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Saturday, October 2, 2010
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7 comments:
Hello, Does VA law allow a buyer's agent to represent competing buyers seeking to purchase the same property? I've just learned that my agent represented other buyer for the same property (the other buyer actually bought the property for 15% less than my offer). After many months of searching and dealing with multiple agents, bidding on many properties my only conclusion is that real estate agents should be eliminated from the process...
Thanks,
GC
It does sound fishy but I don't think there is any rule or law about representing buyers but I don't know. The buyers agent only submits the offers its the seller that makes the decision. You might have a complaint if you were to find out your offer wasn't submitted or something in that vein. I can't imagine why a seller would take 15% less unless it was a foreclosure and it was a cash transaction or you made to many stipulations in your contract or didn't have loan approval.
GC-
I agree with Arkey I am pretty sure it is legal although it is also odd that the buyer accepted 15% less, unless there is something unusual about the contract.
GC I have learned a lot about real estate agents in selling properties recently. We have stuck with the same agent through the years because we have found her to be very ethical and honest. Don't give up on real estate agents because we have seen how good she is and how good a few others have been who have represented buyers of our properties. The agent should have let you know that she was submitting an offer for another buyer and then let you decide if she could also represent you. You referred to dealing with multiple agents. Does this mean the various listing agents or does this mean you have had multiple buyers agents? If the latter, you really need to find a good buyers agent who will represent you and be honest. Talk to your family and colleagues about good agents. Talk to the agents and ask them how they would handle the situation you just described. Ask them about their expeirence and mostly ask them for some recent references so that you will understand if they really are good or just saying they are good. Although 15% sounds like an unusual difference, sellers sometimes look at other things besides the price. For example, if the other offer was all cash or had no contingencies, it might have been more attractive to a seller.
I also don't know what the law says but I wonder about the ethics of it - at the least she should have done what Reecon recommended.
My concern is that she would have knowledge of multiple parties' "bottom lines" or conditions, and could reveal one party's info to the other, consciously or unconsciously. That then could be used to structure an offer more effectively by either set of buyers.
I also agree that sellers sometimes accept lower price offers in order to get more favorable terms.
In any case, GC, unless you have a contract with her now, I would politely tell her I am no longer going to work with her, and take Reecon's advice about how to find a good agent and stick with him/her.
It's been a long time since I have practiced real estate law. "Buyer Agency" did not even exist back then. I do know that an agent has a fiduciary duty that requires honesty and fair dealing.
Based upon personal experience, I find it hard to trust any agent. I've had "my" agent bid against me. I've located a property only to have "my" agent arrange for a friend to buy it.
I've had listers refuse to return calls from my buyer agent because they didn't want to split the commission.
I'm sure that there are good, ethical agents out there and I know a few. But there are circumstances where you truly don't have a chance at a property.
Anything that has been a real steal causes me to go directly to the lister in most cases.
It is true that the terms (cash, etc.) may result in a much lower offer being accepted.
I would ask upfront if the agent is writing an offer for someone else.
Thank you all for your responses! Your comments are much appreciated, as well as your time.
-GC
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