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Nothing I see there is unethical. It's just the way the market is in some places right now. FWIW, you'll probably be happy you didn't get this. You'll end up with another home you like more. Things usually work out like they should. Best of luck in your search.
I saw a listing for a condo and looked at it the second day on market. They said they were reviewing offers upon receipt rather than on a specific day. I put in a full price cash offer that day and my agent was told by the seller's agent that the seller really wanted 40K MORE than what he was asking and would I offer more. I said no and submitted my offer only to be told that the seller wouldn't look at it and instead was going to wait until Monday (this was Thursday) and have some open houses in hopes of getting other (better offers). My offer expired later that day.
Monday came and my agent was told there were 2 other offers coming in and that my offer was favored but needed to be "a little more." So..I submitted my offer again, slightly higher but including a highest offer 15K over asking with a 1K escalator clause. I assumed the three offers would be reviewed and seller would choose which he preferred and that would be that. However later on my agent called saying one of the other offers was 20K higher than mine with an escalator that brought it up another 10K and did I want to offer more.
I dropped out at that point as it really felt like they were game playing. I assume they had already gone to other buyers telling them of my offer in order to get them to offer so much over asking and then came back to me to try and get more than what others had offered. I assumed if I offered more they would just go back to the others and try to get a higher offer...ad nauseam.
It really felt like they had manipulated all of us by playing us against each other to get us to raise our offers and I wondered how likely that was and if it's ethical to behave that way (especially not choosing between the offers theLy had and instead trying to get more by telling buyers others had bid more).
Escalator clauses are.....bad news IMO. Way too much room for the buyer to be taken advantage of. My understanding is that they haven't been common for years even in my very competitive market.
I recently had a situation very similar to this for one of my buyers where we ended up rescinding. (in fact there is a thread here about it). The listing that supposedly had multiple offers on Sunday and kept asking us to raise our offer.....is somehow still active. Hmmm.
I agree with those who said be glad you didn't get this place. Something better always comes along and it's not worth dealing with a situation where you don't feel comfortable with the purchase.
Escalator clauses are.....bad news IMO. Way too much room for the buyer to be taken advantage of. My understanding is that they haven't been common for years even in my very competitive market.
I recently had a situation very similar to this for one of my buyers where we ended up rescinding. (in fact there is a thread here about it). The listing that supposedly had multiple offers on Sunday and kept asking us to raise our offer.....is somehow still active. Hmmm.
I agree with those who said be glad you didn't get this place. Something better always comes along and it's not worth dealing with a situation where you don't feel comfortable with the purchase.
My agent seems to think the escalator clauses are helpful..I don't think I really like them but since I was assured if my offer was chosen I would get to see the other offers to ensure they were real I thought I'd try it. But the whole process was unpleasant and I would rather not be part of that kind of thing again.
You bumped into the strategy of an agent who convinced their client to set a low listing price, to attract multiple offers, perhaps.
Remember, list price is irrelevant to value.
A list price is not "The Price," as a real estate listing is only a solicitation for offers.
Actually the listing price was 4K over what an almost identical unit sold for a few months ago when market was a bit hotter. That unit had multiple offers and sold for about 8 or 9K over list. They stated they would review offers upon receipt but then didn't.
My agent seems to think the escalator clauses are helpful..I don't think I really like them but since I was assured if my offer was chosen I would get to see the other offers to ensure they were real I thought I'd try it. But the whole process was unpleasant and I would rather not be part of that kind of thing again.
Always stick with your gut in these negotiations. If you're not comfortable with the manner in which it's proceeding, it's time to back out.
Well, no one is happy in multiple offer situations.
The listing agent cannot force a deadline on their client.
Even the successful bidders are seldom really happy, as they feel they bought under duress.
I think the sellers are happy.
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