need help from realtors.

[MotionMan]

So my question is, is this legal?

Did the seller sign the offer/contract?

If yes, then they are bound to sell it to you at the agreed-upon price.
If no, then you never had a deal and they can sell to someone else. There is no such thing as an oral contract to sell real property.

(Also, if there is NOT a signed contract, fire your agent now.)

MotionMan, Esq. (<--- Real estate lawyer, though this is NOT legal advice )

 

[JulesMaximus]

Some mess it up for others. After interviewing 5 of them, we went with a realtor who got our very common house with 1 bathroom sold in a month then helped us get into this new one. We were going to offer a certain amount to buy this house and she convinced us to offer less based on her experience & comps. That was less commission for her. What's more, we were looking at 600s then decided to build up a 400 instead - also less commission for her. But she would rather do us right and get referrals than get a little more. She's now a family friend because of the whole experience and my brother is also now using her. She's also not a fly-by-nighter - true professional with a resume to back it up. You just have to do your research when you interview RE agents.

Also, it's true about NYC area agents and doing it as a side job. My cousin is a mech engineer by day and shows properties on weekends. Good side money. Never heard of his RE company. Would I hire one of those? He's my cousin, and I didn't.

:thumbsup: Couldn't agree more.

 

[alent1234]

Some mess it up for others. After interviewing 5 of them, we went with a realtor who got our very common house with 1 bathroom sold in a month then helped us get into this new one. We were going to offer a certain amount to buy this house and she convinced us to offer less based on her experience & comps. That was less commission for her. What's more, we were looking at 600s then decided to build up a 400 instead - also less commission for her. But she would rather do us right and get referrals than get a little more. She's now a family friend because of the whole experience and my brother is also now using her. She's also not a fly-by-nighter - true professional with a resume to back it up. You just have to do your research when you interview RE agents.

Also, it's true about NYC area agents and doing it as a side job. My cousin is a mech engineer by day and shows properties on weekends. Good side money. Never heard of his RE company. Would I hire one of those? He's my cousin, and I didn't.

there was a study done years ago and it was found that realtors take a lot longer to sell their own home than clients'. reason is they work on commission and depending on the local market will take a lower commission if they can in exchange for more sales. they will probably have a quota to meet as well

NYC most realtors won't give you the time of day until you tell them your financial situation and in some cases run a credit check on you.

open houses are there to get more clients for a realtor, not to sell the property

my case i was selling a 1br coop a little over a year ago. realtor said to list at $240,000 and i took $228,000 for it because in my case it was cheaper to sell quicker and buy a 2br coop at a nice price that i was looking at.

 

[GotIssues]

It didnt' sound like you were in love with the house, so just walk away.

I don't trust RE Agents, because, as has been mentioned, it's in their best interest to get a little higher price. Not all agents function in this manner, but I think it's too tempting for many to resist.

 

[JulesMaximus]

there was a study done years ago and it was found that realtors take a lot longer to sell their own home than clients'. reason is they work on commission and depending on the local market will take a lower commission if they can in exchange for more sales. they will probably have a quota to meet as well

NYC most realtors won't give you the time of day until you tell them your financial situation and in some cases run a credit check on you.

open houses are there to get more clients for a realtor, not to sell the property

my case i was selling a 1br coop a little over a year ago. realtor said to list at $240,000 and i took $228,000 for it because in my case it was cheaper to sell quicker and buy a 2br coop at a nice price that i was looking at.

Dur...

BTW-The house we live in now we found through an open house.

 

[Onita]

It didnt' sound like you were in love with the house, so just walk away.

I don't trust RE Agents, because, as has been mentioned, it's in their best interest to get a little higher price. Not all agents function in this manner, but I think it's too tempting for many to resist.

Its in their best interest to sell a property. I'm sure there are shady realtors, as there are shady people in all professions.

 

[GotIssues]

Its in their best interest to sell a property. I'm sure there are shady realtors, as there are shady people in all professions.

Yes, it is in their interest to sell the property... at the highest possible price.

If the realtor knows your price limits (which they should, so that they can show you appropriate houses), then they have an idea on how far they can push you on your price, which will net them more commission. When someone who is supposed to get you the best price is rewarded when they give you the worst possible price, it can create problems.

I specifically said not all were like that, but I do not like the obvious conflict of interest involved.

 

[postmortemIA]

Did the seller sign the offer/contract?

If yes, then they are bound to sell it to you at the agreed-upon price.
If no, then you never had a deal and they can sell to someone else. There is no such thing as an oral contract to sell real property.

(Also, if there is NOT a signed contract, fire your agent now.)

MotionMan, Esq. (<--- Real estate lawyer, though this is NOT legal advice )

In nutshell this is it, if they agreed only verbally, then you don't have anything, but if they signed contract and agreed on original price, then they cannot bail out as usually only buyer has options to bail out (if they do, you would have to sue them for lost opportunity)

 

[Fern]

OP, the laws vary by state.

Add what state your in to your post and get advice from lawyers and realtors familiar with that state.

Fern

 

[Slew Foot]

Did the seller sign the offer/contract?

If yes, then they are bound to sell it to you at the agreed-upon price.
If no, then you never had a deal and they can sell to someone else. There is no such thing as an oral contract to sell real property.

(Also, if there is NOT a signed contract, fire your agent now.)

MotionMan, Esq. (<--- Real estate lawyer, though this is NOT legal advice )

This, do you have a WRITTEN agreement to sell the house signed by both parties? If not, then youre SOL, call the bluff and run away.

 

[Dubb]

Rule #1 of residential real estate...don't trust a realtor...for ANYTHING.

I'm an architect. I did residential work for a while, mostly in the high end. I was involved in a few condo projects and we often got contacted to draw up quick studies for addition/renovations on places folks were looking at buying. The crap I saw even the most bulletproof reputation realtors try and pull would make your head spin. And the surprising thing is, it usually arises more out of blissful ignorance that active dishonesty.

They act like they know about building, cost of repairs, and structure. They don't. They guess and paint a pretty picture.
They act like they're experts in real estate law. They're not. They assume and paint a pretty picture.
They act like they know the good neighborhoods around town. They don't. They know where they can make the most money.

Giving a realtor the benefit of the doubt is almost universally a fools errand that will cost you money. It's a highly competitive profession, with relatively low barriers to entry. The best pushers win.

 

[Gibson486]

As long as he did not sign, he can do whatever he wants. Verbal acceptance does not hold up.

 

[alkemyst]

I can only speak for my experience in NY. And it's something sellers often end up doing. Sometimes they will also receive your offer, then lower the price (still above your offer) and do an open house to try and get more interest. It's happened twice to my brother (buyer) recently. At any rate, the seller can show the house right up to the point where the contract is signed by both the seller & buyer, since you never know if it may fall through on the buyer side - like getting fully approved on the mortgage. Verbal and submitted offers means absolutely nothing till contracts are done.

My brother also recently went to the point where they agreed on a price and he paid $450 to get an inspector in. After that was all done, with nothing wrong, the seller decided not to sell the house at all anymore - probably because they felt they weren't getting enough for it. The sellers were kind enough to pay him the $450 back so while it was frustrating, we consider that lucky.

This is why you don't want to start doing inspections or improvements until you have a written contract that states while you are not obligated to buy the home, if they decide to sell without giving you a chance to end the contract or move forward with it...they must cover all costs you incurred for said inspections/improvements. They also usually get to keep x amount of dollars if the inspection comes back fine yet you choose to back out anyway.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Rule #1 of residential real estate...don't trust a realtor...for ANYTHING.

I'm an architect. I did residential work for a while, mostly in the high end. I was involved in a few condo projects and we often got contacted to draw up quick studies for addition/renovations on places folks were looking at buying. The crap I saw even the most bulletproof reputation realtors try and pull would make your head spin. And the surprising thing is, it usually arises more out of blissful ignorance that active dishonesty.

They act like they know about building, cost of repairs, and structure. They don't. They guess and paint a pretty picture.
They act like they're experts in real estate law. They're not. They assume and paint a pretty picture.
They act like they know the good neighborhoods around town. They don't. They know where they can make the most money.

Giving a realtor the benefit of the doubt is almost universally a fools errand that will cost you money. It's a highly competitive profession, with relatively low barriers to entry. The best pushers win.

You're an idiot.

 

[MotionMan]

As long as he did not sign, he can do whatever he wants. Verbal acceptance does not hold up.

I wish I had thought to say that.



MotionMan

 

[MotionMan]

This is why you don't want to start doing inspections or improvements until you have a written contract that states while you are not obligated to buy the home, if they decide to sell without giving you a chance to end the contract or move forward with it...they must cover all costs you incurred for said inspections/improvements.

I think you are missing a comma somewhere in there because, as written, it either makes no sense or is stupid.

MotionMan

 

[Dubb]

You're an idiot.

I assumed you'd have some sort of overly defensive response, though I figured there'd at least be some attempt to pick apart what was said.

But this is fine too, let's keep it easy.:whiste:

 

[KK]

You're an idiot.

Sounds like he knows what he is saying, unlike your biased painting a pretty picture view. We know, your wife is the best, most honest realtor anywhere. You seem to make that point in every real estate thread.

 

[Gibson486]

I wish I had thought to say that.



MotionMan

why do people get mad when people happen to repeat what others said? Does it make their ego feel smaller or something?

 

[Balt]

Last night, the seller's agent told my agent that they will not sell us the house because they got a higher offer at $575,000. They want $576,000 from us if we want the house.

I think you're being jerked around. If they have a valid firm offer of $575,000, are they really going to delay closing the deal for an extra $1,000 on a house that's going for over half a million dollars?

If they had said they had an offer of $575k and they wanted you to offer $580k+ I might believe them. Even if they're hoping to start a bidding war, I don't think they'd go in $1k increments.

Just my opinion. Keep in mind I really know nothing about real estate dealings.

 

[Gibson486]

I think you're being jerked around. If they have a valid firm offer of $575,000, are they really going to delay closing the deal for an extra $1,000 on a house that's going for over half a million dollars?

If they had said they had an offer of $575k and they wanted you to offer $580k+ I might believe them. Even if they're hoping to start a bidding war, I don't think they'd go in $1k increments.

Just my opinion. Keep in mind I really know nothing about real estate dealings.

Nah, it's probably the sellers doing. You know how some people count every cent... Maybe the seller is from Fatwallet.