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Realtor Representing Buyer and Seller

2,936 Views | 23 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by Diggity
coolerguy12
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AG
My wife and I offered on a house on Saturday and were told on Sunday we would hear back Monday. Monday at 3:30 they post a public request for best and final due by 5:00. No personal contact to our realtor about the request. We hear around 5:30 that we didn't get it.

The next day our realtor tells us that the same realtor is representing the buyer and seller. Am I wrong to think the "best and final" request was just a way to cover her tracks for having her buyer submit a new offer higher than ours? The whole thing doesn't pass the smell test to me but wanted to get your thoughts on it.
Martin Q. Blank
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Likely. I never get the "highest and best" thing. Just have an auction. Better for the buyers since they can see the bids. Better for the sellers as it drives up the price.
coolerguy12
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Only other time I have gotten a "best and final" request we had 24 hours to respond and the realtor contacted our realtor directly as well as posted it public.
Deats99
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I am a LO and my wife is an agent, That is about par for the course right now. No favoritism, no special treatment, one public request. Now how they were presented them could be an entirely different story. Sorry you didn't get the house.
A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.
-George S Patton
coolerguy12
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AG
Forgot to add that they only had 3 offers through the weekend. So it's not like they were getting slammed with offers and had to put a stop to it.
Martin Q. Blank
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coolerguy12 said:

Only other time I have gotten a "best and final" request we had 24 hours to respond and the realtor contacted our realtor directly as well as posted it public.
Did she disclose all of the other offers' bids? Why not? This gives the buyers a chance to make an informed decision while driving up the price for the seller.
coolerguy12
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They did not. But that house had a ton of offers. Assuming they just wanted to cut off the flow of paperwork.

Is the seller's agent allowed to share offer amounts with buyer's agents? I honestly don't know. Would like if they could honestly. Hate waiting till a house closes to see what it went for and realize it was within our wheelhouse.

Not desperate to move so losing out isn't a big deal, just trying to get onto some land and out of the burbs.
AggiePlaya
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AG
Realtor is representing the seller, it sounds like the buyer is going in with no representation...which means the seller's realtor can gobble up the full 6% commission instead of 3%.
plowboy1065
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S
AggiePlaya said:

Realtor is representing the seller, it sounds like the buyer is going in with no representation...which means the seller's realtor can gobble up the full 6% commission instead of 3%.


In Texas we do not have dual agency. A realtor can only represent one party (seller) while the other party is an unrepresented buyer. We offer our sellers a discount if we bring an unrepresented buyer to the table. We deal in land and this does occur a few times a year.
KayJayKay
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Highest and best has-been going on forever when there are multiple offers, not sure what is hard to understand about that. Its pretty standard practice. And if your 30k under the other buyers, your not going to get a courtesy call back, or a chance to re bid, or a pat on the back. Welcome to the competitive market we all have been playing in the last few years. It's just been tough to buy lately.
evan_aggie
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plowboy1065 said:

AggiePlaya said:

Realtor is representing the seller, it sounds like the buyer is going in with no representation...which means the seller's realtor can gobble up the full 6% commission instead of 3%.


In Texas we do not have dual agency. A realtor can only represent one party (seller) while the other party is an unrepresented buyer. We offer our sellers a discount if we bring an unrepresented buyer to the table. We deal in land and this does occur a few times a year.


I did this on first home. Selling agent wanted the full 6%. I scoffed and got a friend who had his license to do the paper work for 1%.
tmaggie50
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I've been part of 2 best and finals in the past couple of months. It sure feels like these best and finals dont always serve their client well and is an easy/lazy way out for the selling agent. I would want my agent working the buyers they have on the hook to try to get the best offer instead of just saying "best and final" and provide no true feedback.
TxAG#2011
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KayJayKay said:

Highest and best has-been going on forever when there are multiple offers, not sure what is hard to understand about that. Its pretty standard practice. And if your 30k under the other buyers, your not going to get a courtesy call back, or a chance to re bid, or a pat on the back. Welcome to the competitive market we all have been playing in the last few years. It's just been tough to buy lately.
You'd think for 6% an agent would at least make an attempt to draw up every potential purchaser.

What exactly does the seller have to lose with that? Nothing. But it's more work for the agent so we can't have that.
TxAG#2011
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tmaggie50 said:

I've been part of 2 best and finals in the past couple of months. It sure feels like these best and finals dont always serve their client well and is an easy/lazy way out for the selling agent. I would want my agent working the buyers they have on the hook to try to get the best offer instead of just saying "best and final" and provide no true feedback.
Yea I've had a couple friends trying to buy houses that would have certainly come up above the final sale price if they knew it could have got them the deal.

Like I said in the previous post, current system is designed to minimize work for the agent. They'll come out and explain the risk of the buyers walking away.... but not in this market.
tmaggie50
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TxAG#2011 said:

tmaggie50 said:

I've been part of 2 best and finals in the past couple of months. It sure feels like these best and finals dont always serve their client well and is an easy/lazy way out for the selling agent. I would want my agent working the buyers they have on the hook to try to get the best offer instead of just saying "best and final" and provide no true feedback.
Yea I've had a couple friends trying to buy houses that would have certainly come up above the final sale price if they knew it could have got them the deal.

Like I said in the previous post, current system is designed to minimize work for the agent. They'll come out and explain the risk of the buyers walking away.... but not in this market.
My initial offers were already above the asking price and I would have certainly outbid the final sales price on the 2nd home had the realtor given any indication about where we needed to be and what was important to the seller.
mgreen
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In almost all cases one offer stands out from the rest. I have had a handful of cases where the top three where virtually identical. I let them know best and final in hopes someone sets themselves apart. The client always the final decision.
KayJayKay
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And it's not always about price. I always choose the buyer that I feel has the best chance to actually close. Lots of other factors involved. Who is the lender, how much is the buyer putting down, how fast can they close, what kind of loan are they using, etc. What if the buyer's offer price was similar to yours, except it was cash and closing in two weeks. Highest price doesn't always win.
IWannaGoFast1
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Diggity
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let me tell you a little secret....unrepresented buyers are generally pains in the ass and a liability from an E&O perspective.
Yesterday
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Bought our current house through the listing agent. House had 11 offers and we weren't the highest but we had no contingency and I'd be a fool to think the listing agent getting the full 6% didn't affect her pushing the buyers to us. But I did this A. Because houses we're going fast and B. I figured it would be an advantage.

It's cut throat out there. Have to understand leverage when you can. We just got burned on some raw land in a similar situation and it sucks.
IWannaGoFast1
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Diggity
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I rest my case!
evan_aggie
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coleasterling said:

Diggity said:

let me tell you a little secret....unrepresented buyers are generally pains in the ass and a liability from an E&O perspective.


I'm dense, can you explain that one in more detail?


Error and Omission.

I've caught plenty of mistakes from realtors in the past.

I'm biased and jaded. There are a handful of stay at home moms in my neighborhood that got bored, took some classes, and got a license to buy/sell homes. the system in place in Texas protect realtors in almost every way, not a home owner. Commissions of 6% are some of the highest of all developed countries and make it difficult to have a short term ownership of 2 years without pissing away transaction fees. The same is true with title insurance. MLS is a closed monopoly. No where else in private industry would one single entity be allowed to be so large, except maybe a government body. So that's what we have...a state or National tax.

I'm not saying that there aren't really good, and hard working people among the bunch. But there are a lot of useless in the mix completely propped up by a rigged system. I look forward to RedFin and others putting pressure on the system to bring fees down to 1.5% and redistributing the multitude of fringe realtors into another useful life skill.

Diggity
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AG
Solid rant
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