Was this seller (and agent) out of line? (accept, price, contract)

[wolfpack99]

My husband and I recently encountered a difficult seller's agent and I'd like to hear some opinions. I apologize in advance if this sounds whiny or obnoxious!

Here is the story:

While our offer on a house was on its way to the seller's agent, another offer came in, so we ended up in a competitive situation. We offered the asking price and to make our offer more attractive, we also said we would close anytime between June 30 and August 30, knowing that the seller was waiting on his new home to be completed. The next day, the seller's agent told our agent that the seller decided to accept our offer over the other. Another offer came in, which we were told was "politely declined."

We signed the contract and waited several days for the seller to also sign. Our agent kept contacting the seller's agent to check on the status, and he said "the seller isn't feeling well," "you will have the papers tomorrow," "the seller is deciding on a closing date," and things like that. He kept repeating that "I'm a good, honest agent. I would never play games or anything like that." Red flag!!

Several days later our agent tracked down the seller's agent AGAIN and he said "Oh, the seller has accepted the other offer. Your buyers weren't flexible about the closing date." He kept saying things like "there must have been a miscommunication." We felt as though we had been strung along in case the other offer fell through.

I realize that nothing was really in writing since the seller never signed the contract. But we still believed that our offer had been accepted.

We have since closed on another house that we actually like a lot better, so all's well that ends well. We're not vengeful people and we're not looking for retaliation or anything. I'm just curious if this is simply how the real estate game is played or if this guy was an abnormally dishonest agent.

Thanks for any opinions or insight.

[Hobokenkitchen]

I do think this was out of line, by both the seller and the agent.
At the very least if another stronger offer came in, you should have been given the opportunity to re-counter.

To just cut you out completely sucks, and especially to string you along while they waited for the details of the other deal to get sorted out.

I think it is a really bad business practise, but as you said you ended up with something much better so I am happy for you!

[Rakin]

It takes all parties signatures to have a contract & I'm always nervous until we get an executed contract.

The sellers agent was working for the seller and may have been doing exactly what the seller asked trying to delay their response & trying to get a better offer from the other folks.

The sellers agent should have tried a more honest approach but there again the seller may have directed his actions. You don't really know what was happening behind the scenes on the sellers end which makes it tough.

Things usually work out for the best, congrats on your better home.

[bentlebee]

you are right. This was a red flag...like always when an agent says she is sick while blogging, (just happened to me with another realtor on this blog. lol).

This what made clients think bad about realtors and believe they are dishonest. Well you got lucky and find a better house. maybe the other house didn't close....Karma?

Maybe next time you should put a date in the contract so if the contract isn't signed by that date, there is no contract so a sellers agent can't do these things or end up with no offer, although realtors would say he/she lied in the sellers best interest, but this the way how this profession will look any better soon.

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by bentlebee

you are right. This was a red flag...like always when an agent says she is sick while blogging, (just happened to me with another realtor on this blog. lol).

This what made clients think bad about realtors and believe they are dishonest. Well you got lucky and find a better house. maybe the other house didn't close....Karma?

Maybe next time you should put a date in the contract so if the contract isn't signed by that date, there is no contract so a sellers agent can't do these things or end up with no offer, although realtors would say he/she lied in the sellers best interest, but this the way how this profession will look any better soon.

Aw bentebee...

No one other than the seller and their agent really know what went down on this one. The Realtor agent is not the principal to the transaction and does not have the ability to commit the seller to a contract.

Clearly someone else came in with a better offer, maybe they paid more and/or offered better terms/less risk.

Your advise about putting an expiration date/time on all offers is however, good. It eliminate the ambiguity and suspense. I wonder if this was done in this transaction.

[Rakin]

Our code of ethics says we have to treat all parties fairly & honestly. While this is not all ways the case, it usually happens.

Keep in mind the agent may have been doing exactly what his client told him to do. Since we represent our client sometimes we are limited on what we say, how we say it or how fast we respond.

With multiple offers, I doubt you were in a position to put a deadline in your offer if you really wanted the house.

The client drives the train.

[christeen]

Definitely sounds slimey what the seller/agent did, but I don't understand why they played it that way. Even if they were using your offer as a backup or to get a better offer from the other buyer, I'd think it would make better sense to tell everyone there are multiple offers, counter on them all and let a bidding war ensue. Perhaps they could've gotten more money from you or the other buyers if they were more upfront?

Either way, glad you found a better house. I'd put this under the "it wasn't meant to be" category and breath a sigh of relief you not only found a better house, but hopefully had a more honest seller to deal with.

[TexasHorseLady]

It does sound like a bad way to handle it. When in a multiple offer situation, it's to the seller's best interests to be upfront with everyone about that being the case and perhaps give a deadline by which the highest and best offers need to be in. (Much cleaner than a bidding war situation.) But to say that the deal was accepted and then not sign seems dishonest on someone's part. Have no idea where it was the seller, the agent, or both.

That being said, it's only a deal when it's signed, sealed, and delivered.

[Boomerang]

Originally Posted by wolfpack99

I'm just curious if this is simply how the real estate game is played or if this guy was an abnormally dishonest agent.
Thanks for any opinions or insight.

If I were in your situation, I'd have been irritated too. If a seller has multiple offers I can imagine it might take a few days to weigh the pros and cons. But why the seller's agent wouldn't just tell you is beyond me. What better way to get a bidding war started?

Almost anything is possible when dealing with real estate. I've had to buy and sell homes a fair number of times due to relocations, and I've had both bad and good experiences. You expect everyone to behave professionally, ethically, and with consideration toward others, but in practice...well....sometimes you're disappointed. I had a couple really bad experiences with truly nasty people and found that if you're lucky, you can just learn to let it go. Everybody has their reasons for what they do, I guess. Stuff happens.

Try to look at it philosophically and be happy that it seemed to work out for the best in the end.

[wolfpack99]

Wow, thank you so much for all the quick responses. I appreciate it.

I definitely learned a lot from the process. We certainly should have put an expiration date/time on the contract, and I also should have asked our agent to be more aggressive. She kept begging me to let her get pushy, but I kept telling her not to because I was trying to be nice.

Personally, I thought the excuse that we "weren't flexible about the closing date" was really lame, considering the fact that we left it up to the seller, whose house was supposed to be ready by the end of August! Had everyone just been honest, I wouldn't have given the entire situation a second thought. Instead, I was left to wonder what we did wrong, what we should have done differently, etc.

Anyway, thanks again, everyone! You helped put my mind at ease a lot.

ETA: the last sellers we dealt with were wonderful and we are grateful beyond words