What do you think about my realtor?

Question

This is my first time buying a home. My mom would be my co-borrower. Her credit is very strong. We found a house that I really like. It is a bank owned property. The listing price is 237,000. Multiple offers have been submitted. The bank said that they were going to take the strongest and best offer. We had to be pre qualified by Wells Fargo bank. We asked the realtor what type of bid should we put in and he said that we should go with 280,000 with 25,000 down. He told us to put down that we were going to put down 50,000 dollars and if or when the offer was accepted, only put down 25,000 dollars. After thinking about this for a while, we decided that we were not comfortable with doing it this way. We asked him to not put in the offer. He claimed that he had already sent it over and said that if they accept the offer then we would back out because of inspection reasons. Couldn't he have withdrawn the offer if it had not hit the deadline yet? Something seems fishy.

Answer 1

If you haven't signed the contract or told him to do it, he's not doing his job properly.

Whatever the case, you have no obligation as long as he doesn't have a signed and written offer.

Answer 2

I would not have offered more than the list price. It doesn't sound right to me. Did you sign a contract with your offer amount on it? otherwise, you should be able to back out

Answer 3

He can not submit an unsigned offer.

The agent sounds like he has no clue what he is doing if he sent it in w/o your signature.

An offer of 250k with 50k cash down (you will need to show you have that much cash) should be a strong enough offer for this house unless it is seriously under value.

Answer 4

Ok, the property is listed at 237,000 so in my opinion, I would not have put in my offer at anything more than 242,000 just because that's me. However, you have to ask yourself, "how much is this property really worth?" especially in this down market. There is a *lot* of property out there. Even if you really like this house, there will be another house you will like.

My thing is that I think the realtor is looking out for his/her own pocket because of how much MORE he suggested you offer on the property. The realtor is supposed to be an agent that is licensed to do work that the average citizen cannot do on their own. In essence, they work for YOU. They are supposed to have your best interests in mind. I would report him to the real estate board and talk to another realtor from within the same brokerage house to see if you can retract your offer. If you haven't signed the papers, there's nothing to worry about because the contract would be invalid.

If this person doesn't mesh well with you, you don't have to work with them. If it feels *off* it probably is. Best of luck to you!

Answer 5

Until the ink is dry on the contract by BOTH parties it is not a ratified contract and not binding.  Ask to withdraw.  however, they COULD sign it as is and then it's a done deal.

Answer 6

It seems fishy  because it stinks.  He didn't do the right thing.Send a fax and email asking that your offer be withdrawn immediately.

Answer 7

When an offer is made, it is made in writing signed by the buyers.  If he submitted a bid without your signatures, it will not be considered.  If he signed your name that is fraud and he can be reported.  I would definately sever your relationship with this realtor.  He sounds like trouble.

Answer 8

In real estate, an offeree (you) can withdraw an offer from an offeror (the bank) anytime before acceptance and communication of that acceptance has occurred.

It happens all the time.  Anyone who tells you that you can't rescind your offer is either uninformed or crooked.

Your offer to buy the property is just that: merely an offer.

It doesn't become a contract until acceptance & communication.

And never make an offer to anyone unless that offer represents your true intentions.  This is how court cases are born.

Answer 9

You can withdraw an offer at any time before you receive a ratified contract and he should've done that immediately when you told him too.  This guy is sleazy both towards you and the seller and I would pull your offer immediately and find a new realtor (just tell the realtor flat out to pull the offer now, and if he refuses tell him you'd like to speak to his broker about this).

One big red flag that I have about this whole thing is this.  Since he has been a bit sleazy towards you already (by not pulling your offer) it seems possible, maybe even likely, that he was the same way in telling you to bid 280K.  Maybe the place isn't worth that much and he is having you bid high so you win the bid (and thereby he gets a commission - the thing some realtors are most interested in).  I'm not saying the place isn't worth 280K, I have no idea what its worth.  All I'm saying is that since he seems not to be trustworthy I wouldn't trust this bid price either - and therefore I'd pull this bid immediately and find a new realtor.  There are to many completely honest, hard working realtors (with very little business right now) for you to be using this guy.

Answer 10

If you signed a contract, you're obligated.  If you didn't, the realtor is just trying to pressure you into the deal.  There are addenda that can be added to the contract to make it contingent on your approval of the inspection reports, but the bank may choose to just fix any problems and then you would still be obligated.  You should really read through your copy of the contract carefully.  It is a legal document and should not be taken lightly.  If you don't live up to your end of the contract, the seller can sue you for the amount of the contract and any expenses incurred.  

A normal deposit on a house listed for $237k is going to be no more than 2% of the sales price.  Personally, I've never put more than $1000 down as a deposit on a contract.  The rest of your downpayment is yours to hold until the settlement date (aka close of escrow date), when you actually sign your final loan papers and take title.  

If you don't know that much about buying a house and your realtor isn't helping you, you can always take a homeownership counseling course.  Most of them are offered for free.  Go to www.hud.gov and look for a counselor in your area.

Answer 11

If he is willing to cheat them he is also probably willing to cheat you as well. Since you have the money I'd get your paperwork thoroughly checked with an attorney.

Answer 12

If you didn't sign paperwork, you can withdraw I suppose.  Anyhow, drop this POS and get a good realtor.

Answer 13

I had a similar problem.  I found a house I liked that had been on the market for over a year and they had never lowered the price.  My realtor told me to go in low to see what we were dealing with (were they desperate to sell and just hadn't had any offers?).  Well they came back and said they enjoyed laughing at my offer.  She told me they were offended I made such a low offer- that was HER idea.  I was ready to go a bit higher.

After that I never responded to her calls or e-mails and found a new realtor.  I suggest you do the same, 80% of realtors are money hungry idiots.  Only 20% can be trusted... this guy is in the 80%.

Answer 14

What?  This guy is a whack job.

Withdraw your offer, find a smart Realtor and submit a realistic offer.

Answer 15

That is how do I say it..... total and utter complete bull.

So the list price is 237K. In the current market people are actually often to accept less in order to sell. If you really wanted that particular house and people are bidding you would up your offer a tad. To jump to $280 is ridiculous.

To offer 50K down and then change to 25K is bad news. If you can afford the 25K down that is great...... as way many people put down 3% or whatever and wonder why their mortgage sucks. You would be fine at 20K though. 50K is WAY to much as you would want to stash that money in investments. and not tie it all into your house.

Did this realtor check home sales in the area? Sounds like not as the jump to 280K is totally wrong.

Bottomline...... you are getting screwed and the realtor is trying to rip you off. Just say no and back out. If this becomes an issue get the realtor in trouble.

Answer 16

Do you have a cooling off period in your country.

He sounds totally disreputable to me. He is obliged to submit all offers to the vendor. YOu hold your ground here, it sounds as if he is stringing you along.