Back in September, 2008, Richard Fody signed a listing agreement with T. L. Willaert Realty Ltd. for a vacant parcel of vacant land near Tillsonburg. The $229,000 listing price was later reduced to $199,900.
In the standard form listing agreement, Fody agreed to pay Willaert a commission of five per cent of the sale price.
The agreement stated that commission was due and payable upon delivery of any “valid offer” on the terms set out in the listing agreement, or any other terms acceptable to the seller. Even if the transaction failed to close, commission was payable if the non-completion of the transaction was owing to the seller’s “default or neglect.”
A vacant land data input form signed at the same time as the listing agreement showed that the property was a “desirable treed building site just minutes from Tillsonburg,” and that the buyer would be responsible for installing a well and septic system.
Willaert found a buyer who submitted an offer for $150,000 in March, 2009. When Fody refused to meet with the agent, the offering price was increased to $170,000, then $184,000, and finally $186,272.50. Fody signed the offer back at $195,000, but ultimately refused to accept it.