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Business & Friendship: where do you draw the line?...

By
Real Estate Agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties 01238708

Business & Friendship: where do you draw the line?

I am in escrow on a house in Culver City, CA. for those of you who missed it I did a very aggressive Marketing Campaign. I sent out to the nearest 500 neighbors a Just Listed post card. Then to boot I did not show the property for about a week and a half to anyone.  I did a virtual tour with floor plans, then I could go on and on. We did a full blown marketing campaign.Then we had a Brokers Open House on Tuesday followed with a Public Brokers Open house on Sunday. Not surprisingly we had two offers come in.

MONEY & Friendship

Shortly after it, the seller said to me, "... my friend wants to buy the house for her daughter, please write up the offer...." Needless to say that is the last thing I expected. When I took the listing I mentioned to the sellers that in the unlikely event in this hot seller’s market I end up with my own buyer, I will then give one per cent back from my commission.

Well long and behold here I was representing the buyer and the seller. They both understood that I will be walking the fine line. Clearly I did not tell the buyers what the other two offers were. One was above asking and one was below asking. I told both parties that they need to give the best and final. Ironically the one that was below asking did not participate.

They did not believe there were two other offers on the table. Now my client's  friends of the sellers submitted a full price offer.

Needless to say that was not the best offer. I asked them is this the best they can do and I was assured that yes this was the best they were willing to do. Not being disrespectful they thought the property was not worth more.

I had a great conversation with the sellers, they told me that their friendship goes back 36 years they will not jeopardize that relationship for $10,000 plus dollars.

Now the hard part began for me to notify both agents that their offer was not accepted and really they were competing with two other parties.

As it turns out both were gracious in accepting the information and I had to explain to the one that had  a better offer that I really presented their offer to the sellers but their Friendship was more important than Business.

Since over the past 20+ years I have missed out on many offers and when I looked at the closing amount I was always annoyed and felt that the Listing Agent did not present my offer. Now with that said I felt extra lousy and felt I needed to explain to the other agents the situation. Hopefully they will understand. Personally I have a new perspective of the concept that Looks Can Be Deceiving. Therefore, I needed the extra explanation that sometimes Friendship Overrides Business.

pondering the question

Hopefully you do not have to be in this position, but if you are I urge you to give a detailed explanation to the other parties, so they do not feel getting deceived.

If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at310.486.1002 (m) or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at  http://www.endrebarath.com.  I am a Pet Friendly Realtor and I contribute a portion of my commission to local animal rescue organizations

 

 

 

Comments (133)

Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Mark Don McInnes, Sandpoint  the buyer and his agent are still following up to make sure things did not go south with the deal....Endre

May 26, 2016 08:28 AM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Dick Greenberg  you understand because you have been there, reminds me why I try not to target divorce cases either:)) another subject clearly....Endre

May 26, 2016 08:35 AM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Sam Shueh  interestingly enough no, because they just came in at list price, had they had inside information they would have went higher...keep in mind they trusted that the friendship would overcome the price difference, Endre

May 26, 2016 08:37 AM
Sam Shueh
(408) 425-1601 - San Jose, CA
mba, cdpe, reopro, pe

Working on a simiar blog that the relationship is business. You do not have to like someone keep it as business realtionship.

May 26, 2016 11:08 AM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Yolanda Cordova-Gilbert  the "true friends" concept is very limited in the business environment....Endre

May 26, 2016 11:25 AM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Bruce Brockmeier  indeed it is, not many people practice it though....Endre

May 26, 2016 11:26 AM
Ginger Harper
Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage~ Ginger Harper Real Estate Team - Southport, NC
Your Southport~Oak Island Agent~Brunswick County!

Great post.  Will share with others also.

May 27, 2016 01:27 AM
Tori Toth
Tori Toth, International - Howard Beach, NY
888.667.6643 NYC & Beyond, HSR, SAR, RESA, LIBOR

hmmm. great topic, I hate doing business for friends.

May 27, 2016 05:26 AM
KAREN SANCHEZ
Reputable Realty - Apple Valley, CA
...Marketing your home like no one else will.

Good deal! Love doing business with friends. If it gets weird I send them to someone else.

May 27, 2016 10:38 AM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Scott Thompson  after Request for Repairs it is more like $20k just as an FYI, Endre

May 27, 2016 05:07 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Nina Hollander  I appreciate your kind words and observations, Endre

May 27, 2016 05:08 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Hella M. Rothwell, Broker/Realtor®  having been on the short end of  multiple offers and then when the buyers checked and saw that their offer was a lot better than what was accepted...then saw that the agent was on both sides of the transaction... I know how I felt... needless to say I was compelled to disclose... no violation of the Fiduciary strictly an explanation why their offer was not accepted   .....  

 

 

May 27, 2016 05:12 PM
Gloria Valvasori, Accredited Senior Agent
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS REAL ESTATE SIGNATURE SERVICE - Mississauga, ON
REAL Experience | REAL Commitment | REAL Results!

Here in Ontario we have just put into place a system where ALL offers have to be accompanied by a form where all activity is recorded, i.e. time of offer submission, time of counter by the seller if there is one, a reocrding of time if countered again by the Buyer, etc.,  Everything is fully documented so there is no dispute that multiple offers were received.  

May 27, 2016 10:50 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Robert (Bob) Gilbert  the story continues, but we are getting closer...Endre

Jun 01, 2016 04:51 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Rob D. Shepherd  I have done that previously in this instance I had no choice, Endre

Jun 01, 2016 04:52 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Rene Fabre  well said my friend, it would have been easier, but life is often not easy, Endre

Jun 01, 2016 04:54 PM
Yolanda Cordova-Gilbert
Richmond, TX

Endre,

 What a sad statement about "true friends" because they are worth their weight in gold.

Jun 04, 2016 07:34 AM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

Amazing position you were in!  You did a great job of making sure the other buyer agents understood their offers were presented.  Good thing!  

 

I just closed a sale last week with my listing being purchased by a neighbor.  I clearly told them I didn't represent the buyer and it was in writing.  It was a case of they could have had their own agent and chose not to.  Of course I'm not getting the neighbors' listing 2 blocks away (the buyers are now sellers) but that's okay.  I tried!  

Jun 07, 2016 11:48 AM
Lou Ludwig
Ludwig & Associates - Boca Raton, FL
Designations Earned CRB, CRS, CIPS, GRI, SRES, TRC

Endre

So are the California closing cash only?

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

Dec 12, 2016 08:02 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Yolanda Cordova-Gilbert  I missed your comment so I am just responding... anywaya the friendship was stronger than a $10k better offer...Endre

Dec 12, 2016 09:15 PM