides to use another lender not part of their original relationship with VREB, the Veteran agrees to give their original lender the opportunity to match the new lender's rate and incentives. The Veteran must provide the original VREB Network Lender an email with the new lender's Loan Estimate (LE) so that the VREB Network Lender can match or beat the new LE. If Veteran follows this process, and the new lender is chosen then their reward check remains the original earned amount. If Veteran fails to follow this process and choses to switch to the new lender, then they forfeit their VREB membership benefit and accept the new lender's incentive as their purchase benefit. 5. Agent's bottom line/derogatory comments Agent had ignored all VREBs efforts to settle the last referral due for Paul Henry . We have logs of the numerous attempts with no communication from agent. He had zero concern for his client's reward until he was forced to pay the referral he was avoiding. (Agent never paid referral, communicated with VREB on referral or client's reward ) It was only when VREB broker called his broker and went over situation that payment followed. Agent had NEVER informed his broker of the issue and agent was trying to not pay VREB. Agent is upset of having to pay the referral due. His derogatory comments of our program, accusations of our staff lying is unacceptable. The agent is very inexperienced and doesn't even know our program rules. The Agent field a complaint for a third party and now is only trying to tarnish VREB's reputation and using BBB as a retaliatory tool. He has no legal or program basis for his complaint. Recommend complain be dismissed send agent top his broker to discuss. Consumer Response /* (3000, 11, 2022/07/06) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) VREB Rep, based on address, is not an expert in Texas real estate rules. As a licensed agent in Texas for over 13 years, I would imagine that I have experience enough to know a thing or two about real estate proceedings in Texas. As far as a commission being "illegal" shared with clients, that is untrue. An agent in Texas can share commissions should he/she choose; I have done it before with a similar program that is more efficient than VREB. VREB rep is missing the point of what my issue is with that organization. I only joined VREB because I wanted to make sure that Veterans receive money back at closing. No matter what the VREB rep says, the source of the rewards for the Veterans come from commission earned by me. The lender does not pay the Veteran, nor can VREB pay the Veteran unless I do the the work, sell the house and close on the transaction. It is not direct, but ultimately the reward comes from my work; without agents, the program does not work. I feel that VREB misleads what the program represents to Veterans. The whole purpose a Veteran would sign up is because of the incentive of receiving a reward or benefit from the transaction, hence the name VETERANS Real Estate Benefits Network. No matter what the VREB rep says, directly or indirectly the rewards comes from the work of the agent, the commission of the AGENT. The broker does not (at least in Texas) pay funds directly to VREB... not THAT would be illegal. Since I participated in the program, I assigned MY COMMMISSION to go to VREB. And the insinuation that I wanted to avoid paying is just not true and I would appreciate it if the VREB rep would stop. If you call **** *****, you would know that I still provided him a portion of my commission even before VREB came into the picture. In fact, I paid **** ***** a check from my business bank account to honor what VREB SHOULD have done before you even made contact with **** *****. So for you to insinuate I would try to avoid a payment is just simply untrue, so stop making that statement. As far as pre-qualification goes, I used the VREB lender on offers made and they were not fully vetted resulting in delays in the **** ***** initial purchase, ultimately failing to close! You call that pre-qualified? No. Please do not try and blame the client for your lender's short comings. He used TWO of your lenders and they both failed. When he came to me about a YEAR later, I got him a lender and it the purchase went through without issues the first time around. Same thing happened with *********. Your lender presented a letter but it was not sufficient to close. Attempted to use your lender and they almost lost out on the home and earnest money because your lender was not competent. Because time was of the essence and we were already on an extension, we needed a competent lender and quickly or he would have lost out on the home. I found him a lender and he closed. He filled out all the appropriate paperwork and VREB still refused to pay him even though he attempted to use your system that failed him. For a program with the name VETERAN in it, it does not appear that you look out for Veterans. No, I was not a customer, but right is right and it is honorable to pay the Veteran for using your program. It was like bait and switch, you invite Veterans in and wow them like they will get some benefit for using your program just to drop the hammer on them in the final hour and be like "oh sorry, you get nothing.' And the way Texas works, there is usually a statute as to how long a client is obligated. For the millionth time, I thought **** ***** had terminated his membership with you. Technically, after your last response (Never returned their signed Veteran Membership agreement), doesn't seem like he had a relationship with you at all... even more all the reason not to have to pay VREB because you had no signed documentation by the client thus no claim to a referral fee since you say he never signed anything. But anyway, my ethics and morals would not allow me to not honor Mr. ***** the way that you did not by not paying him the reward. My complaint is simple. Beware of VREB Veterans, because they will find a loophole not to pay you via the rewards that they ultimately get from the hard work of the agent. To make this right, I would suggest that you pay Misters ********* and ***** rewards. You do that, and we are good.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩