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What would you do?

It seems that no matter how long I'm in this business, there's always a new twist.

A colleague of mine called to ask my opinion as to what I would do in her situation. After listening to her dilemma and offering my two cents; I thought I'd see what other Realtors would do.

Here's the story...I'm going to put it in first-person for simplicity:

A few days ago, I receive a call from a guy named Todd who said he was referred to me by a past client (love those referrals!). Todd says he is a first time home buyer and wants the same great deal like I "got for his friend" (the friend bought a short sale).

No problem says me. Todd gave the address of a property that has his interest and wanted me to check into it. The property however is in Orlando and I am a couple counties away in Clearwater. Mmm.

I'm already thinking that I need to refer Todd to a local agent...but I promise to check on the property and get back to him in the morning.

Todd calls about an hour later and wants to send me his pre-approval letter. OK, that's fine. So as we continue to chat, I get the sense he has already seen the house.

Todd admitted that not only had he seen the house but he made an offer!

It was explained to Todd that he needs to contact this agent with his questions and that she is his Buyer's Agent - part of her job is to answer questions. Todd explains that he is not comfortable with this agent as she seems to have very little experience with short sales - the house he likes is a short sale.

He further explains that he made his offer on July 9th with an acceptance date of July 10th. On July 10th, the agent called to tell him that the listing agent is gathering contracts and will present all the contracts to the bank at once (oh no! not one of those listing agents!).

Todd has not heard from her since.

Todd wants to "fire" this agent and "hire" me to write up a new offer, at a better price. I explained to Todd that there an issue about ethics - he really 'belongs' to this other agent. Todd informed me that he is not going to work with her anymore regardless of whether I agree to work with him or not.

I know what I suggested to my colleague regarding her position.

I'm wondering how many agents would work with Todd and how many would not. (just curious)

What would YOU do?

Posted by Wendy Smith on 07/31/2009 09:52 AM

Comments (11)

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11 Comments on What would you do?

JUL

Wendy, ethics and procuring cause aside (and that's its own little can of worms), one of the first things you said was that he is two counties away. I don't know how big your counties are down there, but if I had to travel a big distance, I would probably refer the buyer - unless the price point was high enough to make it worthwhile. In this case I suspect not.

And while he can probably walk away from his buyer broker once this offer plays itself out, another agent who took him on for this house would have some interesting procuring cause issues, at least in this part of the world. You'd have to call the under-performing agent and work things out with her. Not a pleasant thought.

And I'm guessing the price point is not real high.

I would not represent him for two reasons 1. two counties away and I do not really know that market 2. he is not loyal to his agent.

Bye-bye Todd. You don't need the aggravation that this deal will likely cause.

Your best way to graciously bow out of this one is to thank Todd for wanting you to help him but use the two counties away excuse as a reason you can't help him. He has every right to change agents if he doesn't like the one he is using but only if that agent knows it. If his offer hasn't been submitted or accepted he has every right to withdraw his offer. In a multiple offer situation that would be his easiest "out" of the original contract and he can sever his relationship with the other agent and move on. By graciously telling him you can't help him because the area he is looking is out of your area of expertise, you look like the good guy and good ol' Todd can move on down the road to someone in the area he is looking.

AUG

I have to agree with the others. If this guy is trying to stick it to the other agent that already did work for him, he will probably stick it to you too.

I had an experience similar to this a few weeks ago. Why not have Todd contact the agent's broker and say that he cannot find the agent and wants to cancel? Then there is no procusing cause and you can write the offer.

AUG

I would ask Todd if I could contact his agent and see if I could help him while keeping his agent to represent him in the other county. I would spin as, "the other agent can be my eyes and that way I can better assist you."

Contact the other agent and explain the scenario. I would ask if I could remain involved while she gives me a referral fee. I would explain that they will most likely lose this client and in this way she can keep part of her commission and I can get a referral fee in order to have the other agent at ground zero while I can oversee the process for the client.

That could be the best case scenario. Hopefully, the other agent will have an open mind and see the benefits. If don't then unfortunately, we will have to let Todd down easy.

AUG

Wendy, I lean towards the majority of the responses. Todd sounds like he has some loyalty issues and would jumpship at any perceived injustice. I also wouldcalling the other agent, if for no other reason than to inform her of the situation, giving her the "benefit of doubt" would not be out of line; there are always two sides to a story. Since this property is 2 counties away and out of your expertise, calling the agent puts you above the frey and possibly create a referral network for youself (see Sidney I do read your responses).

Wendy - I would not go near it. First, if it was out of my service area, forget it. Second, as soon as a consumer says he is working with another agent on a property, forget it. Next.

AUG

Does sound like a lot of hassle. I would probably tell him it would not be in his best interest for you to help him in this case.

AUG

I just recently ran into this same situation. One of my old customers called me to say that they wanted to make an offer on a bank owned home. After conversation with him I realized that he had already been in negotiations and contract with the listing agent. He was not happy that the contract fell apart and wanted me to write another offer. After pondering on this for a while and knowing that in our area we do not much use Exclusive Buyers Agency, I still contacted him later to let him know that I would not be able to work with him on this deal. I told him that he only had to deal with the other agent for this one deal, but I had to deal with them for the rest of our careers. I then contacted the listing agent to explain the situation to them. Long story short, they worked out the deal, buyer closed, I got a nice unexpected (not asked for) referall, and a complimentary letter to my Broker about honesty, ethics, and professionalism.

And to make it even sweeter, the buyer (investor) is coming tomorrow to look at another house with me.

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