Dear Mr. Bray and Mr. Kramer,
I am writing this as a final plea for you to reconsider providing some kind of compensation for the calamity I have suffered as a direct result of Mr. Kramer’s indifference to and rejection of my needs while he was engaged as a buyer agent in my quest to purchase a home and which was the catalyst for a number of cascading difficulties which followed: the Colorado Real Estate Commission to which I submitted a formal complaint held that “there was not enough evidence” to determine whether or not there was any wrongdoing, but conducted a cursory, shoddy investigation wherein none of those involved, including my lender and the seller agent who verified to me in a phone conversation that my claims were valid, were never contacted; I contacted the Governor’s office to request an appeal, but a minion referred me to legal aid, where the representative I talked to told me that since I am older than 60 my complaint does not fall under the “limited types of cases” for which their services are available; I contacted the Colorado Attorney General’s office which referred me (shunted me off) to the Better Business Bureau which does not pursue such cases, and a sincere attempt to get you to negotiate some kind of settlement using peopleclaim.com, which you rejected, essentially laughing in the face of my attempt to find some kind of justice or at least some means of surviving until I could find work; I used peopleclaim.com because I could not afford an attorney, but discovered that even if I had the money, there is not attorney in the state that would pursue such a case because Colorado real estate law is so paltry and weak that beyond using the correct forms and prescribed time limitations, there are no sanctions to control bad behavior that harms a client if that behavior does not involve egregious financial fraud; there is no option under state law to appeal a decision of the real estate commission, and even if there were some possibility of a solid claim, no attorney would pursue a case against individuals or firms as influential as yourselves. I have shared a copy of my complaint with the Mesa County District Attorney consumer complaint division, knowing that nothing can or will be done based on the aforesaid information and lack of protection provided by Colorado law. I have sent letters to all my state and federal representatives, both in Clear Creek County where I lived while semi-homeless and Mesa County and have not received any kind of reply. I have tried every option available to me in an attempt to retrieve at least a portion of what I lost in this unfortunate transaction. No one should end up homeless and unemployed because she/he trusted a licensed real estate agent to work on her/his behalf, especially when that agent seemingly chose to act in bad faith based on his personal feud with my lender.
I have been told several times—by my family who are all now estranged, by a psychologist from whom I sought help in my struggle, by attorneys with whom I have talked, by the representative of the Colorado Real Estate Commission, and by several others--that this debacle MUST have been my fault. I have searched my memory and my soul in an attempt to discover what, exactly, I did, that could have caused the outcome I received. I accept responsibility for the facts that (1) I did not end my transaction relationship with Mr. Kramer sooner when he did not immediately perform as I asked and expected, (2) I trusted him, even after struggling with him, to represent my interests in the transaction, (3) I allowed the transaction relationship to continue because I was running out of time and money and did not want to establish a relationship with yet another agent (Mr. Kramer was the second I had tried since the first indicated he did not have time to pursue such a small sale) despite the fact that Mr. Kramer was disorganized, inconsistent, set in his ways (which I found unacceptable), stalled the search process based on his belief that his knowledge was superior to my own, and has what I now know to be a reputation among other real estate professionals as “difficult to work with” bordering on and/or including irascible.
In rejecting my peoplesoft.com claim, you claimed your “surprise” of my continued efforts for justice that you had been “exonerated” of the charges I had made; it is important to note here that (1) the so-called “investigation” did not address any my very specific claims (which are ethically rather than legally based) regarding the actual behavior that caused severe damage in my life but focused ONLY on my request for termination of the buyer agreement and the return of my earnest money WHICH I WAS NOT DISPUTING, and which were taken care of promptly; (2) that the dismissal of my claim is/was invalid, (3) that despite lack of law to support a claim, I was nevertheless severely damaged and continue to suffer based on Mr. Kramer’s behavior and still have basis for a claim and/or right to some compensation, at the very least the year’s salary lost due directly to the results of Mr. Kramer’s behavior.
In the meantime, while I have returned to Grand Junction, I have been unable to find work; my extended unemployment benefits were eliminated by Congress, and although I collect Social Security benefits, that is not enough to survive; that barely covers my rent. My automobile will be repossessed early next week, and given expenses related to my move here, I do not have funds available to pay my April rent. My lowest, most shameful and discouraging moment in this debacle came when, despite having worked, been productive, and paid taxes since age 16 (1967 or thereabout), I decided I had to apply for food stamps to survive. There is no shame in being poor or in asking for help, but I should never have found myself in this situation. I had a job, albeit meager, and I qualified, based on my limited income, to purchase a modest home, yet I expect worse difficulties may lurk.
I am well aware that I have lost this fight, that this final plea will go nowhere, laughed off and rejected as before; however, I am using this final opportunity to stand up for my own rights and survival—and the rights of others who have been similarly treated with the same or worse unfortunate results. Please do not contact me directly should you have a response; please respond using either my claim at peopleclaim.com or have your representative contact me.
Sincerely,
Karen Grossaint
Cc: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, Denver Post, Westword, KKCO, KREX, KJCT, KUSA, KMGH, CBS Denver, KDVR, KMGH, CPR
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