I had something happen today that was a first in all my 25 plus years in the real estate business.
Another broker told my client that the reason the deal fell through on the house we'd made an offer was because she used an out of town Realtor. What? Say that again??
It's a long screwy story about an even screwier listing that should have gone to Sheriff's sale several months ago but for reasons unknown to me or my client, it was withdrawn and back on the market so someone who is more than a client to me, asked me to submit an offer on her behalf. The buyer/client describes me as the closest thing she has to a sister and I consider her a part of my family as well. (just a little background)
Since I'm licensed to sell real estate by the State of Oklahoma (as well as Texas) it is legal for me to sell real estate anywhere in the entire State of Oklahoma, right?
The kicker was that his own agent who actually had the listing on this piece of property couldn't get her deal to go through first which is the only reason we were able to submit an offer in the first place. But ours didn't go through because I'm an out of town agent? hmmm.......
It's a very confusing story but I'll try to give you the shorter version. My client has had a very tough few years which included losing her husband to a sudden heart attack and then losing her home to a fire. She's never been on her own so she trusts very few people but she trusts me completely because she knows I have her best interest at heart and not what goes into my pocket.....if anything.
After her home burned, she's been living in a home she and her late husband purchased for their college aged children in a large college town but decided to sell that home and buy something bigger. She asked me to list it but since it's not in a town close enough for me to go show the listing to prospective buyers, I suggested she list with another agent in that town but I would help her find a good one and be there for consultation anytime she needed me.
She listed with a local "top producer" agent and the home sat on the market for almost 8 months but now it's suddenly under contract to a buyer and my friend/client needs to find another place quickly. The problem is, she's very picky and won't settle for just anything and hasn't found a place so now she's thinking of leasing for a while.
She has done her own due diligence and found a few properties with the potential to lease and neither are listed. She went directly to the owners to talk about the possibility of leasing but when the Realtor that has her home listed found out, she hit the ceiling and demanded that my friend/client not go directly to those people but go through her.
Her exact phrase was "Real estate here in ??????, OK is done differently than most places." What? Come again?? I thought we were all governed by the real estate laws of the great State of Oklahoma and didn't realize ?????? had their own set of rules. Then the agent told my friend/client that she had talked to the broker for the agency for which we made the earlier offer and that broker told this agent he didn't want any dealings with her client because she has this "out of town agent/friend" and wasn't using a local agent when it came to purchasing a home.
If you're confused, I'm not surprised, but if you've hung with me long enough to unravel this whole sordid tale, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this matter. Is it right to basically black ball a buyer because they choose to use someone they know and trust rather than a "local" they don't know and certainly have no reason to trust to put her best interest first?
In your area, are out of town agents not welcome to submit offers on their clients behalf when it's basically a family member who refuses to deal with a stranger?? Please......I want to hear your thoughts.
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