So I get a call from a gentleman on one of my bank owned properties. Then a voicemail. Then a text. Then another call. (I'm out showing.) I nicely text him that I'll call him back shortly, as I'm finishing up with a client. He called me 20 minutes later and says, "You didn't call me back." Ugh... The conversation goes something like this:
Him: The house needs a new roof, there's a hole.
Me: No there's not. (It was repaired/replaced, almost seamless.)
Him: Yes there is. There's a leak in the house. I saw it. (mind you, he hasn't been in the house.)
Me: No there's not.
Him: And there was a fire in the electric.
Me: No there wasn't.
Him: Yes there was.
Me: No there wasn't. What makes you think there was?
Him: I saw through the window. Burnt wires. (not a burn ANYWHERE, no wires LEFT!)
Now let me tell you, you can't see ANYTHING through the windows of this house, the gas seals are all blown. I'm getting a bit annoyed at this point. So he asks is if I can show him the house NOW. I explain it's getting dark and there's no power on. He says he lives 3 blocks away. I do not. I agreed to drive to meet him. Walks in the door...
Him: There's no heat.
Me: Nope, there's no AC, either.
Him: The house has septic, doesn't work, no good.
Me:Yup, but you can hook into sewer 200 feet away for a quarter of the price...
Him: There's well water, no good.
Me: Yep but public water is right there at the curb.
Him: The roof is bad.
Me: PLEASE, let's not start that again...
He asks how much the other offer is that's on the table. I explain that I can't tell him that, it's illegal. "You can tell me!" he says. I asked him what number he's thinking. It's lower than the present offer that's on the table. He then starts back at square one and starts to plead his case again, I explained that it's not ME he has to convince, it's the bank.
Him: But the house needs $60,000 in work.
Me: No it doesn't, but what's your point?
I explain the house is priced with the needed repairs already taken into account.
"I won't pay that much," he says. "Well, somebody else might," I stated. "Nobody will!" he says.
Really? I explained that my other one last month went to a highest and best and sold for $13,000 over asking. I then explain that my job is to submit your offer to the bank. Again, it's not ME that you have to convince, it's the bank. He says, "Well, you'll do that for me." I then have to explain to him that that is how the bank came up with the price in the first place, I already DID explain all of that to them. He then says, "Fine, I'll have my home inspection, and I'll demand a price reduction." I then have to explain that the chances of that happening are remote. He's buying the house as is.
He says, "I came directly to you so I can get the best price!" I explain to him that he needs to understand that just because HE won't pay that price doesn't mean that somebody ELSE won't., "I know the house is in bad shape." I explain, "Hey, I'd love nothing more than to tell you this house. I don't get paid if I don't sell the house." He gets annoyed, and says to just submit his offer. I explained that it's less than the other offer on the table, he says, "Either you submit it or I'll get another agent that will! You have to submit my offer!" I say okay, fine, & I did. We go to a highest and best, and what do you think happens? He loses to another person who pays more than list price.
Whose fault is it that he didn't get the house? According to him, it's mine. He says I didn't explain how bad the house was to the bank. I had to explain to him that the house, like anything else, it is only worth what YOU'RE willing to pay for it. And the house was worth it to somebody else. He then yells at me that I was supposed to be representing him, & I didn't do that because he didn't get the house. Did I fail to mention that there were eight other offers on the table? And yes, he KNEW that. I now have to give him a lesson in ethics 101, explaining that there is no preferential treatment, and that I could lose my license if I had given it to him. That HE was being unethical by asking me to tell him what other offers were on the table. And that no single paycheck is worth my losing my career, my reputation.
So the next time somebody says, "Submit my offer (lowball) OR I'll get an agent that will!" I will graciously pass them on to "someone that will..."
http://njrealtormama.com/2016/01/submit-my-offer-or-else-a-matter-of-ethics/
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