What do you do with a self centered, self interested, and totally self motivated real estate agent who is screwing her client, her customer (me), and ultimately herself?

    I'm trying to buy this house I'm living in. It's been on the market for more than 2 years. The real estate company decided it would be a good idea to rent it out so the owner wouldn't hemorrhage so much money. (I'm beginning to think that was not their motivation, though). In real estate, we call a property like this an alligator. It'll eat you alive. Enter me-- dumb ass renter.
    About 8 months later, the real estate agent in charge of this property, to whom the rent is paid every month, said the owner wanted to make me an offer to buy the place. He'd take $3,000 off his asking price, $5,000 down, and my payment would hardly be any higher than my rent. Hmmm. I asked for more numbers because I was sure more money than that would be required. I was right. Since I'd now be required to make a bunch of payments the current owner is making it would have been a nearly $300 dollar increase. It was moot anyway; I didn't have $5,000 laying around.

    All while the real estate agent is making the proposition she keeps going out of her way to stress that the owner was not putting the house back on the market. "He's not putting it back on the market. He's happy to have you there. He wanted me to stress that to you. Don't be afraid because he's not putting it on the market."
    Yeah. I made a counter offer with a much lower down payment and a lower asking price. No response. The next month, I'm sitting in Jack in the Box, I open a real estate magazine, and there in living color is my house. Not putting it back on the market my ass. They didn't even have the courtesy to call. They didn't even have the courtesy to reject my offer. They even listed it $4,000 below what they tried to stick me for! And they have the nerve to list me as a selling point-- "Great tenant history if you're looking for income property." !!!!!

    This listing is a real piece of work. They make it sound like the owner would accept three bubble gum wrappers and a half smoked cigar just to get rid of the thing. Meanwhile I've spent the last 7 months making offer after offer and being rejected every time. Well, not really rejected; I meet abject silence. In December, the owner of the real estate company even told me that the owner had decided to take it back off the market. That's the second time I've had assurances they weren't going to sell the place out from under me. But it has only gotten worse since then. They continue to list the house. And it's reaching outrageous proportions. I have people coming up and knocking on the door. I have jackasses parking in my front yard and walking all around without any kind of permission whatsoever. And every 2 weeks like clock work, this real estate [so-and-so] is bringing people in to walk around.

    Last month I decided to make a last ditch effort. I tailored a proposal that totally favored the owner and actually wasn't very good for me. The only thing it would have done for me was get the house off the market while I could come up with a larger down payment. My current rent does not cover his expenses. Here's a guy who's been out of work for over a year, has to come up with and extra $200 per month, plus another $600 a year to pay the city for the sewer installation. I offered to cover all his expenses. He no longer had any costs. I offered him his asking price. I offered him his terms-- I'd either pay cash for the house or make a down payment of not less than $5,000. All I asked in return was that he take the house off the market for 6 months while I acquired the down payment/purchase money. Think about how beneficial that is to him. He's sold the house. He has all his payments totally covered while I finish acquiring the down payment and/or purchase price. He's home free. I didn't even ask for any of the rent or payments to be taken off the final price. That would have been all gravy because then he gets his asking price and a large down payment on top of it.
    Get this. This is what the real estate agent says when the offer is made, "But if you do that how will I get my commission? I live off my commission you know!" (read that in the snotiest voice you can imagine.) I was dumbfounded. Her commission is about $35 a month, which I offered to pay. That's part of the monthly price. "Well, I'll make the offer but because this such a great real estate market I don't think he's going to accept it."

    They turned it down. The stupid mo-fo's turned it down. Once again, they didn't even have the courtesy to call with the response. I had to call them for two days before I could get an answer. That is the most sweetheart offer I have ever made anyone-- just so I could have peace and get them off my back. That offer was totally geared to taking care of them and screwing myself in the name of peace. And they turned it down! I will never again in my life make someone such a great offer.
    Get this-- the reason she gave? "He can't accept it without a down payment. This is such a great real estate market he can get a down payment." WHAT?!?!?!? There is a down payment in that offer! A greater than 10% down payment! That response was totally her words. It was just echoes of stuff she had said in her office. That wasn't the owner talking that was her talking. If she even made the offer at all she totally downplayed it and screwed me over for her $35 a month. You'd think the commission off selling a house would make her happier than $35 a month, but.... And I can't help but wonder why if this is "such a great real estate market" this genius has been unable to sell the house in 2 1/2 years!

    There's been a steady escalation that I'm not even beginning to portray well. My health can't take this. It's making me too tense, and angry, and disconcerted. If I'd known I was going to have to put up with this, I'd never have moved in. Unfortunately, I don't have enough spare money to move out. Do you know how expensive it is to move these days? The last straw probably came this week when she called "to make an appointment" for yet one more lookey-loo who won't be able to stand the place to come in and look around. She insisted on Saturday. I told her I have previous engagements all day Saturday. She insisted on Saturday. "You'll be back before then," she said. Guess what, [you so-and-so]. No I won't. You're going to show up and no-one will be here to let you in.

    It's incredible. It strains credulity. She's screwing me, her customer, over her lousy $35 a month. She's screwing her client, the owner, over her lousy $35 a month. This poor guy hasn't worked in over a year, he's being eaten alive by this property, and if she's even making the offers she's telling him to totally ignore the only buyer they have for this lousy little, poorly built, over priced shack. In my opinion renting this place for less than he needed to cover all his expenses was an act of incompetence. She's screwing her company over her lousy $35 a month, because I was actively promoting them, something I'll never do again. And ultimately she's screwing herself out of her $35 because if she expects me to keep taking this b.s. and paying for the privilege she is more insane than I think she is.
    If you're ever in Arizona and you need a real estate agent, I can sure tell you one to avoid.