BiggerPockets

I do not know what rules Realtor's live by so I am posting this for a little insight from the forum.

We recently listed a property for sale in Riverside, Ca. The listing is currently "active" with a local broker. I drove up to my property this afternoon and found a real estate sign on my property that said:

"Bank Owned Home! 24 hour recorded message 1-800-xxx-xxxx listing #104"

Thinking my broker was "out of touch" for my non-bank owned home I called the 1-800 number and heard my listing being read directly to me - I pushed the button to connect with an agent and ...... I was connected to an agent for a different broker. Apparently this broker simply placed his sign on my property - hence attempting to not only degrade my fully re-hab'd property by calling it "bank owned" but also to steal my brokers business.

This could not have been a mistake as the message on the recording was word for word duplicate of my listing, therefore the broker knew he was placing a sign on another brokers listing.

This must be against some Realtor "Rule" or "Code" - What, if anything, should be done?

If you are absolutely sure that this is not a mistake, have a lawyer right a cease and desist letter immediately. Demand that the phone number will stay up but the recording would change to state that this property is not a bank owned.

I've had similar issues with brokers who make excellent agents, but when they try to parlay their success as an agent into being a broker - fail miserably. Allow them a chance to have made a human management mistake and let them correct it. It is likely you will garner getter long term service being honey rather than vinegar.

Never ascribe to malice what can be explained by stupidity, incompetence or just an error. Really, do you think a licensed agent would try to "hijack" a listing? How can that possibly succeed? Its not as if they're going to be able to present an offer to the seller - you! They're not going to get paid at closing. What's the upside for them having someone call?

The fact that its a computer voice reading it makes it even more clear its an error. Most likely, someone mistyped a MLS number into some system, and that set the chain of events in motion. That went to a service that assigns a number, sends someone out with the sign, and links the phone number to the MLS number. Once that's done, the computer just reads the listing on the phone.

Being a realtor, I think the consequences for a realtor trying to hijack another realtors listing far outway the benefits. This is possibly an annoying but like Jon says honest mistake.

I think Jon is exactly correct, wrong MLS number was submitted to the sign/phone guy and he just did his job and put everything up. When I sold real estate in Arizona I was constantly getting calls from homeowners who "my guys" dug up there yard and put my sign in front of there house they dont wanna sell (actually scored a listing this way too) but the problem was most of the realtors paid this one sign company to install/remove the signs, and they paid this kid nothing to drive around and install them, hed install the signs wrong all the time, on the south block instead of north, 209 instead of 902, stuff like that. Finally kid got fired, quit making me look so bad!
As far as the telephone number, those people never see the property, say what is typed, and the kid installing the sign is suppost to put the right access # sign on your sign.! hopefully hes not high the day he installs your signs!
-Scott

Contact the Department of Real Estate in California (http://dre.ca.gov) and issue a complaint against the broker number for who's sign it was.

It does sound like a mistake to me though.