I am very eager to find this same answer. We feel completely scammed. Turns out that the listing agent was the boiyfriend of the seller. This was a shoret sale and we were the highest bid, also a cash offer. troutsnightclub@aol.com

Thanks Mike....I wish you all the best as well.

K

Karen, Bob, and all you answered my question: Thanks again. I gained valuable insight inside this RE inner circle.

I just wanted to make clear that although the previous transaction didn't go through, I felt we canceled on good term. I felt we treated that relation with respect and integrity. We had good reasons for not going through and disclosed everything along the way so it wasn't a surprise to the agent, although we can understand her disappointment, and for that I apologized to her.

I always go through life trying to do right by the people I encounter with under different circumstances. I'm aware that people have their own personalities and expectations so, all I can do is always try my best, treat people right, and just hope for good karma.

Thanks again all you good RE agents out there. Wishing you prosperity.

Hi again....

Boy Mike...I'm sorry! Bob is right...personalities do get in the way sometimes. Schmoozing is always a good idea, especially when you have a good buyer and a solid offer, sometimes it can push your offer over the edge. There are other things we consider, as listing agents, as Bob mentioned....terms is one. A cash offer that's lower would be more attractive, for instance.

It can be a very frustrating market...sounds like you have good agent working for you now, so hopefully the next offer will go better.

If I can help in any way...I'd be happy to.

K

Mike, it's true, that personalities do sometimes get in the way of a potential transaction. It is also true - especially in the market we have today, where a well priced listing is like gold - that some listing agents are greedy, and - since they are in complete control - occasionally manipulate offers to get one of their own accepted by their client. ( Who better knows the terms of all the other offers? )

You might have to wait until it closes escrow to find out how much it sold for, and with what terms. Trouble is, at that point, it's too late for you. You might either have to butter up the listing agent, or simply move on - hoping you don't encounter her again.

Karen, I really felt like there was something wrong like you just said. I felt there was a personal vendetta being taken out by this seller agent because I canceled a transaction (for good reasons) with a lady agent friend of hers and she (the previous one) was obviously unhappy about it, because after I spoke with the current agent, I realized they talked. I don't think my offer was ill-presented. It was as complete and perfect as it could be and I don't think she even presented it to her seller.

Hi Mike,

That's not the market...there is something wrong. Either your buyer's agent or the listing agent isn't paying attention....don't give up...but make sure you are being represented well...you sound like the perfect buyer and should get good responses from listing agents..

If you need help... this is a great avenue to research agents who are experienced and can really help you!!

K

It's me, Mike, again. I just wanted to thank you guys for your time and answers.
I submitted my offer above the asking price with over 60% down and fico scores of around 800, yep, right around 800 plus/minus a few points and still couldn't get that house. What a market!

Hi Mike,
You have many good questions and as a buyer it does get frustrating when making offers on short sale properties. As an agent that helps both buyers and sellers with short-sales I hope you will find my answer helpful. It is a duty to present all offers to the seller. Many short-sale and foreclosure homes are receiving multiple offers and many are above the asking price. If there are 2 offers that are similar in price then the seller and agent need to look at the other conditions that are being asked for in the offer on the property and then choose the one that they feel is best offer at that time. What I do on multiple offers is ask everyone that has submitted an offer on my listing to send in their best offer by a certain date and time so that it can reviewed by the seller and submitted to the bank for approval. In regards to submitting all offers to the bank for consideration, it depends on that bank. Some banks only want to look at one offer at a time and others want to see all the offers on the home.
I hope this information was useful. Good luck in your home search.
Regards,
Eve Friske

Joseph had this to state: "Yes all offers have to be submitted by the agent by law."

That is NOT true, in California, Joseph. ANY seller, whether an individual, or an institution, can specify certain parameters wherein they can choose to not look at offers that do not meet them. They can then direct their agent to comply with that preference.

While it is a "nice" protocol, that a listing agent show all offers to the seller, AND to "nicely" respond to all prospective buyers, that isn't happening on a significant number of listings, especially on short sales.

That has been my observation, anyway.

Mike,

If this is a short sale.....the listing agent indeed has the obligation to submit ALL...not just good...offers to the seller (meaning home-owner). But the seller may choose just one to submit to the lender for short-sale approval. So it's a bit tricky yes? While it's easy to place doubt with the listing agent....95% of the times a buyers offer is not given the weight the buyer thinks it should receive is due to fault of the buyers offer or presentation of the buyer's offer or story. A good buyers agent can detail what makes an offer stand out for better or worse. I see so many good buyers that just lose out because of a very poorly written offer. There's so much more than price.

Hi Mike,

Yes....it is the duty of the realtor to present all offers to the seller. Once an offer is accepted, then offers are placed in back-up.

Hope this helps....I'm sorry you are having trouble....If I can help in anyway...let m know.

Karen

Yes all offers have to be submitted by the agent by law. Was your offer rejected by the seller or bank.?

Hi Mike,

There is no hard and fast policy for the situation you described - especially on short sale listings. While there is an unwritten rule that ALL offers are supposed to be presented to the seller, that rarely happens in this market. What usually SHOULD happen is that a few good offers come in, and one seems to be better than the others. If it is either an "acceptable" or close to it, an acceptance or a counter-offer will just go to that one best offer, and the listing agent usually - not always - reject the other offers.

Sometimes that listing agent will play it coy for a few days while the best offer is being "massaged" to its most acceptable condition, before dismissing any other offers. At this point, they now have something to present to the lender - IF the listing agent has already gotten that far. ( Most have not.) If they haven't gotten that far, already, now the painful, prolonged process begins, which can take weeks, and even months.

The good news for you? The first buyer finds a house they like even better, and they withdraw, before escrow has even been opened. If YOUR agent has kept in touch with the listing agent, the listing agent will now usually be happy to share intimate details of the original "sale", so that he can slide a new similar offer under the lender's nose.

The bad news for you? Half of properties that are presented as a "short sale", end up being foreclosed by the lender, and eventually placed in the hands of an REO agent, to get it sold. If you are still hanging around at that point, you may be pleasantly surprised at the lender's new price, or not happy, because the short sale listing agent cut the listing price too low, to encourage multiple offers - that the lender wouldn't accept, anyway.

You should have a lot better luck, if you search mostly for REO listings rather than short sales. By the way? A new thing in today's market, is that some sellers - who don't really want to sell their home - are getting their loans modified to a more palatable level, and taking their houses off the market - which is a good thing, for them - but may turn out to have been a huge waste of time, for agents trying to sell the property.

Wow! That was lengthier than I thought. I hope I didn't bore you. Good luck in getting a new house!