Seller's Agent Trying to Assign Us Buyer's Agent

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Seller's Agent Trying to Assign Us Buyer's Agent

Jake F.
South Padre Island, TX · Member since 2018 · 81 posts · 69 votes

We have bought and sold several properties without an agent. We contacted a seller's agent and asked to view a home. He said he was out of town and would send Susan to open the house for us. Susan opened the door for us and we viewed the home. 

We later sent the listing agent an offer. He immediately contacted us and said we needed to list Susan as the buyer's agent. We told him he could have the entire commission and pay Susan if he wanted, but as far we were concerned she was his proxy and representing the seller. He was adamant and we exchanged several messages before I had to insist he submit our offer as is. Now he's saying there are other offers despite it having been on the market for nine months. I definitely feel like our offer is dead in the water due to our refusal to use his buddy as our agent.

I feel like having her as a go-between would be like having the opposing team in our huddle, and honestly she didn't seem to have a clue what she was doing. When I told him I didn't think he would mind making the whole commission he replied, "Of course I mind. We are Realtors sir."

Am I missing something here?

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Jonathan GreeneBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Madison, NJ · Member since 2016 · 6k+ posts · 7k+ votes
5y

The real question is why do you care? You said you don't need an agent, but you understand the process and Susan is an agent. Why are you trying to pay a commission to someone who does not want to work as a dual agent? It's much better to have your own agent just in case something arises since the listing agent's primary fiduciary duty is always to the seller. It seems like you are trying to find a problem, what's the issue? He doesn't want to do dual agency, which is in your best interests. You don't save money either way.

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  • Steve K.
    Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    5y

    @Michael Magno while I agree with you that this may be a situation where procuring cause could come into play, I disagree that Susan showing the property is enough for her to have established procuring cause conclusively, or be granted the full commission/win a case. Of course we will never know definitively unless it does go to arbitration, but from looking at past cases and understanding procuring cause, the role she played by simply opening the door would almost certainly not be enough based on the info in this thread. She may think it is, and it may create a messy situation, but only because many agents don’t have a complete understanding of what PC is or how difficult it is to prove (some even think emailing a listing establishes PC, but it does not, and neither does something like hosting a single showing set up by the listing agent for an unrepresented buyer, generally). The procuring cause refers to the actions of a real estate agent or broker whose efforts CONCLUSIVELY result in a property’s sale. They basically have to be working with a buyer as if they have an agency relationship. If she had written up the offer afterward, she’d have a much stronger case. But it does not sound (to me) like her role in this transaction was all that conclusive, or that she did enough to establish procuring cause just by opening the door. But again, we wouldn’t know for sure unless it were to go to arbitration.

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