Unfortunately, this problem of not sending offers to sellers is a nationwide problem. I know it’s happening frequently because real estate agents admit it in conversations and even in emails. But what can a potential buyer do about this issue to make sure a seller actually sees their offer?
First, let’s see when this is usually a problem. It usually occurs when an offer falls far below the real estate agent’s expectations. If the real estate agent sold the listing to his seller by promising an unreasonably high price, the low offer could be a reality check for the seller and embarrassing for the real estate agent. The option is to simply not show the seller the offer and then have the seller lower their offer due to no activity.
In REO listings, real estate agents are under pressure from sellers (bank asset managers) to get the Broker Price Opinion (BPO) that the real estate agent gave to the asset manager to get the listing. Again, if the BPO was too high and all bids are low, it’s probably best not to show them.
The worst reality is when real estate agents only show offers to the asset manager of an investor with whom the real estate agent has a relationship and can even be bribed as we have seen locally. Lenders have been doing post-sale research on their REOs to determine resale prices and who the buyers are. Buyers can mask themselves using land trusts or rotating entities and individuals who own these entities.
An investor may use this same tactic to verify what price the property sold for after being told their offer was too low to submit. Realtors say they sell all of their REOs at or above the listing price, and this is true because they lower the listing price when a contract is accepted.
Legally, a real estate agent has to show all purchase contracts to a seller. The reality is somewhat different for some bad apples who seem to have a different motive in their business. These few bad apples contaminate the entire industry. In order to stop or at least slow down this issue in the investment community, these realtors along with their emails should be forwarded to your local board of realtors for investigation. If there is no response or action, the seller should be contacted directly with evidence, not unsubstantiated innuendo.
In short, if someone makes an offer that is rejected within minutes of being submitted, or is told by the realtor that they will not submit the offer, steps must be taken to stop what could be a serious breach of fiduciary responsibility by the realtor. real estate agent . Real estate agents share this reasoning, since they are all beneficiaries of bad publicity.