Write to the Idaho Real Estate Commission or check out Realtor.com for a place to post something like this.

Wed Apr 23 2008, 11:29

I found the MLS ruling for your information.

An Accepted Offer = Pending or Active Contingent
IMLS has recently received several complaints on listings that are still marked Active in IMLS with an accepted offer on them. No matter what other variables are in play (such as a short sale), if there is an accepted offer from the seller who is on the contract, the property must be marked Pending or Active Contingent (if the seller wants to continue to market the property). Listings that have accepted offers on them and continue as an Active status without being marked Pending or Active Contingent will be subject to a fine per listing. Again, listings must be marked Pending or Active Contingent with the contingencies disclosed. IMLS will not accept things written into the contract by banks or lending institutions stating the property must remain active. Active Contingent is an active status. Below is a link to our current violations and the fine for each one.

Thu Mar 20 2008, 12:38

Wrong. She should not have told you that with such confidence. Only three days from the sale date? She would have had to do some heavy duty manuevering to accomplish that one. In almost all cases the owner of the property is the only party that can postpone a trustee sale date and that would typically have to be at least 5 days prior to sale through filing a BK or some other stalling tactic. An offer is not strong enough to base a postponement on. And, how come she did not inform you of the status on the 3rd day when the sale date was scheduled for? She should have known by then since it is public record.

I am so sorry for your roller coaster ride. You want so badly to trust a professional that should know the real estate business and keep your best interests in mind at all times. The whole thing sounds odd. The Realtor that has the listing on the home you made an offer on receives an email from her assistant informing her that the assistant will be marketing the home now? And you are informed that you have been outbid but they continue to market the home? Nonsense. If you were "outbid" then the home would have been sold to another party at the trustee's sale or reverted back to the bank for the bank's real estate division to handle. You do not continue to market a home for sale that has a successful bid accepted on it.

That type of representation by another Realtor only hurts those of us who attempt to promote the professional standards and ethical behavior a Realtor is sworn to bestow. Shop around for your next Realtor before going with the easiest and most convenient one availalbe to you during the heat of the moment. You will find your dream home and this will be water under the bridge for you one day. My best to you.

Thu Mar 20 2008, 12:37

The bank has the final say in what they will take for the home. If the Bank requested that they get all offers than the agent wouldn't have had a choice. If she shopped the offer that's not illegal if there was not an accepted contract by all parties, the bank included.

Whether or not she acted ethically is questionable. If she was looking at multiple offers she should have disclosed it to you. I have had multiple offers come in on short sales and by law you have to present them to the seller and in that case we submitted the best one to the bank. However I let the other agents know that there were multiple offers.

In the future when you are submitting offers on short sale property make sure to have your agent ask some probing questions such as "Have there been any offers on the home". Short sales are not for the timid, there are many variables involved. Another is to make sure the agent you are dealing with has actually completed a short sale successfully. Any agent can list a short sale however; some have never been through the process.

Thu Mar 20 2008, 12:28

It is going to depend on when the contract happened. Until 2 weeks ago the Idaho Real Estate Commission and MLS had not been able to agree as to how to handle short sales. The question was whether or not it was considered a contract. It has not been agreed upon that if you have a signed offer between buyer and seller it is a "contingent contract" and must be reported as pending or contingent to the MLS. A seller may do a "right to market" but they may not take multiple offers without the consent of the buyer. If it fell in the last two weeks you had a contract and it should have been treated as such.

Also, just so you know...I have listed and sold over 20 short sales and be weary of anyone telling you that can be done "ASAP". Buyer, seller and agents are at the mercy of over burdened loss mitigation departments at the bank. Most short sales take between 45-60 days...and that is with an experience agent who knows how to do them.

Good luck!

Thu Mar 20 2008, 12:26