Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I caught wind of an upcoming foreclosure on a home in Scottsdale, AZ and before the MLS hit the streets the house was sold to the listing broker or someone within their office. Is this ethical? How often does it happen? What can be done to put one's foot in the door at least alongside the broker?
I don't think there is anything unethical about buying or selling outside the MLS - making the property open to everyone in the market.
Lots of times we have pocket listings (both buyers and properties) that we can sell in the right situation.
Why would it be in the best interest of the seller or buyer for the property to be handled as a pocket listing? I can see the advantage and opportunity for a larger commission by the broker.
I caught wind of an upcoming foreclosure on a home in Scottsdale, AZ and before the MLS hit the streets the house was sold to the listing broker or someone within their office. Is this ethical? How often does it happen? What can be done to put one's foot in the door at least alongside the broker?
At least in my area many real estate agents are investors. They get their license just to buy and sell their own properties. At the company team meetings agents often talk about upcoming listings so it is very possible that an agent in the office bought it, or they had an investor client that wrote an offer right away. At least out here, the listing agents can't buy any of the REO properties and I think many of the banks prohibit it.
Last edited by Silverfall; 05-01-2010 at 09:50 AM..
Reason: typo
Why would it be in the best interest of the seller or buyer for the property to be handled as a pocket listing? I can see the advantage and opportunity for a larger commission by the broker.
Just the opposite is quite likely.
The broker may well have passed on collecting any commission and been able to offer the bank a very acceptable net proceeds.
Just the opposite is quite likely.
The broker may well have passed on collecting any commission and been able to offer the bank a very acceptable net proceeds.
Nothing unethical is described in your post.
So, it wouldn't be unethical or even inappropriate to contact the bank directly to buy a foreclosed property bypassing an outsourced asset manager or local realtor? With foreclosure information easily obtained why do I need a realtor?
But getting back to one of my previous questions posed in another way, why would it be in the best interest for the buyer or seller to not have the property exposed to a larger buying audience by allowing a closely held pocket listing?
So, it wouldn't be unethical or even inappropriate to contact the bank directly to buy a foreclosed property bypassing an outsourced asset manager or local realtor? With foreclosure information easily obtained why do I need a realtor?
But getting back to one of my previous questions posed in another way, why would it be in the best interest for the buyer or seller to not have the property exposed to a larger buying audience by allowing a closely held pocket listing?
I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with you bypassing the outsourced asset manager or the Realtor.
Let us know how that works out for you.
The broker, according to your description did nothing wrong that I can see.
Are you party to information that the Seller, the Bank, is dissatisfied? Was their contract with the Realtor breached? Was the bank mislead or otherwise cheated?
Do you have information wherein the institution wanted broader exposure and it was withheld or refused? So far, you have not shown that you have any viable information to that effect.
If you do, you should take that directly to the bank.
So, it wouldn't be unethical or even inappropriate to contact the bank directly to buy a foreclosed property bypassing an outsourced asset manager or local realtor? With foreclosure information easily obtained why do I need a realtor?
Most banks won't talk to you, that's why. They don't want to deal with people calling them about buying a house. They'll just tell you to call an agent.
You also aren't aware that the listing was a pocket listing. If the agent let his office mates know it was an up and coming listing, they could have had an offer ready when it was officially and active on the market. Who knows, with a large company, they could have had multiple offers just in house.
It's never a good plan to assume you know what transpired. You just don't have enough facts to know.
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
6,957 posts, read 22,307,357 times
Reputation: 6471
Almost every bank would rather have a property off their inventory as SOON AS POSSIBLE.
It's fairly common for them to accept an offer at a lower price if it is cash and can close quickly even when there are competing offers that would require a longer escrow. Since we're in the business, we do see property coming to market before the public does. After a property is foreclosed on, it usually takes a few weeks for the process to work so the property is officially listed. If I were looking to buy an REO property, I'd scour the Trustee's Sale listings in the local paper, contact the Trustee, and see if you can't get an in on the process that way.
While information on foreclosures is widely available on the internet, most of the information I've seen is totally inaccurate (Are you listening RealtyTrac?). Good luck finding a contact person for the XYZ Mortgage Trust Series 1089 with a mailing address in NYC.
It seems that you're assuming the broker did something that the Seller didn't approve of. If the Seller is cool with it, the rest of us should be too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trump
I caught wind of an upcoming foreclosure on a home in Scottsdale, AZ and before the MLS hit the streets the house was sold to the listing broker or someone within their office. Is this ethical? How often does it happen? What can be done to put one's foot in the door at least alongside the broker?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
