That new listing you and your buyers saw online? The house may not *really* be for sale. - Information for Macomb County MI home buyers

I think I may have the answer as to why some listings in our area are so difficult, if not impossible, to obtain showing request confirmation let alone a return phone call back from some agents.

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a home owner in my area to put their home on the market. (No specific area will be noted here nor names to protect their privacy.)   

I spent hours doing research on their specific neighborhood, the last 90 days of market activity as well as preparing for talking to them about their options should a short sale of their home be needed.  (Referring them to another agent who is knowledgable in short sales)


After I arrived at their home they were quite clear in what they wanted me to do for them:  Put their home in the MLS, and nothing else.  No marketing, no showings by any potential buyers and their agents, no counseling as to the market value of their home, nothing.  

They needed their home to be on the market while they were trying for a loan modification from their lender in order to show this lender that they were doing everything possible to help themselves in this difficult economic time.

I was stunned.   They wanted a professional real estate agent to do nothing but put their home in the MLS so that they could have a printout to send to their negotiator to help their loan modification process.

Perhaps I'm an idiot, but I passed on the opportunity to have my sign on their front lawn.  (They did want a sign in case someone from the lender came by to check and make sure the house was not vacant.)

I politely explained what I do, why I do it, and how my broker gets paid for the work that we do.  I also told them that it was my reputation (and my brokers) that would be on that lawn sign and that I could not be a party to the frustration of buyers and their agents when they called to set up a showing only to be denied over and over and over again.

I did leave them the market analysis that I prepared for them, so that they could have accurate information for their loan negotiator regarding the current market value for their home.  But I could not do what they wanted me to do:  List their home for sale without it really being for sale.

It makes me wonder about all the times I tried to set an appointment for one of my buyer clients to view a listing and cannot recieve confirmation.

                                         Perhaps the home really isn't for sale?




Kris Wales a Macomb County MI real estate agent