Bay Area

[Foggy]

Went to open houses today on the Peninsula and couldn't believe my ears.  The selling agent at one of the San Mateo homes (in the 1.1-1.2 range) was teling a young couple who had told her that they were represented by a SF agent that she wouldn't even consider an offer from someone not represented by one of the local agents.  She then proceeded to tell them that she can represent them and that she's represented both sides many times in the past and it's worked out well.  I'm not shocked at this behavior, only at how nonchalant and open she was.

[BAzx]

Seems like the selling agent is taking advantage of the current RBA limited inventory seller's market.  I bet the tone will change once supply bumps back up...  Can't blame them - max their profit while they have a listing in the current market.

But I would ask her what happens if your bid was highest (and all cash even)?  The owner for sure wants to know about it even if you are from New York...

[Marcus76]

I'd just mention the seller's agent is legally obligated to present all offers to the seller.  If you want to really scare them, then tell them you're an attorney (eg, it's almost free for you to file a lawsuit).  

[Kenji4861]

Please make sure to write a Yelp review for the seller's agent.

I've been tired of agents that take horrible pictures and wasting our time, conveniently making a mistake by adding an extra bedroom in the listing, not showing up to open houses on time, plainly being clueless about the property they are presenting, and just not trying because the buyers will come either way.

Make sure you yelp them so they'll be motivated to try a little harder.

[elt1]

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Marcus76 wrote:

I'd just mention the seller's agent is legally obligated to present all offers to the seller.  If you want to really scare them, then tell them you're an attorney (eg, it's almost free for you to file a lawsuit).  

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Attornies are not a protected class..there offers can be rejected...

[DealHunter0]

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elt1 wrote:

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Marcus76 wrote:

I'd just mention the seller's agent is legally obligated to present all offers to the seller.  If you want to really scare them, then tell them you're an attorney (eg, it's almost free for you to file a lawsuit).  

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Attornies are not a protected class..there offers can be rejected...

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And neither are real estate agents... they can be sued and forced to pay thousands of dollar in legal fees to defend themselves.    

[Fluffer]

Any seller's agent who is pressuring you into dropping your current agent to use them as a dual agent in order to get access to making a bid is unethical and should be outed, probably on Yelp but also to the sellers themselves if possible.  I suspect the Realtors' association and regulator have rules against this as well.  And if your agent showed you this property, then you can't just dump them and make a bid with someone else or you may end up owing both a commission.