South Philly Review

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Failed sales lead to suspicions about agent foul play

Benny Kass
Inman News

DEAR BENNY: I came to the U.S. from Eastern Europe four years ago with my wife. We have been looking for a house for some time but haven't found one yet. Our offers were either not accepted, or if the offer was accepted, the seller took the house off the market one week later.

I feel that our real estate agent is not working for our best interest and this is the reason that I decided to e-mail you. I believe that our agent is working hand in hand with other agents and they are setting up everything on the market.

We've put in six offers till now (all between 93 percent and 98 percent of the asking price, plus 2 to 4 percent for closing costs) but they were not accepted. Our agent always asks us to sign a paper that says we take back our offer, even before the offer is accepted.

With our last offer, we first offered 97 percent of the asking price and asked for 4 percent of the closing costs. The seller's agent suggested asking for just 2 percent of the closing costs, which we accepted, but the seller still didn't accept our offer.

What are the legal steps after we made an offer and our offer isn't accepted? Should we receive a rejection letter from the seller (or his bank if it's a short sale)?

Is it OK to put more than one offer at the same time? Our agent doesn't want to do this for us.

Why does our agent tell us to offer more on a house than the asking price? This doesn't look fair for me because I know he gets a percentage of what we pay. --Marco

DEAR MARCO: First, I strongly suggest you get another real estate agent. I also suggest that you consider hiring a real estate attorney who can walk you through the process.

When you make an offer, the seller has three alternatives. He or she can (1) accept it, (2) reject it, or (3) make a counteroffer. If your offer is accepted, you have a valid real estate contract and the seller cannot change his or her mind and try to take the house off the market.

Of course, if you have contingencies in your contract, such as obtaining an acceptable home inspection report or getting the appropriate financing, you can cancel the contract if you cannot meet those contingencies.

If your offer is rejected, generally a seller (or the seller's agent) will tell this to you, but there is no legal requirement for a seller to formally reject an offer. The law is clear: Until a seller takes any of the three alternatives raised above, a potential buyer can withdraw the offer.

And if the seller counters your offer, you have the same three alternatives.

Why is the agent suggesting that you offer more than the listing price? That's not unusual where markets are hot and houses are selling quickly. But in today's economy, that's generally not the situation.

Finally, you asked about making several offers. I assume you are proposing making offers on more than one house at the same time. That's not a good idea; what happens if you make offers on two different houses and both sellers accept? You could be stuck legally with two sales contracts, and could lose your deposits -- or be sued for breach of contract.

Please get a lawyer to assist you.

DEAR BENNY: I recently inherited my mom's home, valued at $136,000. Unfortunately, she had a home equity line of credit (HELOC) on it for $66,000. Apparently, a relative talked her into getting this loan to start a small business. Of course she was stuck paying the loan, and the payments are current.

I would like to move into the home but have had no luck with Wachovia transferring the loan to my name. What are my options? I really do not want to refinance because her interest rate was 3.25 percent, which is fantastic. I am at a loss. I am maintaining all the expenses of this home but receive no benefits. --Sheila