• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Anyone ever eavesdrop on their open house

M

MonkeyK

Golden Member
Have you? How did you do it? Were you suprised at anything you found?

I'm contemplating bugging my house to listen in on what my real estate agent says to sell my house. Good idea? Bad idea? Tips on how to go about it?

So far, I ran a preliminary test of my gaming microphone, but it is highly directional and not very senistive. I got poor quality voice from 2 feet away and undescernable voice from 4 feet away. I'm clearly going to need a better microphone.
 
Our house sold in 4 days - and I was there for almost every viewing. I heard all the negative and positive comments......
 
Is it illegal? It's my house, but I suppose it is possible.

The real estate agent wants me out of the house during the open houses which I am OK with. What I am afraid of is if he tells someone that I might take a less than the asking price.
 
Originally posted by: MonkeyK
Is it illegal? It's my house, but I suppose it is possible.

The real estate agent wants me out of the house during the open houses which I am OK with. What I am afraid of is if he tells someone that I might take a less than the asking price.
Click to expand...

LOL - of *course* he's going to say that. (And you will, btw, unless you live somewhere in California - that's why you set the asking price higher than you want) The idea is to get the potential buyer *talking*.
 
Originally posted by: MonkeyK
Is it illegal? It's my house, but I suppose it is possible.

The real estate agent wants me out of the house during the open houses which I am OK with. What I am afraid of is if he tells someone that I might take a less than the asking price.
Click to expand...

In Colorado it is only legal if at least one party to the conversation is aware of the recording.

See here for more info: http://www.rcfp.org/taping/
 
i made a really sensitive microphone a few years ago that could be powered on by the air movement in the vents. it had a little "windmill" that turned and created current, a microphone, and an RF transmitter. it was received by an RF receiver and fed into a tape recorder. just had to keep the air on for it to work.

if you are good at building stuff and know about electronics, try it out.

FYI, you could also skip the "windmill" and just use a 9v battery lol
 
Originally posted by: dderidex
Originally posted by: MonkeyK
Is it illegal? It's my house, but I suppose it is possible.

The real estate agent wants me out of the house during the open houses which I am OK with. What I am afraid of is if he tells someone that I might take a less than the asking price.
Click to expand...

LOL - of *course* he's going to say that. (And you will, btw, unless you live somewhere in California - that's why you set the asking price higher than you want) The idea is to get the potential buyer *talking*.
Click to expand...

Actually, here in Minneapolis, the housing market is pretty good too (not as good as CA, but still good).

If he tells someone that I will take less than the asking price, then he is not representing my best interests. So I would hope that he would not do that.

Also, there is more to pricing a house than naming a target price and then haggling down. We took into consideration the price ranges in which people search and what other homes in the area are listed for and sell for. According to the agent, the ideal situation is one in which the home attracts multiple offers. This happens if the house is percieved as a good deal to more than one interested party. Asking for too much can prevent someone from even looking at the place, much less make an offer.



-edited to add the quote for context
 
Originally posted by: Armitage
Originally posted by: MonkeyK
Is it illegal? It's my house, but I suppose it is possible.

The real estate agent wants me out of the house during the open houses which I am OK with. What I am afraid of is if he tells someone that I might take a less than the asking price.
Click to expand...

In Colorado it is only legal if at least one party to the conversation is aware of the recording.

See here for more info: http://www.rcfp.org/taping/
Click to expand...


What if I don't record it?
 
Frequently. But please take into account that someone is representing a 400+K transaction, which dwarfs all of my other assets to date.
 
You can record nannies, so i'm sure you could record in your own house. Even if you can't, who gives a crap? It's a good idea, and I will remember it when we sell ours.
 
It may not be illegal, but I would certainly consider it unethical. If you feel that you cannot trust your RE agent, then IMO you should have hired a different one, or gone FSBO. Also, how your realtor is representing your interests will be made clear in the offers than you receive. As another poster has already pointed out, indicating that the seller might accept a lower offer is an excellent sales tool to get potential buyers motivated into a possible bidding war.
In the meantime, be advised that mortgage interest rates are up 0.75% in the last month.
 
Originally posted by: MonkeyK


If he tells someone that I will take less than the asking price, then he is not representing my best interests. So I would hope that he would not do that.


-edited to add the quote for context
Click to expand...

In Massachusetts, at least, I believe that would be a serious violation of your contract with the realtor, if not the law. When I was buying my house, every realtor we spoke to made us read up on buyer/seller/dual agency and whether or not we understood it before we went any further. The idea is that the realtor you have employed can represent you as the seller (if you're...um..selling) or the buyer (in my case). They solely represent the interest of one or the other. They may not divulge any information to the other party without your permission, nor compromise the best interests of their client to make a sale. The only exception is if you knowingly agree to "Dual Agency".

Maybe MN has something similar? Perhaps some AT realtor's could elaborate.
 
Open houses are a waste of time. It's quite rare that anyone actually buys.

The real estate agent benefits more than the seller of the house. Most of the people that stop in (if they are even really looking to buy a house - a lot of them are just nosey neighbors or window shoppers) don't know what they are looking for or what's involved. The real estate agent gets leads, and may possibly pick up a customer that might eventually buy some other house.



 
Originally posted by: jer0608
Originally posted by: MonkeyK


If he tells someone that I will take less than the asking price, then he is not representing my best interests. So I would hope that he would not do that.


-edited to add the quote for context
Click to expand...

In Massachusetts, at least, I believe that would be a serious violation of your contract with the realtor, if not the law. When I was buying my house, every realtor we spoke to made us read up on buyer/seller/dual agency and whether or not we understood it before we went any further. The idea is that the realtor you have employed can represent you as the seller (if you're...um..selling) or the buyer (in my case). They solely represent the interest of one or the other. They may not divulge any information to the other party without your permission, nor compromise the best interests of their client to make a sale. The only exception is if you knowingly agree to "Dual Agency".

Maybe MN has something similar? Perhaps some AT realtor's could elaborate.
Click to expand...

Dual agency is when the real estate agent works for both the seller and the buyer.
When you, as the seller contract with the real estate agent to sell your house, you becoem their client. They have fiduciary obligations with you. They are to represent the property, not the people (seller). Unless you have given them permission in writing to offer your motivation (including minimum price you'll take), then they are in violation of the law. I can't speak for every state, but I'm pretty sure that all states have the same law.
If a prosecpctive buyer contracts with them as a buyer agent, then the agent works for both of you, which obviously poses some conflict of interest. That is called a dual agency, and in most if not all states, the law requires that this be disclosed to all parties in writing with acknowledgment from all parties. In a case wher there is a dual agency, the real estate agent has to walk a fine line. Both parties are clients and private inforamtion can not be shared between parties unless approved.

If a prospective buyer has not contracted the real estate agent to respreent them as a buyer agent, then that buyer is conseidered a "customer" not a client. Therefore the real estate agent does not have fiduciary obligations with them. In cases of open houses, a buyer walks in off the street - that's a customer, not a client (unless the agent previously met them and contracted with them as a buyer agent). In most states, they can't even become a buyer agent for a walk in like that because they already represent the seller.

 
Originally posted by: dartworth
sell it yourself then if you don't trust him...wtf dude...
Click to expand...

there are very few people that I trust with the kind of money that I'm dealing with. OTOH, I know myself to be a very poor negotiator and have reason to believe that he is significantly better at it than me.



 
When I interviewed RE agents, one of them said that she had a client who would love to buy my house. She told me that my house was priced too high for her client who was searching for places about 50K less than mine, but could realistically get to about 25K less.

I know that this was a violation of her responsibility to the buyer (and it was part of the reason she did not become my agent). It has made me suspicious of the business in general.
 
Originally posted by: woowoo
You can record video, not audio.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought too. I thought that you needed consent to record audio (or at least notification, a.k.a. "Your call may be monitored"), but recording video on your own property is fine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top