When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. I scheduled an appointment to see a home in a nice community. The school districts are great as well as the neighborhood. The price was right and this home was not a short sale, not an easy find in South Florida. After getting four appointments cancelled by the seller, my buyer was getting rather desperate as his moving date was only 4 weeks away, as his landlord was kicking him out because he would not sign a one year lease.
The buyer decides to write an offer sight unseen. The offer was full price, cash, with zero contingencies. The urgency was high, as this buyer wanted to be in a home and have the sweat heart school district. Surprisingly the offer offer was never even looked at by the seller, because she had a change of heart on selling. Besides the fact that I was owned a commission and deciding not to waste my time to chase it down, the buyer then ends up firing me because I was unable to pull this deal off.
Hence the title, full price wheel barrel of money and a lost client: Realtor gets tko’d. What has your experience been in situations like this? Reporting live from the trenches of a warm muggy humid South Florida, I’m Robert Worthington, and I promise to have yet another doozy to report on soon! I’m keeping my head up, ears up, tail waging, and I’m sniffing out my next deal! When your part of the bloodhound pack, you never quit!
sfvrealestate says:
It’s a squirrelly time in real estate and the disappointments are coming more frequently. Do what you already know you should do: move on.
August 15, 2011 — 6:22 pm
Ken Brand says:
Nice one! Cheers.
August 15, 2011 — 6:32 pm
Jeff Brown says:
Great fodder for Happy Hour. Hint to newbies: Don’t tell the first story. 🙂
August 15, 2011 — 9:31 pm
Tony says:
Had similar stories when I was a Real Estate agent… unfortunately that’s part of the game. It was one of the reasons i switched careers. One time the buyer I was representing purchased the house straight from the seller, bypassing me altogether (and I mean after we received a counter offer, so I had all kinds of proof).
Thank you for sharing.
August 16, 2011 — 2:33 pm
Russell Shaw says:
Actually I doubt you are owed a commission.
Current NAR rules would say only in the
event the transaction actually closed. And it
would be the listing agent who owed you
not the seller – as you have no contractual
relationship with the seller.
Even in states that might still allow
sub-agency it is unlikely a buyer agent
would ever be able to enforce a claim
against a seller as you DID have some
“contingencies” in your offer. The closing
date for example. No seller is obligated
to accept any offer – even if it is at “full price”.
Probably the best solution to this sort of
thing is a Buyer Broker Agreement – where
the buyer actually hires you (and agrees
to pay you).
One other thing: this happened to me
several times early in my career. It’s
just part of the deal.
August 16, 2011 — 5:52 pm
Robert Worthington says:
MY YEAR IS MADE. I got a comment, from the great Russell Shaw!
August 16, 2011 — 6:03 pm
Russell Shaw says:
Well now you just made MY year, Robert!!
August 16, 2011 — 6:35 pm
Moe says:
Welcomr to Real Estate. I see this happens all over. I am a broker working with Arizona Real Estate and I have had a few similar stories from agents. Bad situations to be on the wrong end of.
August 17, 2011 — 5:22 pm
Wayne says:
Wow! That is a tough one to swallow. If you are in Real Estate you will get kicked in the gut occasionally … as was said it is just part of the deal but it is tough to take sometimes as I am sure this one was for you…
We just have to keep on going and go after that next deal.
August 19, 2011 — 11:56 am
Jon Bond says:
Wow… that is moderately unfortunate! At least your back up at it. People are crazy… Seriously wonder what goes on up there sometimes!?!?!
August 20, 2011 — 6:28 am
Jim Klein says:
Heckuva story, Robert, but you weren’t tko’d…not even close. Stuff like this happens, but usually only once to people who learn. Better it’s in the past than the future, right?
They say nice guys finish last, but that’s complete BS by using stupid measures. Always do right and you’ll never go wrong. You’ve not a thing to worry about. “Trust, but verify.”
August 20, 2011 — 8:44 pm
Brett Tousley says:
Ah the joys of working as a buyer agent or broker! It’s easy to empathize with your plight; sometimes we all will fall short of our client’s expectations. Most often it’s a situation like this where we have no control over another person’s actions.
You’re on the right track by keeping your head up and moving forward. Learn from the failures and turn them into future success.
August 23, 2011 — 11:55 am