Agent Ethics question

**mariopoli** · 01-19-2010, 10:50 PM

I am a buyer. I want to buy income property. Every time my realtor contacts me with a property and I want to make an offer he always tells me about his other clients that are also making an offer for the same property. I feel very uncomfortable. I don't want to compete with my agents other clients for every property I want to make an offer on. My agent is not the listing agent on any of these properties. When my agent presents my offer to the seller how does he decide which offer to recommend to him? Who is he working for? I contacted the California association of Realtors and for advice and they will not even talk to me because I am not a member.

**Chrisopher Moltisanti** · 01-20-2010, 03:20 AM

Your buyer agent is working for you. As well as any one else that comes to him and wants to make an offer.

He doesn't and can't recommend which offers to submit. He has to submit all offers he gets in a timely manner.

**Moore** · 01-20-2010, 06:29 AM

I think your agent is not very decent in this case. He shouldn't offer the same property to every his client. As if he is checking your patience. I think you should find a new agent.

**Chrisopher Moltisanti** · 01-20-2010, 06:44 AM

Still, his agent isn'tbreaking any ethical rules. If one client comes in to his office @ 10am and wants to see all ten foreclosures and make an offer on all or one of them and another client comes in at 11am and wants to see all ten foreclosures, to make an offer on all or one of them and it so happens they both make an offer on the same property, this isn't his agent being indecent. This action he can't help.

He should be happy he's telling him there are other offers: That way, the buyer can decide whether to make an offer at all. He'd be breaking ethical rules if he told his client the amount of the offer and he didn't.

**Las vegas Home Rentals** · 01-20-2010, 06:53 AM

hey man change your agent immediately otherwise your all opportunities of buying a good property will be lost.

Thank you

**First Time Home Buyers** · 01-20-2010, 07:07 AM

This is s tricky situation. Since the buyer's agent will know the offers for more than one buyer on the same property, he/she may not be able to properly help with negotiations on the buyer's behalf.

He's not violating anything, and there's not much different than if these buyers were making offers with other agents. The market is getting more competitive right now for buying, so multiples are just a norm.

**BoiseRealEstateSoup** · 01-20-2010, 07:26 AM

As someone mentioned, there is no ethical violation happening, but there may also be no need to stick with an agent who is obviously being sought out by most of your buyer competition in the market.

My advice: Leave this guy, on good terms, and seek another agent who isn't so busy. Perhaps he can get offers submitted for you...but keep in mind, properties that you deem as a good deal will be viewed the same way with other buyers. If you're not able to wrap something up fairly soon, you may wind up back with the other guy who knows if your offer is going to be accepted or not.

Being in a buyers market can be difficult especially with a ton of buyers...on a dime, it switches to multiple offers and eventually a sellers market.

Find an agent who does REO and has a pocket listing that no one knows about.

**Chrisopher Moltisanti** · 01-20-2010, 08:16 AM

[QUOTE=First Time Home Buyers;73702] he/she may not be able to properly help with negotiations on the buyer's behalf.

Buyer submits offer. 15 days pass. Bank to listing agent to buying agent: "Give us verbal highest and best". BA to client: "What's your highest and best?"

Am I missing something with these "negotiations".

**BoiseRealEstateSoup** · 01-20-2010, 09:18 AM

[QUOTE=Chrisopher Moltisanti;73718]

Originally Posted by First Time Home Buyers

he/she may not be able to properly help with negotiations on the buyer's behalf.

Buyer submits offer. 15 days pass. Bank to listing agent to buying agent: "Give us verbal highest and best". BA to client: "What's your highest and best?"

Am I missing something with these "negotiations".

Re-read it.

An agent who has multiple buyers looking for the same thing is challenged by ethics rules and laws that limit his ability to negotiate well with 1 buyer in his left hand who wants house 'A' and the buyer in the right hand who also wants house 'A'. The agent cant show preference thereby limiting his ability to "properly help with negotiations on the buyer's behalf".

**Chrisopher Moltisanti** · 01-20-2010, 09:25 AM

"An agent who has multiple buyers looking for the same thing is challenged by ethics rules and laws that limit his ability to negotiate well with 1 buyer..."

That makes more sense. But it's not a challenge per se. The BA is limited and deals with it but only to the extent he KNOWS he can't negotiate with the SA, even though he'd like to. But having multiple offers on the same house cancels that feeling out. The BA will only increase his chances of an offer being accepted with the more offers that come in. Plus, he doesn't have to tell any one prospect to up the anty. Even if he did speak to one buyer to up his offer come the time, the others wouldn't know because he wouldn't tell them.