SIGforum.com Main Page The Lounge Realtors, did my Realtor just create an ethnical violation or breach of contract?
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Objectively Reasonable |
Is this in Georgia? Georgia's licensing law is REALLY planin about this. Your agent has an explicit duty to advance YOUR interests. Leaking your pricing/negotiating strategy to the other side violates the most basic rule of "agency" in that regard. Unless you explicitly told her "Hey, pass this along to the buyer"-- why would ANYONE do that?-- she's also breached confidentiality (which is a separate breach of the licensing law). Seriously: Dump the agent, notify their broker, and consider filing a complaint with the Georgia Real Estate Commission. "Notify their broker": Your contract is likely with the broker, not the individual agent. The agent is now tainted. Fire them. The broker's branch license is implicated by the agent's actions, and the broker will almost certainly want to reach an accommodation with you (replace the agent with an actually competent one, release you from your listing contract if you desire, re-negotiate more favorable (for you) commission terms with a new agent if you decide to stay with the brokerage, etc.) No way, no how, should this be tolerated. To potentially close the sale and put SOME commission check in her pocket, your agent is OK with seeing thousands fly out of your mom's. | |||
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His Royal Hiney |
You’re right to be concerned — disclosing your confidential pricing strategy to a potential buyer without your permission does feel like a breach of the trust and confidentiality a realtor owes their client. That’s a legitimate issue. That said, I’d encourage you to keep the conversation calm when you talk to her tomorrow. A couple of practical points that might help you both get perspective: 1. The weekly $1K price-drop plan was never going to stay truly secret for long. Once buyers (and other agents) see the listing price drop every Thursday, the pattern becomes obvious pretty quickly. 2. You’re not locked into that strategy forever — it’s not written in stone in any contract, and you can change or drop it at any time if it no longer makes sense. 3. The buyer in question is already offering full asking price on a contingency sale. That’s actually a strong position for you. Your realtor isn’t making any extra money by helping the other agent, and she clearly wants the sale to go through so she earns her commission. If the trust has been damaged, you’re well within your rights to have a direct conversation about it and decide whether you want to continue with her. Many people in your shoes would also quietly reach out to her supervising broker to get their take — that’s usually the next step before considering switching agents. Bottom line: the strategy itself was never going to be a closely guarded secret, but the unauthorized disclosure is still worth addressing. Hope the talk tomorrow goes smoothly and you get the sale resolved quickly. "It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946. | |||
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| Just because you can, doesn't mean you should |
I'm in N.GA and wife is a Realtor. At the very least, she should have first obtained permission from you before disclosing anything not on the disclosure form. Something like pricing details and strategy would be a big no no. Next, is she officially your moms agent with a signed selling agreement, or acting as a "transactional broker", a neutral third party? She's either a broker or works under a brokers license. You could file a complaint to her broker (if she's not) or with the Georgia Real Estate Commission (if she is a broker herself). Either way, she's not someone I'd have representing me on the sale of a home. PS, the concept of doing a small regular weekly price drop doesn't sound like a great idea either. Even without others knowing, not enough to make any real difference and has the downside that many should just wait. Not what you want either way. Also, you mention an offer. Is that a written offer with earnest money? Otherwise it's just someone just fishing, not an offer, especially with that sale of home contingency. ___________________________ Avoid buying ChiCom/CCP products whenever possible. | |||
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Honky Lips |
Rey as always when you and I align, you're so very much more eloquent. _____________________________________________ Proverbs 3:31 "Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways." | |||
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| Member |
At first reading it seems bad, BUT maybe not. I am unclear if you have in hand an accepted contingency offer at full asking price. If you do then her disclosure to the buyer may have been a good thing to let him know that the price will be dropping which may result in backup offers starting to come in so he needs be motivated to get his house sold and remove the contingency. He will see the weekly reductions happen anyway while under contract. If you do not have the full price accepted offer in hand then maybe the information might cause him to wait a week or more before actually making the offer OR it might motivate him to go ahead and make the offer to head off potential other offers. If he is an agent and is willing to make a full price offer then your house must be pretty fairly priced or he is an incompetent agent himself willing to overpay. On the other hand he is planning to take half the commission so that reduces his cost significantly compared to other buyers so he can afford to over pay slightly to win a property he really wants. Hard to know without talking to your agent what her reasoning/strategy was, but I suspect that since she told you that she told him, she must have thought it was a good strategy for you. IF you had found out from someone else then I would assume the worst. | |||
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| Member |
I'd have a serious talk with the realtor about why she told an interested buyer that the price would go down if he waited. The answer would drive my next move, as well as how you found out she did it. It's not an immediate kiss of death, but I would be sharpening knives. I'm also curious WHY you have 'signed' to drop the price arbitrarily, especially such a small amount. I can think of reasons for & against, I'd just like to know the strategy/thought process. | |||
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| No More Mr. Nice Guy |
A word of caution on the contingency sale. Get some good non-refundable money up front, or have it be a right of first refusal so that if you get a better offer (either more money, or cash sale, or no contingency, etc) then the first guy can either make it a firm deal with no contingency or you can go with the better offer. We were burned by many thousands of dollars with an extended due-diligence where the buyers were just stalling for time. They weren't actually wanting to buy the house, just have some paperwork. We didn't have any hard money from them, and when they backed out the market had turned down and we were into the autumn slow season. So it wasn't exactly the same situation as you, but similar in that we thought we had a deal with a buyer who showed great interest in living in the house. If you don't have hard money, you don't have a serious deal. | |||
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| Member |
I agree this seems like a terrible strategy. Generally you want one meaningful drop in price to get attention and refresh the listing to drive offers. A one thousand dollar drop is essentially meaningless in terms of peaking renewed interest. | |||
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| Member |
My question is how long has the home been on the market and why are you willing to drop the price by a grand each week until the property sells? I'd set a price and hold out until you get a buyer unless you're desperate to sell and your mom needs the money. In regards to the realtor it sure sounds like a ethical violation since she shouldn't be disclosing your selling strategy to anyone, whether or not they're a fellow realtor or not. I'd probably reverse the $1000 a week subtraction and hold out for you're original asking price. If you believe she's a good person, you desire to keep the relationship cordial I don't think I'd report her but definitely have a conversation with her and let her know you're displeased with her revealing certain info to a potential buyer. With all that said I wouldn't wait on someone else to sell their home before they purchased my property. If/when they sell their home if your home is still available they ca proceed with the purchase. | |||
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| Member |
First look at your contract with the broker. Are they acting as your agent a seller's agent or as a transactional broker. Big difference, different agency created. If you signed a selling broker agency, they have breached your agency big time. I would fire them immediately. If they bitch, report them to the state licensing board. Being a Realtor is a club. You pay money to join. You can only join if your are a Licensed Broker or Salesman. Being a Real Estate agent requires a state license. | |||
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Get Off My Lawn |
I agree. The first big red flag was with the potential buyer having a contingency to sell his house first, your realtor agreed to advise him on his sale of his home, asking price, etc., while disclosing your pricing strategy to the buyer. IMO, a conflict of interest, her actions almost sneaking into dual agency territory. "I’m not going to read Time Magazine, I’m not going to read Newsweek, I’m not going to read any of these magazines; I mean, because they have too much to lose by printing the truth"- Bob Dylan, 1965 | |||
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| Bookers Bourbon and a good cigar  |
Sounds like a Threesome but only one party is gonna get screwed. Any guesses who it is? Any dog can be a Guide Dog if you don't care where you're going. NRA ENDOWMENT LIFE MEMBER | |||
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A Grateful American |
 "the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" ✡ Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא עוד | |||
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Member |
Please terminate whatever agreement exists to drop the price weekly. You are setting up a situation where in six months you have dropped the price $26K. That is a lot of money on a percentage basis. Price is not the most compelling reason to purchase real property. And, comps should have been performed prior to setting the listing price originally, to ensure parity for this market at this time. Price should be as logical as possible. Contingency offers are so counter-good. The buyer should obtain the necessary financing to make a purchase, regardless of their home status. A bridge loan can be arranged, at least such things existed in years past. This enables the person to make two house payments until theirs sells. I'm not sure why you ask if the disclosure of your private information is ethical or not. Of course it is. Terminate the realtor, gracefully. Avoid anger at all costs. ------- Trying to simplify my life... | |||
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| Member |
Realtors, inflating the price of housing for over 100 years. Awake not woke | |||
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