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Old 02-27-2014, 01:33 PM
MOD MOD started this thread
 
95 posts, read 151,172 times
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A story:

House goes up on the Triangle MLS last night. It's in a fairly desirable neighborhood, easily walkable to downtown, at a price that's probably 1.5x the value of the land it sits on. Nice looking house. So the house would have to be REALLY tore up to not sell easily at a significantly higher price. In the one listing photo and on Google streetview, it looks like it's in OK/decent condition, but no idea about the inside.

So we call the listing agent this morning. In a shuffley, slightly nervous voice he tells me that the house sold about an hour after it went up, and that he sold it to a "business associate" of his that he'd showed the house to before listing it. He says that he didn't expect his associate to buy it, but he got the offer and the seller accepted it. He then rolls into the usual realtor spiel, trying to pick us up as clients.

So the listing agent sold it to a friend at what appears to be a lower-than-market price, after putting it up on the MLS for an hour (that'll help his days-on-market stats!), it's still listed as active and he's probably getting lots of calls about it (potential new clients!)

The thing I don't get is, how is this not a breach of duty to the seller? Isn't there a responsibility to the seller to market it widely, to try and get the best offer? How is this not advancing his own interests over the seller's?
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Old 02-27-2014, 02:05 PM
 
Location: Needham, MA
8,527 posts, read 13,931,119 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MOD View Post
The thing I don't get is, how is this not a breach of duty to the seller? Isn't there a responsibility to the seller to market it widely, to try and get the best offer? How is this not advancing his own interests over the seller's?
Some sellers don't want their home to be on MLS. We've had listings in our office where the seller has told us specifically that we are not to put the house in MLS or anywhere on the internet. The only thing they'll let us do is market it word of mouth. There are various reasons behind this but the most common is that they just don't want tons of people coming through their house.

What people fail to understand who are critical of real estate agents is that we're not the ones making the decisions. We are merely advisors. It's the homeowner who makes the decisions. Sometimes things like this come out of our advice and sometimes they spring from the mind of the seller independently. Either way the seller still weighs their options and makes a decision based on what's best for them.

I agree with you that the seller is shooting themselves in the foot, but you know that old saying . . . you can lead a horse to water . . .
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Old 02-27-2014, 02:06 PM
 
9,196 posts, read 24,873,595 times
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Um, didn't the seller have a say in whether they wanted to accept the offer??
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Old 02-27-2014, 02:18 PM
 
Location: Salem, OR
15,513 posts, read 40,248,020 times
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You are assuming the seller isn't capable of intelligent thought. People have reasons for doing things that don't always appear to make sense to people. Obviously the seller was okay with what happened since they accepted the offer.

Generally speaking, yes, it is the seller's best interest to put the house on the MLS to try and solicit multiple offers. What I can tell you from personal experience is that some sellers want to sell it fast and are happy to take the first offer and have it be done, even if it means less money.
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Old 02-27-2014, 02:28 PM
Status: "Made the Retirement Run in under 12 parsecs!!!" (set 9 days ago)
 
Location: Cary, NC
43,090 posts, read 76,670,112 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MOD View Post
A story:

House goes up on the Triangle MLS last night. It's in a fairly desirable neighborhood, easily walkable to downtown, at a price that's probably 1.5x the value of the land it sits on. Nice looking house. So the house would have to be REALLY tore up to not sell easily at a significantly higher price. In the one listing photo and on Google streetview, it looks like it's in OK/decent condition, but no idea about the inside.

So we call the listing agent this morning. In a shuffley, slightly nervous voice he tells me that the house sold about an hour after it went up, and that he sold it to a "business associate" of his that he'd showed the house to before listing it. He says that he didn't expect his associate to buy it, but he got the offer and the seller accepted it. He then rolls into the usual realtor spiel, trying to pick us up as clients.

So the listing agent sold it to a friend at what appears to be a lower-than-market price, after putting it up on the MLS for an hour (that'll help his days-on-market stats!), it's still listed as active and he's probably getting lots of calls about it (potential new clients!)

The thing I don't get is, how is this not a breach of duty to the seller? Isn't there a responsibility to the seller to market it widely, to try and get the best offer? How is this not advancing his own interests over the seller's?
Ask the seller.
None of the rest of us know what the seller's needs and wants were.

If the seller is perfectly happy with the outcome, and feels it is a good price compared to market stats, it is absolutely not any breach of duty to the seller. And the agent does not owe a showing opportunity to any buyer.
Additionally, the rules call for listings to be uploaded to TMLS within 48 hours after signatures, or after the marketing date. So, the agent may well have talked it up among friends and associates, with the "Coming Soon" game.

If you erred, it was in calling the listing agent the next day rather than having your buyer's agent picking it up on ASAP notification and calling for you ASAP when you saw it.

The Triangle market is really quick right now. If you see opportunity, so do a great many other people. Deals are hard enough to find, let alone to sit on them. Plenty of stuff going under contract in a day or two.
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Old 02-27-2014, 02:42 PM
MOD MOD started this thread
 
95 posts, read 151,172 times
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If the seller didn't want it marketed, why did the agent put it on the MLS?

It's certainly possible the seller was fully informed making the decision. If that's the case, my error. It does not appear that the seller lives or lived in the house (possibly a rental from what I hear), and may have their own reasons for taking the deal.

But there's a few too many things that smell a little fishy - Selling it to a friend of the listing agent, the surprisingly (really, really surprisingly) low price...

Last edited by MOD; 02-27-2014 at 02:52 PM..
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Old 02-27-2014, 02:50 PM
 
Location: Madison, AL
3,297 posts, read 6,235,328 times
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We put "Coming Soon" signs up to generate interest in a new listing before it actually goes live.....and have sold several homes that way before they were listed. If I have a buyer and we are getting a new listing that will meet their needs, why wouldn't I show it to them first? How is that bad for either that buyer OR that seller? The buyer gets to view the home before its on the market and without competition, and the seller may not have to deal with the frustrations of keeping the house show ready and vacating constantly for showings.

In the end, like everyone has said, its up to the seller ultimately what they decide they want to do.

We always record the sales like this in MLS. Its not to make ourselves "look good", its to continually provide up to date comps for future sales.

We also have pocket listings, where we have past clients who would sell in certain situations but don't want to go active on the market. I'm calling other agents all the time in my area to see if they have any new listings coming up or pocket listings for buyers I am searching for.

If I had a new listing coming up, and had a friend/associate looking that I knew would be interested, I would absolutely put them in the property before the house was listed, and there is absolutely nothing shady about that. If the seller likes their offer they can take it, if not it will go on the MLS.
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Old 02-27-2014, 03:03 PM
MOD MOD started this thread
 
95 posts, read 151,172 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LCTMadison View Post
If I had a new listing coming up, and had a friend/associate looking that I knew would be interested, I would absolutely put them in the property before the house was listed, and there is absolutely nothing shady about that.
I get that, I'm just wondering where the line is. Can a listing agent advise a seller to put a low price on it so their friend will get a better deal?

Also, there was no "coming soon" sign, I drive by it every day.
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Old 02-27-2014, 03:13 PM
 
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
2,150 posts, read 5,147,825 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MOD View Post
If the seller didn't want it marketed, why did the agent put it on the MLS?
How do we know the seller did not want it marketed?

The agent put it on MLS so that he will get dozens of phone calls. Then he can say "That one just sold, but I have others that I can show you.". Getting a listing is not just about selling one home, it is about selling many homes.

Since no one on this forum knows precisely what transpired, how can anyone complain that it is a "breach of duty" or anything else for that matter? Do not condemn an innocent man on hearsay.
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Old 02-27-2014, 03:20 PM
 
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
6,957 posts, read 22,244,912 times
Reputation: 6469
I have a similar situation. Folks asked us to come out and help them value their home. I took my associate with me and he thought $160K and I thought more like $175K. They needed time to have an estate sale and get the property cleaned up a bit.

My associate showed the house to his client during the estate sale and they made an offer at $160K. It's not listed, but the sellers came back with a counter offer and we are negotiating with the buyer's 2nd counter offer. The sellers are weighing whether they want to have the "bird in the hand" at what I feel is a giveaway price, or take the "risk" of putting it on the market at $175K and seeing what happens.

So, having explained the risk/reward to the seller am I being shady or is the fully informed seller allowed to make a decision about what they want to do?
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