Phantom Agents

I have heard a lot about this new business model.  Apparently they rebate a very large portion of the "buyer agent commission" to the buyer but they never show homes. 

I believe Redfin is one such company operating this model.

This was a big brouhaha, about a month ago on RT.  It seems it does have to do with rebating in many markets.  Or lazy agents in some cases.  Or bossy, controlling, consumers who just want to see the property.. and in some cases they want to discuss pricing with the listing agent before they "bother" their agent.

 

You folks need to study up on what the procuring cause of a sale is and is not.

Just because someone writes an offer does not mean they are entitled to get paid.

Doesn't matter if he had both a buyers agent agreement AND a magic decoder ring. ;-)

A buyer agency agreement is between a buyer and a real estate licensee; it has nothing to do with either a listing agreement or the cooperation & compensation that may be offered through an MLS.

Mr. Phantom Buyer may have owed a commission to his real estate licensee if he bought any property but that does not mean you have any obligation to pay that licensee.

If you don't perform what you say your obligations to your buyer client are in your BA ageement, then that agreement could be voidable.

 

I just had one of these phantom agents, which I commonly refer to as a lazy agent, last Sunday at 5:45PM. A buyer saw the for sale sign in my customer's yard & called me. She asked if I could come show her the home. I was cleaning my pond at the time & knee deep in pond water, but advised I'd be glad to show it to her the next day.

That would not be good because she was in a "hurry". When I asked if she was working with another Realtor, she said yes, but that her AGENT DIDN'T WANT TO BE BOTHERED ON A SUNDAY! I told her that I didn't want to step on her agent's shoes & that her agent would need to call & schedule the appointment for her. They looked at the home the following day.

Roberta-that's interesting!  In Minnesota the culture is as Jim describes it.  The belief being that selling real estate does not happen randomly, but as a result of a REALTORs actions. If the buyer's agent was not present at the showing, and YOU were the one to provide information to the buyers, YOU should be the one to get paid, even if the other agent wrote the offer.  (how you can write an offer and look out for your client's best interest without having seen the property is beyond me).

We haven't really had this happen here in Crossville. Maybe a lazy agent now and then, but not this rebate...crap...oops sorry about that. You want to get paid...then do your job!

"We CANNOT discriminate in commission or make it conditioned upon any agent performance. I cannot reduce commission if an agent does not show the property--or offer a bonus if an agent does."

I'm not saying you should discriminate or attach any conditions.

The conditions are already there and those conditions are called "Be the procuring cause of the sale or you don't get paid!"

Here in my corner of Los Angeles, we get these Phantom Agents all the time.    The most common thing we hear from the potential buyer is: "Can you show it to me?  My agent is out of town".  How these agents manage to "get out of town" as frequently as they do never ceases to amaze me.

Another thing we hear from these buyers:  "I just want to look at it.  If I'm interested, then I'll have my agent come out".

On the other hand if an agent I know, or know of, calls with a legitimate time conflict, such as "I'm stuck at an inspection, could you show this place to my buyer?", we always try to be accomodating.

Roberta, I had a similar one last weekend. Got a call from a San Jose buyer for one of my own properties that I listed and she asked if I would show it to her the following day. I asked the usual about qualifications and she indicated that she had lender papers...then the BIG question...are you currently working with a realtor. "Oh, yes". Then you need to talk to your realtor and have her show you the house since I would never want to step on anyone elses toes and take a client away from them.  She then told me that she had never met the realtor and that the realtor was out of town. So, I told her fine, I will be more than happy to show you the house, as long as you sign a Buyer Agreement form and bring your Lender papers to the house. She actually did show up and signed the paperwork....unfortunately she isn't buying.

Most of the call that I have received of that nature are basically lazy agents and/or buyers who don't want to bother their agent until they find the right house for themselves. Luckily I haven't run into what was discussed on RT.

The other side of the coin that no one has brought up is the risk you would have been taking with this man and possibly jumping into a bad situation for yourself. We need to make sure that we have all the safety precautions in check and not jump at anything.

Getting into the procurring cause, Jim is correct however it would take awhile to prove all of that and in CA you need to make sure that you have a BA Agreement signed in order to facilitate the result of you obtaining the commission instead of the phantam agent.

First, I agree with the safety issues and would be cautious about anyone sitting in front of a vacant property wanting an immediate showing. Second, these "phantom agents" need to be dealt with on a legislative level. It all comes back to minimum levels of service and represaentaiton. Otherwise, what is the point of licensing?

Beware! there are a lot of phatoms out there, use the fire and the candle.

Thats a funny way to put it. I was a buyers agent for a transaction a couple of months ago. I was talking to the seller upon getting keys. After his agent left he told me that he had seen me a lot more that his agent. He said that he saw his agent the day they signed the listing papers and when they showed up to give keys. His friend that was helping him move saw me more times than the seller saw his agent and commented to that effect. I agree that this should be dealt with on a higher level to ensure at least a minimum level of representation by agents. The different levels of representation are very wide in San Diego!

I work a lot in Crossville, TN and Jamestown, TN and I have on numerous occassions had agents from Knoxville TN call me and ask me if I will show their clients my property and other agents property because they did not want to make the drive.  That is when I suggest that they try a referral.  If they are not willing to do their end of the job then they should not be standing there with their hand out for pay at closing.