A good friend and Realtor buddy of mine told me while showing houses today he heard an interesting message by the home sellers mortgage company. Apparently the seller was behind on their mortgage payments and the bank was leaving a long winded message for all to hear on the answering machine. YIKES!
The buyer has interest and want's to proceed with an offer. On the MLS there is no mention of this being a short-sale, foreclosure or even a pre-foreclosure. It's entirely possible the Listing Agent has no idea that the seller is delinquent on their mortgage payment.
Should the Buyer's agent let the Listing Agent know what he heard or should he keep his mouth shut?
The agent was simply showing the home when he overheard this voicemail as it was being left by the mortgage company. Talk about bad timing for the seller. The Buyer should now be concerned about negative equity issues. I would absolutely reveal what I had heard. I would want to know if the seller is so delinquent that we might have issues with a timely closing, or even a closing at all!
The problem is the seller could suggest or possibly make some wild accusation that the agent showing the house invaded her privacy and unethically has an edge that they shouldn't have. This, of course, is foolish and unfounded in my humble opinion. The seller should be very grateful an offer is even coming at this stage in the game.
What would you do and why?
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