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We had contacted an agent to do a virtual showing on a REO property that had been sitting for months. We were coming from out of state so we asked if we could write up a contract with contingencies ( Inspections) , offer made, submitted and wait, wait wait. Call for news, no return call, call for news, let me call bank and get back to you, nothing yet. Oh wait a counter offer from bank, yes we will take it, tell them yes we said. Driving 16 hours to see house 48 hours later, agent calls and says she was going online to accept the counter and it was sold to someone else. She never put it in on the day she called us. But we are 3/4 of the way there.
There was no contract for the OP to buy the hone, and while they were on their way there, another offer showed up that was accepted. This is a very common thing, and is not the fault of the agent working with the OP.
Remember, until their is a contract sighed by both a buyer and a seller, that the home is for sale, and just because you are on your way to see the the hone, means nothing to the seller, and they are going to put their effort to sell the home, when someone puts in a firm acceptable contract to buy the home.
The fact that you are coming from out of town to view a home, means nothing to a seller when another party offers a firm acceptable contract. They are not going to wait around waiting for you to get to town and take the chance of losing the firm contract sale, as there is no guarantee you will buy the home when you get to town.
Don't blame the agent, as they have no power over the sale of the property, when another party offers to buy it and signs a contract acceptable to owners.
In addition you were making an offer on a REO property. The bank was the one that had control, not the agent. Banks are not the fastest to accept an offer with lots of contingencies as you had not even seen the house yet. Another acceptable offer came in, and they took it, and notified your agent this was what happening. This is SOP when working with banks (SOP Standard Operating Procedure).
I spent from 1972 until I finally retired, as an investment real estate broker. I did not sell homes for personal residences, but I bought a lot of homes for investors. When a bank offered a home at a price that made sense for investors, I would buy it for them. I have seen many cases such as yours, but when I came in with a firm contract with no contingencies I kicked the ones with contingencies that were under consideration (and they are very slow to accept those) and we always got the home. The banks knew me, and knew if I made an offer for a client we would close. They much preferred my contracts over contracts with lots or even a few contingencies.
LESSON FOR YOU.......When working with banks on an REO, a contract like you offered is not one they are fast to accept as you found out, and if someone comes in with a solid contract they are sure will close like I would make, they will take that offer every time. They may receive several contracts such as your offer, and just sit on them to see if they got a firm contract like I would give them, which they would accept. They have been burned too many times by buyers with contracts such as your offer with contingencies that would not close, to be in a hurry to accept them. I could walk in with a firm contract they knew would close and get it signed immediately no matter how many contracts with contingencies they had they were setting on.
Next time, do not make a trip to see a property with a submitted but not signed contract, especially if it is a bank. And don't blame the agent, as the agent has no control over what a bank will do.
A lot of agents hated me for getting banks to sell to me, kicking all other contracts out of consideration. Banks looked at me as the one who wrote ideal contracts without any contingencies, and they knew beyond any doubt my contracts would close.
There was no contract for the OP to buy the hone, and while they were on their way there, another offer showed up that was accepted. This is a very common thing, and is not the fault of the agent working with the OP.
Remember, until their is a contract sighed by both a buyer and a seller, that the home is for sale, and just because you are on your way to see the the hone, means nothing to the seller, and they are going to put their effort to sell the home, when someone puts in a firm acceptable contract to buy the home.
The fact that you are coming from out of town to view a home, means nothing to a seller when another party offers a firm acceptable contract. They are not going to wait around waiting for you to get to town and take the chance of losing the firm contract sale, as there is no guarantee you will buy the home when you get to town.
Don't blame the agent, as they have no power over the sale of the property, when another party offers to buy it and signs a contract acceptable to owners.
In addition you were making an offer on a REO property. The bank was the one that had control, not the agent. Banks are not the fastest to accept an offer with lots of contingencies as you had not even seen the house yet. Another acceptable offer came in, and they took it, and notified your agent this was what happening. This is SOP when working with banks (SOP Standard Operating Procedure).
I spent from 1972 until I finally retired, as an investment real estate broker. I did not sell homes for personal residences, but I bought a lot of homes for investors. When a bank offered a home at a price that made sense for investors, I would buy it for them. I have seen many cases such as yours, but when I came in with a firm contract with no contingencies I kicked the ones with contingencies that were under consideration (and they are very slow to accept those) and we always got the home. The banks knew me, and knew if I made an offer for a client we would close. They much preferred my contracts over contracts with lots or even a few contingencies.
LESSON FOR YOU.......When working with banks on an REO, a contract like you offered is not one they are fast to accept as you found out, and if someone comes in with a solid contract they are sure will close like I would make, they will take that offer every time. They may receive several contracts such as your offer, and just sit on them to see if they got a firm contract like I would give them, which they would accept. They have been burned too many times by buyers with contracts such as your offer with contingencies that would not close, to be in a hurry to accept them. I could walk in with a firm contract they knew would close and get it signed immediately no matter how many contracts with contingencies they had they were setting on.
Next time, do not make a trip to see a property with a submitted but not signed contract, especially if it is a bank. And don't blame the agent, as the agent has no control over what a bank will do.
A lot of agents hated me for getting banks to sell to me, kicking all other contracts out of consideration. Banks looked at me as the one who wrote ideal contracts without any contingencies, and they knew beyond any doubt my contracts would close.
While what you are saying is true regarding the bank (I bought a REO property before and it was a pain), apparently the agent waited two days after talking to the OP to accept the counter. There is really no excuse for that.
The written offer was submitted to the bank, countered by the bank to a quicker close date, told our agent we accepted terms. She was supposed to notify bank we had accepted, do a contract for signing. WHEN she did not submit it for 2 days, they moved to next offer that had more contingencies. Had she done her job, they would not have moved on.
At the very minimum, it was 2 days, she could have received it earlier than she told us. She also was supposed to set up the home inspector the same day she was going to accept the counter, never done. That was our only contingency, other party needed financing and inspection.
Last edited by Momto5&5; 06-26-2020 at 11:20 AM..
Reason: added
The written offer was submitted to the bank, countered by the bank to a quicker close date, told our agent we accepted terms.
The problem was, you verbally accepted but had not signed a contract change. The bank took a contract that was signed. In real estate until a contract is signed by both sides including after any alterations, there is no such thing as a contract between buyer and seller.
Your mistake was taking off driving to see the property, prior to a contract being signed by you and the bank.
The problem was, you verbally accepted but had not signed a contract change. The bank took a contract that was signed. In real estate until a contract is signed by both sides including after any alterations, there is no such thing as a contract between buyer and seller.
Your mistake was taking off driving to see the property, prior to a contract being signed by you and the bank.
So you feel that the agent didn’t do anything wrong? I don’t blame the bank in this.
The problem was, you verbally accepted but had not signed a contract change. The bank took a contract that was signed. In real estate until a contract is signed by both sides including after any alterations, there is no such thing as a contract between buyer and seller.
Your mistake was taking off driving to see the property, prior to a contract being signed by you and the bank.
I am a bit confused by OP accepted bank's counter....but never signed it. So yes, it does sound like OP's agent should have had her sign a revised offer/contract.
Your mistake was taking off driving to see the property, prior to a contract being signed by you and the bank.
Fair enough, and I'm sure that's a lesson learned for them.
But that doesn't negate the poor performance of the agent. Shouldn't they be guiding their client and looking out for them? Isn't that the whole point? Most of us aren't experts in the process, procedures, ins-and-outs of a real estate transaction. So we use an agent to help us navigate. Would it have been too much to say "Nothing's official until we sign the counter and send it back to the bank. Let's do that before you guys start driving all the way here."
You are right, we did not sign a second time. We didn't know we had to honestly. That is what an agent is for. We now know to research the agent before the property.
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