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We put an offer on a house that was in short sale. From the very beginning when contacting the listing agent something didn't seem right. The house has been sitting for a long time and hardly any real estate has been sold in this area. When I contacted the agent who was representing the bank he was very short and never returned phone calls. I then went out and got my own agent. My agent contacted the agent for the bank and he claimed they had several good solid offers. The agent for the bank discouraged my agent from putting a contract on the house. I went ahead and put an offer on the house, and a week later increased my offer by $8k. I just found out that a relative of the bank's agent purchased the house for $4k less than my offer. Now they are putting the house back on the market to flip. Is this considered fraud relaying information on my bid to other people also bidding on the house? Also, by discouraging others to bid and hiding my last offer, is this also considered fraud?
Not necessarily fraud but possibly illegal/unethical by not presenting the offer or representing the sellers best interest. The fact it sold to a relative is disconcerting but the other offer may have been better even if the price wasn't as good. I would suggest starting by asking for proof your offer was submitted. If proof cannot be shown, then you may want to to consider contacting the RE commission in your area if you care to pursue the case.
Oh, and fyi, the agent technically represented the seller which was the owner in pre-foreclosure and not the bank. If you are presenting your case you'll want to get your terminology correct.
In Texas, there is a paragraph in the buyer's rep agreement we are required to use that says: Unless otherwise agreed or required by law, a seller or seller's agent is not required to keep the existence of an offer or its terms confidential. If a listing agent receives multiple offers, the listing agent is required to treat the competing buyers fairly.
So, relaying the information on your bid, in Texas, at least, is not fraud. Hiding the terms of your last offer from the bank (assuming he had not been instructed to present no offers after a certain date and that they had not already accepted the other offer at the time that you raised yours) would definitely be questionable.
Why did you increase your offer by $8K after a week if your original offer was not turned down yet, on a short sale?
I see everyone is ready to jump on the agent without knowing all the facts.
We don't know that the last offer was not presented it may not just have been as solid as the other. Banks will many times take less if it is cash and closing quickly.
Could Have Closed In 2 Weeks.quailfied ,don't Have To Sell Anything
Because From The Very Beginning I Didn't Trust Him....i Went Up 8k Because I'm Miserable
Renting .....also I Wanted To Seperate My Bid From The Rest.
Could Have Closed In 2 Weeks.quailfied ,don't Have To Sell Anything
Because From The Very Beginning I Didn't Trust Him....i Went Up 8k Because I'm Miserable
Renting .....also I Wanted To Seperate My Bid From The Rest.
The first one could have been key.
A lender will many times take a cash offer over one with a loan involved even with the offer being less.
I am not saying the list agent was not wrong, he very well may have been but just wanted to see where everything else stands.
Definitely what's known as an "arm's length" transaction .. Not fraud per say but certainly unethical & possibly illegal
I'd report this to the Real estate commission in your State & get their opinion
You can't make the presumption that agent was "certainly unethical". We don't even know, nor does the OP, if the offer was presented. It certainly could have been, or the bank could have already accepted the other offer. The OP needs to find out if the offer was presented before you can say it was "certainly unethical."
I agree with Mike and Brandon that you are making assumptions. Cash is king for many lenders. Your other terms sound good, but cash is a guaranteed so if they had cash for $4,000 less with similar terms, that is a good deal for the lender. They would still be relying on financing for you. They also may have waived the home inspection, which is a risky, but very powerful aspect to an offer.
I was in a short sale contract one time during the boom with 16 offers on the table. I know the listing agent was dicouraging more offers since it was getting insane. The seller may have told the agent, I don't want to see any more offers. You don't know. You have to remember since this is a short sale the OWNER of the property is the one that made the choice and the bank just agreed to release their debt. The other offer could have waived a home inspection, etc.
The seller can do whatever they want with the offers, and the buyer's have no guarantee of confidentiality (at least here in Oregon). Think about it...if the listing agent gets an offer why wouldn't he tell the other buyers out there that he has a better offer. It drives up the bidding, or changes terms to be more favorable to the seller and gets HIS CLIENT the best deal. THAT is the listing agent's job.
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