Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

After telling my story, many asked if I had taken the Realtor/Short Sale specialist to court. I'm not sure whether I have the right to or not. So, I'm hoping someone will be able to tell if I do...

After my husband's death and my pick a payment mortgage went from $2100 to almost $3000 due to an adjustable rate, I was unable to make the payments. Decided to do a Short Sale rather than simply walk away from the house letting it foreclose. In our agreement, the agent had promised me $3000 to use for moving expenses. Someone put an offer on the house and my agent submitted it to the bank. About a week or two later, my agent told me the house had sold and that I needed to move out within two or three weeks. The following week I hurt my back and was in excruciating pain. The doctor performed an emergency surgery on me following the results of my MRI. The day after my surgery, my agent reminded me that I had to be out within a week . I found a place to rent, signed a year lease, and my sons, daughter and I moved out of our house. I had to borrow $2000 for the security deposit because my agent told me he wouldn't give the money he promised until the deal closed. The day I was to sign the final papers, my agent informed me that there was a problem. Someone had prevented the sale of the house by saying the house could not be sold because they "were first in line" and were owed $57,000 from an apparent second mortgage that was taken out in 1999. Mind you, I had no knowledge of this second taken on our home, had never made a payment on it, it had never showed up show up on my credit reports, AND I had refinanced my house twice since 1999 without it ever showing up anywhere. The agent then told me that the bank I paid my mortgage to was taking the title company to court and the deal should close the next week. When it didn't, I kept calling him to find out the status of the deal...every time I got the same answer...not yet, but in just a few more days. Meanwhile, I had re-injured my back during the move and ended up being hospitalized for 3 weeks before the doctors said they had no other choice, but to do surgery again to fix the damage that was done. The recovery from my second back surgery was a slow process and it was increasingly hard to make ends meet. I was going without food trying to pay rent and feed my 4 kids. Nine months had gone by and I decided to call my agent to find out what was going on with my house. This time he replied, they are still hashing it out in court. I could no longer see the point in struggling so hard while my house was just sitting there, vacant. I decided to rent a U-haul truck and move back to home, to the place I should have never left in the first place. Upon returning home, I found my once freshly re-plastered and repainted pool had become a health hazard due to the stinky, thick, algae infested water Our neighbors told me that the police had been to the house several times after people had called and complained about the noise coming from the house. I was never notified by the police that my house had become the perfect "party house" for some teenagers who realized it was vacant. It wasn't hard to figure out after seeing the damage done...doors broken off the hinges, door handles missing on several of the doors, carpets destroyed (candle wax melted all over them and it appeared as though someone had used a knife to create long slashes all over one of the bedrooms), both bathrooms were scary (think of the most disgusting scenes imaginable), closet doors were missing, etc...Not only were the bathrooms disgusting, but both the sinks and both the toilet were broken (had plumbing issues). I had to borrow money, once again, to make our previously livable house, safe to live in again. I hadn't heard from my agent and since my agreement or contract with had ended in December, I decided to pursue another Realtor. About a week later, I received a letter from my mortgage company asking for my "OK" on an offer that had been submitted to them. I knew nothing of this offer or who submitted it. After calling my mortgage company I was informed that my previous agent had submitted the offer, but that was all they could tell me. After several unsuccessful attempts to reach my previous agent and no return calls, I called my mortgage company once again asking how an offer could be submitted without me knowing about it by someone who I was no longer contracted to. They then explained to me that even though our agreement/ contract had expired, as far as the bank was concerned, he was still authorized to represent me. The only way to terminate him as an authorized representative, was to write a letter to the mortgage company stating that I no longer authorize him as my agent. Within about an hour of that conversation, he finally returned my call apologizing for the delay in calling me back and then telling me that today was my lucky day...the house had finally sold. Confused, I asked him how did he submit an offer without me knowing anything about it. He said he had to, in order to buy more time. I asked for a copy of the offer and all I got was that a statement saying there was no longer a second on the house. He led me to believe that HE was the one who worked it all out and he was the only one who could sell it. I then told him that I had moved back into the house and that I never should have moved all it did was cause me to waste $22,000, borrow money I don't know when I can pay back, and cause me to have another surgery, leaving me still unemployed. His reply was simply," it's a shame that happened". I asked him who bought the house and he said he is still waiting for a buyer. At this point I was completely and utterly confused. He told me that the house and pool needed to be cleaned and repaired before showing it. I told him I already had done that because it was unhealthy and not livable in the condition it was in. When I asked about the $3000 he told me that was no longer available but he would pay for a U-Haul truck when we move. Now, a month later a buyer has offered $300,000 cash when the asking price was only $266,000 which leads me to believe, the house is finally going to sell. Do I have any rights, as a consumer, to be compensated for all or some of what I lost because he didn't do his homework and jumped the gun telling me I HAD to move? Or is it really just a shame that had to happen? Sorry this turned into a novel and thanks in advance to anyone who took the time to read it.

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