Talk about an ethical quandary. I recently had two offers on a condo, one that I knew wouldn't hold water. I presented both offers to the seller, who happens to be a bank. The asset manager accepted the offer that would net the bank (investor) a slightly higher amount, even though I recommended against it. To his credit, he may have had no choice.
So here is my thought process on this dilemma. When I am dealing with a human seller, I can sit down with them in the same room. We can compare two offers and jot down numbers. We can say "what if", we can argue, we can agree to disagree, we can laugh until we cry and even shed a sad tear or two.
But when the seller is a non-thinking entity using software as a tool that was coded by a heads-down programmer who was paid to follow the design of ... of what mentality? I think the name of it is "the bottom line is the only thing that counts".
Banks have been trying to get into the business of selling real estate for years. They got what they wish and guess what? They suck at it. There is more to an offer than the bottom line. A real estate agent who has been selling for years has a good sense of an offer that is stronger than the other even if the bottom line is identical. Yet ... there is no software that can deal with many of the other non-monetary "terms" of the contract.
The banks software doesn't take into consideration how well (or not) the contract was written. The software doesn't know if the other agent is 500 miles away and has never seen the house. The software can't HEAR the tone of voice used on the phone when answering questions about the buyers actual capability of closing on the property.
I present all offers I receive on all properties, I always have. But sometimes I wonder if we need to start protecting banks from themselves. Bad decisions were made that got the real estate industry into this mess, and I still see bad decisions being made today. So now the offer I knew couldn't stand on two legs has gone belly up and the perfectly good buyer who lost out has since found another home to purchase.
If the seller is a bank ... can't we just hide offers that won't hold water?
* wishful thinking on my part, I just had to vent a little
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