wnaplay1647545503 Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 I have a quick question for a realtor and one for a lawyer. 1. If someone lists a house for sale and an offer is made agreeing to the price is the seller under any obligation to take the offer? 2. If you hire a company to advertise for you and they make a huge mistake regarding a "sale" what legal recourse do you have for losses as a result, damage to the business etc... ? TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 I have a quick question for a realtor and one for a lawyer. 1. If someone lists a house for sale and an offer is made agreeing to the price is the seller under any obligation to take the offer? 2. If you hire a company to advertise for you and they make a huge mistake regarding a "sale" what legal recourse do you have for losses as a result, damage to the business etc... ? TIA 1. No. A buyer MAY have some kind of legal recourse if they make a cash offer with 0 contingencies, but even then, the earnest deposit amount may be disagreeable to the seller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NitrousSam Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 I have a quick question for a realtor and one for a lawyer. 1. If someone lists a house for sale and an offer is made agreeing to the price is the seller under any obligation to take the offer? 2. If you hire a company to advertise for you and they make a huge mistake regarding a "sale" what legal recourse do you have for losses as a result, damage to the business etc... ? TIA No, the seller is not obligated to accept your offer even if your offering price is for exactly what he or she is asking because there may be other terms that they don't agree with or they may have received an even better offer from another buyer. The price is only part of the agreement because there could be other terms of your offer that are not acceptable to the seller such as the closing date, possession date, personal property you might have asked for, if you asked the seller to pay your closing costs, did they counter offer, reject your offer or just not respond? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted August 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 No cash offer, house was listed I offered $400 over asking price, provided preapproval letter as requested within hrs of being listed. Purchase was agreed to be as-is per their requirement. Property was a reo listing. Received call a few days later telling me they are having multiple offers and to make my b&f offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted August 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 The realtor company is a huge PIA to deal with and I have heard this from a few people thus far. Never had a company so difficult to deal with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted August 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 I came back with an offer $20k over asking and was told my offer was not accepted. I hear this evening from a neighbor who stated he believed they were seeking a cash offer. Would a bank take a lower cash offer just because its cash? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NitrousSam Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 The realtor company is a huge PIA to deal with and I have heard this from a few people thus far. Never had a company so difficult to deal with. This is more than likely not coming from the real estate agent...it is highly likely coming from the bank / lender who owns the foreclosure and this is a very common practice to ask for both parties highest and best offers when in multiple offers. It sucks for sure when this happens but I have had this happen when dealing with a non bank owned homes as well. Back in the early 2000's we received multiple offers all the time but from 2007 - 2012 it wasn't very common but in 2013 the housing market is heating back up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted August 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 I am so curious to see what kind of offer they did accept but cannot seem to get an answer from anyone. I hate waiting months for it to come out on the auditors website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NitrousSam Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 I came back with an offer $20k over asking and was told my offer was not accepted. I hear this evening from a neighbor who stated he believed they were seeking a cash offer. Would a bank take a lower cash offer just because its cash? They can accept another offer that was all cash, they could even accept a lessor price than your offer if the cash offer was rock solid with proof of funds (essentially guaranteeing the sale). There are so many variables that we don't know about the other offer that it is difficult to say why the seller is taking the other deal. Sorry it didn't go your way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NitrousSam Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 I am so curious to see what kind of offer they did accept but cannot seem to get an answer from anyone. I hate waiting months for it to come out on the auditors website. I know what you mean. You should not have to wait months, your agent should have access to the MLS and can report back to you once it closes because SOLD prices are reported to the MLS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bruh Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 I came back with an offer $20k over asking and was told my offer was not accepted. I hear this evening from a neighbor who stated he believed they were seeking a cash offer. Would a bank take a lower cash offer just because its cash? the bank will accept a lower offer if its cash. pays to have a bank roll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 I came back with an offer $20k over asking and was told my offer was not accepted. I hear this evening from a neighbor who stated he believed they were seeking a cash offer. Would a bank take a lower cash offer just because its cash? Just sounds like you tried to get into a game without knowing how to grease the wheels. Sorry to hear you got the short end of the stick, but if you didn't have the connections or provide the right kickbacks you got screwed. Shitty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICEMAN1647545504 Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 Maybe they don't like the type of financing that you are showing to them. For example, down payment assistance programs, FHA and VA may take longer to close. Also FHA and VA require a different type of an appraisal than a Conventional/Conforming loan. Maybe they are worried that the appraiser may find something wrong with the house and you may not get the financing. Maybe that's why they want cash offers and don't wanna deal with financing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted August 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 I watched the house through the complete foreclosure process for almost a year. Got a call saying the house was on the market as of 2 mins. Put my first offer in with no contingencies at all. Then made a much larger offer. Sucks as it was one hell of a deal and I really wanted it. Usually I can get the wheels greased but this agency probably fearful of losing all the reo listings with this bank played hardball the whole way. Oh well I just hope it went for a helluva a lot more than I offered to make myself feel better. I even went through the approval with the bank that owned the property in hopes that would leverage my offer in some way. Attached garages capable of fitting 10 cars side by side and a larger out building, yeah I wanted this one. It was a conventional loan. I would have went even higher with my offer but the fear of a huge downpayment on such short notice scared me. I was already up to $20k and the house has sat for a long time. With 5 furnaces and 2 electric rooms I was scared I was walking into a mess and any more of a downpayment would have left nothing for immediate repairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01sentrase2.0 Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 It sort of sounds like someone put an incorrect price online and you were trying to go off of that price vs what the seller actually wanted the price to be? Am i reading this wrong? Sellers can refuse anything, especially if it is bank owned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GMoney Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 Houses are selling at the moment and can tell you from experience if you were trying to buy the house at or even $20k above the estimated foreclosure price provided buy the seller, Zillow, or some other site you were not even in the ballpark. I tried to buy a foreclosure in the past 3 months, foreclosure estimate was at $290k, and the house valued at $490,000. I bid $360,000 and didn't get it. Sold for $444,000. 6 car attached garage, 5,000sqft, in great area. Yes the seller can accept or decline any offer. Just like a car deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted August 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 The only thing I was hoping was that the condition of the house would scare most buyers off. It needed a lot of work but having owned the painting/remodeling company for 20 years I wasn't to concerned. Sounds like someone else wasn't concerned either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 The caviet is highest and best, best being the key. I have won a number of REO's because of cash, even if it was less than another offer (it's happened twice). NOTHING is final until the keys are in your hand after closing. It's a bank, you're fighting an uphill battle. I've lost a couple houses with 20k over AND cash, the market is tight right now. Real tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted August 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2013 Through some connections I was able to track down the person who is in contract with the home and he's now experiencing difficulties with the contract/bank. After reading online about others who experienced a similar situation I began to wonder how this works. In Ohio I believe its against antifraud laws to list something for sale knowing you never plan to actually sell the item for that price. Car dealers/retailers cannot advertise something for sale knowing they wont take the price marked as a real sale price, how are banks able to do this? Isnt this essentially bait and switch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhead Posted August 28, 2013 Report Share Posted August 28, 2013 An offer is just that, an offer. A bid. There are certain situations that would constitute fraud, like if the person listing it for the bank were to sell it to their buddy for pennies on the dollar, but realistically they can sell to whatever buyer they wish. The only way you would have a case is if you were already in contract with them and they broke the contract to sell to someone else, otherwise it's no different from bidding on ebay only to get sniped at the last second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallard Posted August 28, 2013 Report Share Posted August 28, 2013 The thing is, you have no way to prove that they would not sell at the listed price had someone not bid higher. Still, it's a typical way for people to price a home. You can list a home at whatever you want, and you're not required to take an offer, it's a private transaction not retail sales. Pricing below market value brings in all types of buyers, who think they're getting a steal and fall in love with the home. This can result in a bidding war, and actually can net a higher sale price than if they priced it at market value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted August 28, 2013 Report Share Posted August 28, 2013 Through some connections I was able to track down the person who is in contract with the home and he's now experiencing difficulties with the contract/bank. After reading online about others who experienced a similar situation I began to wonder how this works. In Ohio I believe its against antifraud laws to list something for sale knowing you never plan to actually sell the item for that price. Car dealers/retailers cannot advertise something for sale knowing they wont take the price marked as a real sale price, how are banks able to do this? Isnt this essentially bait and switch? Because that just isn't how real estate law works due to contingencies. If you came in at full list price, cash, 100% put into the earnest deposit with no inspection contingencies or anything, and there are no other offers, and they deny your offer, you MAY have a claim with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted August 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2013 I am wondering , just because they do if that necessarily makes it legal. I believe its illegal to price something low with the intent of causing a bidding war or in an attempt to manipulate the market. In my scenario I came in meeting their requirements 100%. Once they decide to advertise, in this case via mls, is it still considered a private sell? Consumers have rights regarding this very scenario in any other area, why do they not carry over into real estate, or have they just not be challenged yet? If we have seen anything lately its that banks aren't above illegal dealings in an effort to manipulate their market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted August 28, 2013 Report Share Posted August 28, 2013 I am wondering , just because they do if that necessarily makes it legal. I believe its illegal to price something low with the intent of causing a bidding war or in an attempt to manipulate the market. Real estate is always in flux. The market is always considered what people are willing to pay. In my scenario I came in meeting their requirements 100%. You may think you did, but they are always going to take a cash offer, or an offer with less contingencies, even if the offer is for less than yours. Once they decide to advertise, in this case via mls, is it still considered a private sell? Huh? MLS is just a marketing tool, it doesn't change anything about the sale. Consumers have rights regarding this very scenario in any other area, why do they not carry over into real estate, or have they just not be challenged yet? If we have seen anything lately its that banks aren't above illegal dealings in an effort to manipulate their market. Like I said, the real estate market is always in flux and certain types of deals are always going to be better than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted August 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2013 The sellers agent had a checklist of requirements(paperwork) that needed to be met. I met the requirements and made a full price agreement to their terms which was made with zero contingencies. My comment regarding mls referred to the fact that once they decided to advertise the property to the general public, they opened themselves up to anyone capable of the terms and no longer could state it was a private sale. This conversation isn't to try and find a way to get this house in question, more so to clarify the legality of what seems like nothing more than "accepted practices" vs. definite legal dealings. Consumers have rights for a reason and just because this one hasn't been challenged yet doesn't mean banks/realtors are operating legally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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