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OK Now I'm Upset!

Last week I spent my days with several buyers. Out of the three I was with two put in offers. Both homes had been on the market for awhile with no offers.

Both placed offers and when I was sending them I asked if there were any submitted already. Both said no, perfect. Now both were sent.

I called on one and he tells me that another offer came through and they went with the other offer before my buyers even had a chance to counter. Great, back to the drawing board with them.

Second home follow up call, was put in yesterday. He tells me he has my offer but believes that there are two more waiting at the office, he has not submitted ours yet. He was to go in this morning to check. I called just now and he tells me that yes one other offer was submitted and that the house has another showing later today with another possible offer.

Wait, you haven't submitted my offer yet? No, because I am waiting on todays showing to see what happens and I will meet with the sellers tonight. So you are telling me that you are not going to submit our offer because of the chance that another is coming in? Yup, that's the plan. Its like he is waiting for a bidding war.

See I don't think its right for agents to do this. Aren't we suppose submit offers irregardless whether or not we have other showings happening? We had a solid offer, great VA loan and can close is less than 30 days. How much better can you get?

It seems that we are back in 2004 where muliple offers are here and waiting.

Jeannette Neerpat
9000 Sheridan Street
Pembroke Pines, Fl 33024
www.Neerpat.com

Would you like a Free Market Analysis? Visit www.Neerpat.com or call 954-993-4104.

Posted by Jeannette Neerpat, e-Pro Coral Springs/Parkland Real Estate on 04/15/2009 11:04 AM

Comments (97)

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97 Comments on OK Now I'm Upset!

APR

Call FREC... they violated realtor code of conduct as well... that offer has to be submitted ASAP - "Time is of the essence" and right now he is not acting "in good faith"...

discuss with your broker as well regarding putting in a call to his broker. "waiting on the fax machine" is baloney - in this day and age, email and Mongo Fax for people that can't figure out a scanner speed up the delivery and are accepted

I think you have a legitimate complaint ... if he had offers coming in immediately etc that is one thing but 2 days later is inexcusable

Jeannette, If we are in multiple offers market again, then that's really great news. I've seen many blog posts and comments here, agents saying where is the morality , professionalism ? He should have submitted the offer without waiting.

Are you sure that your office is not in San Diego County? I'm pretty sure that I just heard the very same concerns at our office meeting. I'm sorry for your frustration, and hope that something works out for you soon.

Yes he is waiting for the bidding war, thats when I take my buyers out of the loop. Unless we had grossly unpriced the offer, then we are ready to counter or place our last best offer closer to the listing price.

Jeanette, I agree that it seems a violation of the ethics we agree to follow as Realtors. I would talk to your managing broker and get input and guidance as to next steps.

Ethics can't slip in the name of competition!

I spoke with my broker this morning to this regards. He says we have a valid complaint. The problem is that it will take 250 dollars to file the complaint and by the time it gets reviewed this may already be over.

He told me to make sure we have all our paper work and to follow through to make sure that if we do get out bid to wait to see who the closing agent was. If it was his buyer we can file against him since he did not submit ours!

When I suspect that an agent may be pulling that trick, I tighten up the expiration date of the offer. A 24 or 48 hour expiration would have made his sellers think long and hard about waiting for other offer that may or may not come in!

I hear this happening a lot with certain types of properties like the REO's,

Bettina

I would have told my seller that you had an offer and presented it. But I also would let them no that we are having a showing that day. If we don't get anything on the showing and the offer was strong it would help build my point of Take It. Do not counter too much you do not want to loose this one. I think it is all in how you look at it-Dinah Lee

Submit all offers in a timely manner... That's one of our most important fiduciary duties... Did your offer have a time limit on it? I like to keep deadlines Short & Sweet.

Featured @ Club Chaos

This happen to me. I wrote an offer on a poreperty thats been on the market for a year. know there are 2 offers mine and some elses.WOW. Which when I called no offer yet. Then he got another one at the same time.

Agents are suppose to get a offer and then present the offer in a timely manner to the seller.

I like the 2 post you did thats good info for the furture.

Ben

You are NOt alone. This is also happening here. I had it happen just last week and I have heard several agents saying the same thing. As for me I am tired of being nice. I am and will continue to turn Agents like this in and have been left and right. Usually, I try really hard to work with everyone....I alert fellow agents of so many violations before TREC gets them but now..I am living with the motto of " if you play with fire you are bound to get burned ". The problem : Agents are wanting to sell their own listings to make more $$$ we'll see how that pans out when fines are processed !

After I posted, I read Mark Hall's comment on a 24-48 hour expiry. I usually prefer 6 hours or less, unless it's a special circumstance where the seller is unreachable.

Yes ehtics does fall into play here, I agree. I am in a similar situation where the seller's agent called me with a counteroffer from his seller , when I spoke to my buyer it was accepted, but when we received the contract it had a different price. When I questioned him about he tried the I have another offer on the table tactic to get my buyer to go with the price on the contract, but that isn't what was agreed to. Now I am concerned about my buyer losing out.

HI Jeannette!

What was your response time? Did he exceed it? This is definitely an ethics violation, but I was wondering if you could have avoided it with a shorter response time...whatever happens I hope your buyer gets their shot. If the agent was being sneaky for his buyer, he needs to be held accountable for his action, $250 dollars or not. I wish you luck!

-Lisa

Time is of the Essence. You can put a reply by, 24-48 hours, in the offer.
It is a shame that Lack of Ethics to present any and all offers in a timely manner does not seem to apply accross the board.

I have seen this with Short Sales and REO properties also.

Good Luck in 2009

Karina

I've been hearing stories like this more and more lately -- especially with foreclosures and short sales. It seems like when an agent is working with a bank, all of the REALTOR ethics and cods fly out the window.

I hope it works out for you and your buyer!

I understand the broker's concern about filing, the cost involved and by the time it happens - your case will be over. HOWEVER, your owe it to your fellow REALTORS to file - your case may be over, but if they are doing business this way with you, they are doing it with other REALTORS as well and someone else will be having this issue with them when yoour complaint is heard. We have the reputations of used car salesmen because we don't self-police and get the people bringing us down out of our industry.

Kathy Fowler
EXIT HomeSellers REALTY
ExitWithKathy@gmail.com

The other problem is this is a short sale and its hard to put in a time limit since the bank gives final approval.

Once I receive an offer on a property I let other agents know that I have an offer and if their clients are interested I am presenting this offer at x O'clock. I try to give a chance to everyone without holding up the process of the first one in hand. If there are other offers great, if not I try to work with what we have. I also have noticed this too and it happen to me 2 weeks ago. It is not fun to play these waiting games. Some agents are getting lazy because they haven't been busy.

I do more buyers than listings, so maybe that's why I never hold up an offer to my selling clients. I operate on the bird in hand principal. If presented an offer, evaluate it and decide. The next offer may be lower anyway, so no need to speculate on what may happen.

Siunds like a mess.. I agree with a shorter time line. This has nothing to do with the short sale as this is the home owners time line for them to accept. Then it would go to the home owners lender for 3rd party approval once they accept.

Marcie makes a valid point... Once you set an appointment to meet the home owener.. let anyone and everyone know what time you are presenting.. if the offers are in, they get presented.. if not... Well.... they may miss out.

If it's a short sale I can see the point of the other agent, not that I agree. If he was meeting with him that night that was probobly the first opportunity he had to submit your offer. Everything happens for a reason, there may be something better for your client out there.

wow...I would be upset too. Hopefully things will get better for all of us soon. Thanks

This kind of thing is going rampant in the market these days. Sadly, I have seen this in our market with REO listing agents. You submit an offer and then don't hear back for sometimes over 6 weeks...and I have suspected it's because the listing agent is trying to get an offer of their own...They often say they've submitted the offer, but then 6 weeks later you hear they went with another. I am doing research on some of the primary REO agents in our markets to find out how many deals were double dipped to determine if indeed this is what is happening. In that event, some complaints will be filed...

Sounds like the assumption is that the agent has done this of his/her own accord. Perhaps the seller has instructed or the agent and seller have discussed how the seller would like to handle this. Maybe the seller has a busy schedule and the agent called and seller said "since we hve a showing tomorrow and I don't have any free time until Saturday, could we just get together on Saturday?"

Complain all you want but the proof would have to be the seller saying he did not know about the offer or that the agent made the determination on his own to hold up the offer.

Too much devil's advocate?

This it is a violation. Offers are to be submitted in a timely manner. That seems a problem here. If the seller then wants to wait that is his decision. You could have put in two deadlines, one for the seller and one for the bank.

Our contract says "time is of the essence". I believe that is pretty standard practice everywhere. One thing we can do if we don't have a strong level of trust for fairness is request that we be present with the listing Realtor and the seller and present the offer. We then are supposed to leave because as single party brokers for the buyer that would be improper to listen to their conversations. I am not up on all standards nationwide, but your scenario smells very fishy.

pull the offer, we will see how his clients feel when they have no offers? Give them a shorter response time? Pull the offer and make a lower one and make sure the seller know it is because the LA jerked you around.

I went through that last week, except I am the listing agent. We received an offer but I also told my seller that another one may be coming in. He held off on the counter one day just in case. That was his call. The other offer did not come in and now we have an executed contract. Good luck.

We have worked with one office who pulls the same stunts over and over. We now have made it a point to be present when our offers are presented - sometimes it helps - and sometimes they still slip in that buyer from the wings. And guess what - it is normally their buyer.

IF an REO agent, sometimes the bank is slow to respond back to offers submitted. But we submit as we receive them within the same day - whom the bank picks is their doing.

If they are playing the, waiting for their own buyer, game - then all it is going to take is one pissed off buyer to call up the DRE and have the agent investigated and the proof of all offers submitted will be investigated...

This is why I am glad I don't deal with REO's or Banks, etc...

I wouldn't have the patience... I may go LOCO on that agent!

Sean

I think that waiting until more offers come in is ridiculous. Just like a lot of the above agents - I thought you were supposed to present offers in a timely manner. Agent sounds like he wants to create his own bidding war.

So this is a short sale attempt and the offer you wrote does not have an expiration date? and you are upset that he is trying to bid up the price for his client?

I guess I'm trying to understand what you are upset about. He represents the seller and is trying to get them the best offer to present to the bank so that they have the best chance of a short sale. While irritating for you, it seems to be in the best interests of his clients. If you didn't put an expiration date on the offer then the sellers can take their time. We still put expiration dates on our short sale offers out here.

Did he tell the sellers on the phone that he had an offer, but he wanted to hold off presenting it offically to see if he could get more? There isn't enough information in your post to state whether or not there was a violation or not.

Look on the bright side, at least things are picking up.

The National Assoc. of Realtors has a Code of Ethics that during the representation of one party, and owing a fiduciary to that party, an agent must still remain honest, fair with ALL parties -- no matter who they represent.

I'm paraphrasing, and someone less lazy then I can look up the official wording.

When a list agent puts in a list price and places a listing on the multiples -- then uses it to bid up the property, this is not only unethical, but I would think violates the membership agreement of the MLS. HOW can ANY industry allow such BLATANT bait and switch tactics is beyond me.

In my local area, agents will use a price spread, for example $215,000 - $239,500. At least it's an attempt at being fair . . . and trying to get the best possible terms and conditions for sellers, WHILE being fair and honest to the principle buyers.

No WONDER Realtors(r) are ALWAYS associated with used car salesmen. It's the bait and switch that would irritate the hell out of me, and does!!

In situations where my clients and their good faith offer are being USED to bid up the price of the home, and I know our offer has arrived first, I will request the listing agent to submit to my office a copy of their office policy/manual which addresses receipt of multiply offers. Most states require office policy and procedure manuals, and this type of scenario should be addressed clearly in a brokerages' policy and procedure manual.

What I've found when I've requested to be copied on the listing offices' policy of multiple offers, they give me a courtesy and state "It's the first come, first served" model. GREAT! At least our offer is countered, and we can go from there.

Good luck!! I'm in the same boat with you, and wonder why agents are acting like pigs in the slop trough.

Not unusual i guess with REO's and short sales to get multiple offers. It is ethical though for the seller to present your offer as soon as he/she can. Doesn't mean they won't present other offers too though.

This is a great example of why it is important to pesent your offer to the seller. At the very least, tell the listing agent that you want to present the offer.

Our market is absolutely CRAZED right now. There was a foreclosed property in town (one of very few) that hit the market. My buyers and I submitted a offer 25% OVERasking price. We did not get the house. A few towns over, a property was listed on a Friday afternoon. By Saturday evening there were 42 offers. In our office, a good number of properties are going over asking and in multiple offer situations. Again, in my market, there are very few bank-owned or short sales.

I don't normally like to do this but sometimes I ask to be present when the listing broker is submitting the offer to the seller. Atleast you will know that it has been presented in a timely manner. Instead of giving the seller a few days to think abot the offer I will shorten the date that the offer is god for. Instead of 48 hours make it 15 hours.

I just had a similar thing happen. The listing agent told me that the sellers could not respond by my deadline of Friday at 5pm and that it would be Monday before they could respond. She promised that she didn't know of any other offers coming in, but around lunch time on Monday she called to say that another offer had come in at full price. Coincidentally the other offer was from an agent in her office. That was a violation in my opinion. I should have been told that the sellers were not accepting my clients offer and they were waiting on a better offer. My clients really wanted the home, so we wrote another offer over full price. It was accepted. Imagine that happening!

Jeanette,

You did the right thing by running this by your Broker. Sadly, what you experienced is not uncommon. I've run into more than a few agents and brokers who have lost focus on the professionalism of our service.

What gives me hope is reading the responses and suggestions you have received.

One point I'd like to make: Just because a client asks his/her agent to do something doesn't make it legal or get the agent off the hook for his/her actions.

Welcome to the HELL I have been living in for over a year! With higher and higher buyer interest the competition is worse and worse. Asset managers like to sit on things too. There is just too much out of control. We are writing 5-10 offers per buyer before acceptance. Ridiculous for the first time buyers. Investors don't care.

Jeannette - Few things are more irritating than simple ineptitude and unethical behavior. Sounds like you got to experience BOTH of them this week.

I just had that happen to me also, but the agent was waiting to write his own offer for clients. So, surprise, he wrote an offer and he "won". I'm in backup position. Damn double-enders (it's becoming pretty common in my market on short-sales and bank owned).

Sometimes I suspect that certain listing agents are waiting until their own buyer submits an offer - clearly not the best way to serve their seller client.

The agent does sound somewhat suspect, but because it is a short sale he may have been told by the bank to submit multiple offers at the same time or something along those lines. You definitely have a valid complaint though but honestly I am happy to hear about the increase in offers being put in on properties! That is great news for the real estate market. We usually follow Florida about a year later so hopefully we'll be seeing the buyers going crazy soon enough. Good luck!

As far I think, the listing agent should "refresh" his real estate knowledge. Aren't we obligated to submit offers as soon as possible? The seller is the one who can decide to wait with the answer, not the agent.

Is there anything that can be done about this? This has been going forever and isn't it unethical for another agent to lie and shop offers? Or is this agent just acting in the best interest of the seller?

Hi Jeanette, I'm betting that the agent would say he is acting in the clients' best interest by waiting for all offers. Frustrating, isn't it ?

Sorry to hear of your trials with this broker. He sounds lazy and unethical. Waiting two days to submit an offer because of a showing is ludicrous. Even if he is under instruction from the bank the banks don't have a code to follow as we all know but this broker does.

Happening here, too. Very aggravating and too many gray areas that make it hard to deal with.

It seems that frustrating situations like this are just a part of the business. Seems silly. Don't these list agents want to sell their listing.

What I find curious is the fact that people speak of waiting to submit. Shouldn't we be submitting all offers as they come in and wait for the clients to make a decision?

Sometimes my buyers are willing to wait a week. Sometimes they want an answer by the end of the next day. I generally do what they want but will make a suggestion if I believe something else is more reasonable than what they are saying or propose to do. People need a little time, its a huge transaction. Three to five days is my normal wait for someone to give me an answer. I always like to give people time to speak with their CPA, Attorney, Contractor, maybe a few relatives, etc. I also make it clear when the offer will expire. It's never written in stone as long as we are still negotiating in good faith, but lately things have gotten a bit hinky because of the "anticipation of multiple offers."

It's wrong to make a buyer wait and see if something better is coming along than their written offer. Yes or no, make a decision, then lets move on. If I get wind this is happening I always inform my buyer and instruct them to make the decision if we should stay the course or withdraw. At this point I usually remind them there is plenty of inventory out there and we do not have to engage in a bidding war. It's not my call, it's theirs... I have been frustrated by some of the things that have been going on, but I do try and make my clients as happy as I can.

Carolyn I agree with you. I spoke with my buyer and told them this. The other agent wants a bidding war and my client is not sure if they want to do that. So I will be sending them listings again as a back up just in case this doesn't go our way. The agent should be submitting as they come in and let the seller know, but not hold off to see if something else comes in, better or not!

That is frustrating. I submit a ton of offers and rarely have issues, but when I do I know its the listing agent and I dont think its right.

In New Jersey such a stall is illegal. The statute states that written offers must be submitted within 24 hours. It happens here, too, because not enough people are wiling to lodge a formal complaint.

Ouch...frustrating isn't it? Illegal? Sounds like some folks in Florida say it is. We have a complaint in waiting to go to grievance on a short sale offering. I feel for you.

This happens here too. We had one recently that said they had no other offers. We submitted offer on Thursday and asked for reply by Friday 5 pm. No reply. No reply Saturday either. Sunday the agent said he went out of town and didn't have time to see the seller yet. And YES another offer had come in in the meantime. That is maddening. Well our offer was accepted on Monday. But I was furious over the fact the agent had the contract since THURS and didn't have time to sit down with the seller.

Submit the offer, the seller can wait to make a decision if he wants to risk losing a buyer. Sounds like the agent is more concerned with trying to condense his work load than represent his client.

That's the "spit in one hand and wish in the other and see which one fills up faster" theory of real estate. Haven't you ever heard of that before. It's such a solid way to do business.

Listing agents cannot sit on offers, I would report them by first talking with your own broker/manager.

This is a dark and ugly story. All offers are supposed to be submitted, not held to wait to see if another one come in. This agent is not playing by the rules and is certainly NOT ethical. Tell your Broker and file a complaint. It is agents like this that reflect badly on those of us who hold ourselves to a higher standard. Good Luck and Stick to you guns.

Here in Arizona the scenario you describe, or something similar happens every day -- we have been representing buyers and writing offers left and right and it happens -- if the house is priced right and looks good it is happening. Perhaps it is not right , but it is a sign of the times. All the best.

Its all fone and good if they want to do highest and best, the seller can respond at a time of their choosing. Waiting for an snwer is one thing. Waiting for the offer to be submitted is unthinkable.

Jeanette,

Filing a complaint on this agent would be a waste of time. The reason is that yo have no idea what his seller has instructed him to do.

And what is "quickly as possibe"? he said he was meeting with the seller that evenng. that sounds pretty soon to me.

The fact that it's a short sale has no baring on anything since the negotiations are still between the buyer and the seller.

Your buyer can withdraw their offer or it will expire once the "time for acceptance" comes and goes.

Now if it is truly an unresonable amount of time then your Broker could very well contact the agents broker to try and sort it out.

I hope it works out for you and your buyer.

Here's the SOP of the Code of Ethics that apply:

Standard of Practice 1-6

^®

I have had to shorten up the times on offers lately... For just such a reason.

Jeanette~ I think he should have submitted it to the seller as soon as possible. But, that does not mean the seller had to give an answer right away either. In KY, a seller can have the listing agent go ahead and give out to the other buyers what the other offers and terms actually are and get someone to offer more to get the house!

You should definetly submit offers as soon as you get them. You should also let your clients know that other offers may be coming through but you should let the decision up to them.

Not happening here. I work with 3100 Realtors in our board and all are outstanding citizens and excellent Realtors. I just thought I would let you know.

In NJ this would be a violation; however it happens often here too, but I don't stand for it. I submit that your Broker of Record should get on the phone with that agent's Broker of Record. If he thinks the cost of submitting a complaint ($250) is too high, at least make a telephone call to put that broker on notice that he/she has an agent who is violating the Realtor Code of Ethics and (possibly) the state laws. As many have said, the agent should submit the offer right away and if needed, he can then let you know if the seller would like a little more time to digest it and make a decision. But in no instance does the LA get to submit when it's most convenient to his/her schedule. This is clearly not in the best interest of the seller because as we all know, in a declining market, often the first offer is the best offer.

I had a similar experience and understand your frustration. I chose not to challenge the situation and my buyers ended up writing on another property which turned out to be more to their liking. I wish you the best with this unfortunate situation.

"The problem is that it will take 250 dollars to file the complaint and by the time it gets reviewed this may already be over."

Who are you filing the complaint with? Your state real estate commission or the local board of Realtors?

Either way, while it may all be in the past before anything is reviewed, the threat of a review may be enough to compel the seller's agent to behave in accordance with the Code of Conduct (the behavior you describe violates Standard of Practice 1-6 [among others]: "Realtors shall submit offers and counter-offers objectively and as quickly as possible.").

btw, I don't have these memorized but I just finished up some training for to serve on my local board's grievance committee and have the handbook within reach. Prima facie, this complaint would likely be moved along for review by the Professional Standards committee.

Hi Jeanette!
I never leave the response time at the prewritten 72 hours. I give the seller 24 hours to respond just to avoid such a situation. If another offer comes in during the time that I have allowed for a response, there is no ethics violation. The listing agent is doing what is best for his seller...if you have allowed it to happen. However, if your response time was tightened and the listing agent chose to ignore it, then you have an absolute right to file an ethics violation. Good luck!

APR

Wouldn't you hate to be the owner of that property? I would want to know IMMEDIATELY of an offer on my home! You already know you have a right to file a complaint and "good one" -- who is going to stop this kind of behavior if we don't?? Good Luck!

Hopefully your board/grievance committee is more advised and understands the rules they are supposed to go by than one of the boards I belong to in California. Seriously consider if you want to invest the time you could be spending getting your offers accepted and making money than chasing some unethical Realtor. Sound bitter? No. Just coming to the realization that we should only fight the battles that are worth it having recently just tried taking a thieving commission stealing real estate agent to the board.

We're in a multiple offer market, it's dog eat dog and you must be aggressive. Shorter timelines and working it hard to get your offers accepted for your clients. Its not easy out there and there's lots of competition for the houses.

Good luck to you. If you decide to go after them, you go girl! My wings are a little singed and my banner is a little tattered after my righteous trip to the board.

When I was actively working with buyers and sellers it always amazed me how often a property could sit, sit and sit some more and than -- drum rolls -- in came an Offer to Purchase. All of a sudden it seemed like everyone wanted to buy this property. Funny, funny.

The way I understand the process, and practiced it, the agent MUST present all Offers as soon as realistically possible. The only way I'm aware of that this changes is with written instructions from the seller. After all, the Seller makes the decision to accept or not and when they want to consider and hear about an Offer -- as long as it is in WRITING.

Of couse a combative approach can defeat what could be/had been a successful Closing.

Sue

Putting pressure to REO banks to follow Realtor's guidelines for a timely answer to an offer . .will be best if it comes from the Realtor Association. We need a voice. Banks are playing games and shopping our offers around. .that is not ethical behavior.

The qrgument here would be that you are agents of the seller and waiting for as many offers as possible could mean a greater return...though frustrating on the buyer end...and if you find out the buyers who get the house are working with the listing agent...that is a whole different problem !

To the writer who writes she shortens up offer reply dates.... but what do you do when the other agent IGNORES the reply by date?

Get you managing broker's opinion....it's always good to vent! It's frustrating for sure.

Portsmouth NH Real Estate

We just had something similar happen. We tried to show a short sale last week, but the owner, who was to be there for the showing, wouldn't let us in. Two cars in the drive and windows open, but no one answered the door. So we reset an appointment for Wednesday and call Tuesday to make sure someone will be there and low and behold a contract has magically appeared. Sleezy dealings...

Unless the seller specifically instructs the agent to wait for - say 5 p.m. to present the offer - all offers are to be submitted in a timely manner! We have that issue here and it has gotten to the point where Realtors are now filing complaints. I have also started shortening my response time due to these issues.

I can see why you are upset and the comments are upset with you. As am I. There needs to be better communication between agents. Was this a bank owned property ? With bank owned it can get sketchy but with a property owned by an individual there should be no excuse for a delay. It is irresponsible and unprofessional. Please keep us posted on how you make out. ~ Chris

Jeanette:

I agree with the Mark (#5) we need to start putting expiration dates on offers if not short sales.

Hi Jeanette,

I am wondering if this will dissapate with a more stable market but it has been like this especially this spring with a sudden burst of activity. It is starting to scare a few of my buyers away too. VERY frustrating.

A colleague I know recently had an issue with a listing agent not submitting their offer on a property where the bank was involved. The buyer called the bank directly, which worked out well. It was a mess. Our state requires the listing agent to disclose if any of the offers are from their agency, which doesn't always happen.

I agree that there is not much of a point putting an expiration date on a short sale.

This is happening here in Florida too. I worked with a buyer last week and was about to submit offer when listing agent told me that an offer had been submitted already but she did not change listing to pending as she did not think it was a "strong offer." I don't know what the offer is but I know that I am getting ready to submit what I consider a strong offer and if listing doesn't go pending then I know she is playing games.

I would contact FREC and have your broker contact his broker to discuss his behavior. I would go through the roof if I found out that any of the agents on my team conducted business in this manner.

Submit the offer and let the seller make the decision whether or not they want to wait on any offers that may or may not come in. Unless he's a total idiot (possible), then he would recommend the seller take the best offer they have in front of them.

I would involve the Broker immediately. It's times like that you wish your buyer would knock on the sellers door and start a conversation. Do you realize how fast a seller would move if they knew the real situation?

Sheesh................

APR

Do you know what else I find fascinating? When a LA tells me there is another offer on the property and my client should hurry up and make a decision. If I know ahead of time that they do not want a bidding war, I usually immediately ask, "does this mean my offer is rejected? Okay. Wishing you the best with your project. I will show them something else."

So far, I have had this happen three times and each time the LA contacted me a few days later stating the property is still available if I have a buyer. By then, my buyer and I are off on another shopping adventure and will always offer less than what we originally offered if still interested in the property. It's no longer the shiny penny when they do that...

How about the pending contract ploy? What is up with that? It always make me think their other buyer is a ruse to squeeze more money out of my buyer. Have you ever found "pending contract" homes in the computer that are not pending? I have. What about homes for sale that the LA "forgets" to input into the system?

I had a mortgage broker buddy inform me about another friend who wanted to make a purchase to buy back a home he sold to a third party who was having financial difficulties. When I contacted the listing agent he freaked out because he kept demanding to know how I knew the home was on the market.

When I told him I was representing the buyer he insisted there was no buyer because he didn't have the home in the MLS. I thought that was fascinating because the buyer and seller were talking back and forth about the situation and I was selected to do the buyer's binder.

Sometimes a LA can lose track of their sellers as well. Seems he had no idea what the owner was doing. She had taken it upon herself to negotiate direct with her church members because he brought no traffic to her home (LOL). No sign posted. No open house. No following up with a report once he had his listing contract signed...

This lady was polling the neighborhood trying to get out of debt actively looking for a buyer while the LA sat on his butt with a contract trying to find his own buyer so he could input it into the system as a pending contract.

Do you know he refused to deal with me and rejected my buyer's offer without speaking to the seller? I know, because when he did it my buyer and his seller were having lunch together in her home (LMAO). Needless to say, she flipped out when my client told her what I said. I heard some very colorful language in the background over the phone. He called me back a day later and it was like talking to another person. He claimed it was a misunderstanding, but the damage had been done. My buyer stopped house hunting because he really didn't need another home. He was just trying to help his friend out and thought buying his old home back would keep a roof over her head until she could move on. He'd continue to lease it out as an investment property.

We never did get that transaction done... What a shame...

If you wrote your offer on a FAR/BAR contract, it specifically says that "time is of the essence" and the offer has to be submitted in a "timely manner".

APR

I could understand if the seller wasn't able to meet until that night, but to purposely wait is wrong and what happened to submitting offers in a timely manner.

Jeannette, this market is definitely not for the faint hearted. Too many REO agents are not communicating in an effective and polite way. ;-)

APR

Jeannette,

Your frustrations are real and understandable..You might want to check my Blog on the Short Sale process. What to expect at each step of the way and how to save your time on properties that may already be taken. Also, I address the issue of making the best offer that actually gets accepted at the lowest necessary price. Feel free to e-mail me or to read my blog and you will see what I am talking about. It seems like you are working WAY to hard and in some cases wasting unnecessary time.

Best of Luck,

Mark Velasco

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Jeannette Neerpat, e-Pro Coral Springs/Parkland Real Estate

Coral Springs, FL

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London Realty Corp

Address: 9000 Sheridan Street, Suite 90, Pembroke Pines , Fl , 33024

Office Phone: (954) 993-4104

Cell Phone: (954) 993-4104

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Coral Springs real estate, Parkland real estate, Tamarac real estate

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