Hi Jenette,

That's great that you went in to put the offer in writing. I hope you got copies of everything you signed. It is normal for the office to charge a Broker Service Fee. Each office has their own fee. I hope you get the home and I am glad our advice helped you.

Take care.

Renee Porsia
Associate Broker
RE/MAX ACTION REALTY
(215) 669-0589 Direct
(215) 358-1100 Office Ask for Renee
http://www.reneeporsia.com

OK, I finally heard from the agent, and like u all are telling me, the seller's agent wants the offer in writing.
Which I tried to insist to my buyers agent that we do in the beginning, but she insisted is was not necessary. So I went to the office to sign a sale agreement, And to my suprise they show me a Buyer's Authorization for a Broker Fee of $295.00 charged by the Realtor, in the state of PA is this normal. I did estimate Title Co and Mort Co Fees in my closing cost, but not to be charged by the Realtor as well.???

Jennette, While I contributed my opinion to your question, yesterday, I didn't realize that this was a verbal offer. That really changes everything. 1. Probably both the seller and your agent aren't really giving this much of a priority, since verbal offers are nothing more than fising without bait. You dont really care enough to give up some of your time to show the seller all that you are willing to commit to, in order to purchase their home, so why should they even worry or care about whent they get back to you.
2. If the offer was "verbal" at YOUR instistance, well then, ypur agent probably feels the same way.
3. If you never signed anything to have an agent represent you, then again you are not being given much priority on the agents part.
4. BUT if it was an agent that suggested you put in a "verbal offer", then run don't walk and find a buyers agent that is experienced, caring and willing to work hard.
5. If you have signed a agreement to have the 1st agent represent you, and he/she is the one that suggested your offer be in writing, I would suggest you contact 'your' agent and ask how is he representing you , if he didn't even put your offer in writing.

Jenette,

Renee is right. Your offer is pretty much meaningless as it is not in writing. Outside of basic contract law, how can I seller take an offer seriously if it was a verbal offer ? Of course there would not be a response as really there is no official response other than "put it in writing".

If you are serious about the property, I would consult with your buyers agent or get a new one to put the offer in writing that not only includes the price, but also the terms of the deal.

If you need help, let us know. Otherwise, good luck with procuring the property !

Jenette,

I also wanted to add that there is a real estate term called the "Statute of Frauds" it is part of a state law that requires real estate sales contracts to be in writing to be legally enforceable."

Renee Porsia
Associate Broker
RE/MAX ACTION REALTY
(215) 669-0589 Direct
(215) 358-1100 Office Ask for Renee
http://www.reneeporsia.com

Jenette,

In real estate everything must be in writing. It doesn't matter if you want to offer a low offer it must be in writing. It really doesn't do you any good by simply telling someone that you will give someone a dollar. Putting that in writing makes it all legal and shows the seller that you are serious about buying their property. I don't care if my client wants to offer a dollar or a million dollars, I put it in writing. I am representing my client and if I want to get my client the best deal, I put everything in writing and then I negotiate for them from there. I would love to go into this further with you if you would like. It's up to you though. You can also email me if you prefer.

Have a good night.

Renee Porsia
Associate Broker
RE/MAX ACTION REALTY
(215) 669-0589 Direct
(215) 358-1100 Office Ask for Renee
http//www.reneeporsia.com

No I never signed a contract with the agent, I even asked another agent, since I did'nt if he could represent me, and he did not feel comfortbale because she already showed me a lot of properties.
He also said that a verbal offer was fine, since I was lowballing the seller.

Jeanette,

I am sorry to hear that. Let me ask you a question. Did you actually hire your Realtor? This means did you sign a Buyer Broker Agreement which states that you hired this agent. It will also state whether this agent is representing you as your buyer agent or if she is just a transactional agent or a dual agent. Is this her listing? In my opinion, its not ethical to tell a client that they shouldn't write an offer but that they should just give a verbal offer. In real estate everything must be in writing. If you would like to contact me further, please feel free to call me I would love to answer all of your questions.

Renee Porsia
Associate Broker
RE/MAX ACTION REALTY
(215) 669-0589 Direct
(215) 358-1100 Office Ask for Renee
http://www.reneeporsia.com

Its been 48 hours, and I still have not heard from my agent, not even a follow up call, this offer was to be an initial verbal offer to see if they would accept the offer price, the agent insisted that I did not need to waste my time doing a written, because the amount I am offering is so low. The last time I spoke to the agent on Friday afternoon, she had not even verbally talked to the agent ,just left a message and had not received a call back.

Hi Jenette,

If you hired a buyer's agent, and he/she submitted your offer, he/she should have asked you when you wanted to hear back by and then put that in your offer. Generally if the seller's agent does not get back to you by that time, the offer is void. You should have received a copy of the offer that you signed as well as all of the other paperwork you signed. Take a look on the copy of the offer to see if there is a response date. You can also call your agent and just ask. Usually 24 hours is not unusual though. If you do not hear back by tomorrow, call your agent. I hope this helps and good luck.

Renee Porsia
Associate Broker
RE/MAX ACTION REALTY
(215) 669-0589 Direct
(215) 358-1100 Office Ask For Renee
http://www.reneeporsia.com

Jenette,

Do you have a buyers agent on your deal ? When you submitted an offer, you would have an included a reply date.

Typically, when we represent a buyer, we put 2 business days as the reply time and we will stay on the other agent to get the necessary response.

Good luck with your deal ! For more helpful hints, please visit our site below.

Check in with us and let us know if your deal was negotiated to be under contract for you.

Hi Jenette,
Time is of the essence in real estate; as the reply is dated and timed for a valid non-expired offer, however if you are dealing with a bank owned or short sale ,then you may have to gather up your patience and expect a delay in the response. just call your agent and express your concerns ;since your are represented.

As an agent for over 25 years, I can certainly understand your being anxious to hear from your Realtor. However 24 hours is not a long time,... that being said I would like to believe that your agent would call you within 48 hours at the most, even if he/she is just calling to tell you that she has no news to report.

It is the seller and the seller's agent that really control the time it takes to get back to you; however your agent should be consider of your feelings and try to "push" the seller's agent a little to get you an answer.

Don't be shy, give your agent a call and ask her to give a little push to the other agent, if she hasn't heard anything yet.

Best of luck to you,
Judi

It depends on who the seller is. if it is bank owned then it could take a couple days as well as they are closed on weekends. if it is joe homeowner than you should hear quicker. no matter what your agent should call and say they havent heard anything. as well your offer should have had a clause that your offer was only good for 24 hours to speed up a response to the offer. you can always call your agent to ask for an update instead of waiting for a call. they get busy and dont think of it sometomes when they dont hear for a while. light a fire to get some results. good luck with the offer