Man with two mortgages sues broker for bad deal

A Godfrey man upset over the way a loan broker handled the sale of his home filed suit in Madison County Circuit Court Nov. 3.

Gregory Patterson claims Mark Korte of Interactive Financial negotiated a final sale price of $212,000 for his home on Taylor Avenue and agreed to a closing date by Aug. 23.

Patterson claims negligent misrepresentation, violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and violations of the Illinois Real Estate License Act of 2000.

According to the complaint, Patterson listed his home for sale by owner on Aug. 13.

Patterson claims on Aug. 19 he and the buyers signed the contract in reliance of Korte's representations that the buyers were already approved for the home loan.

"Plaintiff contracted to purchase a replacement residence with a closing date simultaneous to the closing date set forth in the contract to sell the home," the complaint states.

According to the complaint, Korte advised Patterson the sale would close for each of the next six weeks, but failed to close the sale each week -- causing Patterson to now own two homes.

"As a residential mortgage business with knowledge regarding plaintiffs need for a prompt closing, defendant owed a duty to plaintiff to communicate accurate information regarding the ability to close the loan and sale of the home in a timely fashion," the complaint states.

Patterson claims he has incurred "significant extraordinary expenses" in maintaining two homes and has incurred emotional distress and the inability to maintain his normal and ordinary lifestyle as a result of having to maintain two mortgages.

"Patterson has been irreparably harmed in that his credit scores and reports reflect excessive debt as a result of maintaining two mortgages and will result in higher costs of credit in the future and will prohibit Patterson from carrying out future business opportunities in buying and selling real estate," the complaint states.

Represented by Kenneth Fleischmann of St. Louis, Patterson is seeking $212,000 in exchange for the deed to his home plus a judgment in excess of $50,000 to compensate him for his harmed credit, expenses, and loss of business opportunities.