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Shady Agents?

A married couple pre-qualified for a loan called me about a house they've had their eye on for almost two years. They were outbid by another offer back then, now the very same property was recently listed on the MLS as a short pay subject to lender approval. Their nephew is a Mortgage Consultant looking out for their best interest as well. Nephew contacted the listing agent yesterday and scheduled to view the property today and requested I meet him there. This agent emails nephew stating there is an offer for the asking price, but if he (the agent) represents these buyers, he can make sure they will get the property. I called the listing agent again yesterday, not telling him I had previously spoken with him. He tells me he has an offer above the listed price and was expecting to meet with a lender the next day and take another offer. This was all yesterday evening.

Today, I'm the first to arrive at the property and I meet Mr. Seller. His agent is not there yet, so I wait in my car for Nephew and the listing agent. Nephew calls to inform he's running a little late. He had called listing agent to inform him as well. When Nephew told him buyers' agent was meeting too, everything changed. Suddenly, the agent can't keep the appointment. Nephew arrives and we knock at the door and speak with Mr. Seller again. He informs us he no longer wants to sell the property, he's changed his mind. My question to him was why he didn't mention that to me 30 minutes prior when I told him I was ther to meet his agent?

My question is... can these "agents" obstruct another agent from representing the buyer and submitting an offer??!! If they don't want other agents coming with buyers, why not state that on the MLS? By the way, I never actually spoke with the "listing" agent. Calls seem to be forwarded to this person that's trying to make sure HE is the buyer agent. Is this legal? Where's the fiduciary duty to seller?

Posted by Yvette Ortiz on 04/24/2008 11:58 PM

Comments (6)

advice, mls abuse

6 Comments on Shady Agents?

I would 1st recommend you consult with your Broker... Different states are regulated differently. You might get several different opinions based on several differnet state commission guidelines.

I would certainly take the situation to a complaint board on ethcis with your local board of realtors. This type of action should not be allowed regardless of the state.

Good Luck!

04/25/2008 12:04 AM

by James Hamby, GRI (Keller Williams Realty)

If the listing agent is a Realtor, you could file an ethics complaint on him and that is a process, also, the listing agent cannot put in the mls that agents cannot come with their buyers as this is a violation in all mls's in this state, put your CAR member dues to work for you and call the CAR legal hotline and they probably can answer your questions, I call or email the hotline to talk to a CAR attorney everytime I need answers to legal questions, you can also go to http://www.car.org/ and go to the legal blog and ask the question too. I have been a CAR director since 1993 and they are there to help the members

04/25/2008 12:13 AM

by Jean Powers CRS,PMN,ASP Broker, Northern California (Windermere Welcome Home)

Yvette, I agree with James, I would talk to your broker. I find it hard to believe that someone in a short pay is in any position to pull the listing. The listing agent is the type that give the rest of us bad names. We have come up with this on homes that we're competing to get listings on. An agent will tell the seller that they have a buyer and that this buyer will only buy the house if this agent lists it. What a crock! What do they tell the seller once several months pass without an offer? These agents need to be retrained or retired one or the other!

04/25/2008 01:02 AM

by Tony & Darcy Cannon - The C Team (ERA Realty Center)

This sounds fishy to me...

04/25/2008 02:35 AM

by Tiffany Wilson (Shorewood Realtors)

And everyone wonders why real estate agents get a bad rep. I see so many Agents that need to to go back to ethics school and learn.

04/25/2008 08:05 AM

by Chip Jefferson (Carrion Builders)

What I find most troubling is the agent's claim that he had an offer above asking and was going to meet the lender the next day to review it. Unless a local bank was the lender, that is another fib to add to the story. That's not how it works. Been there, done that. That comment raised yet another red flag for me.

There's plenty of shady agents out there. :(

04/26/2008 08:46 AM

by Jennifer Monastero (PrimeLending)

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