what all if a seller agent hasn't submitted my offer.

Buying & Selling Real Estate
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what all if a seller agent hasn't submitted my offer.

Jose Quintana
Esparto, CA · Member since 2015 · 12 posts · 1 vote

Hello everyone

My wife and I are looking to by our first house. It has been a hard one to say the least. Being out bid, sellers pulling house off market, etc. any way we recently found a home that we lived in Northern California and we submitted an offer and list price. But we're not sure when the seller agent has submitted our offer. How can I find out or what should I do to know my offer has been seen by the seller.

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  • Don Enrique
    Virtual Assistant · Alhambra, CA · Member since 2015 · 92 posts · 16 votes
    10y

    Sounds like did not get a buyer agent to represent you is that correct?

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  • Steve McGovern
    Professional · Lowell, MA · Member since 2014 · 232 posts · 223 votes
    10y
    Hi José – it sounds to me like you did everything through the seller's agent, from your posting. I'm going to go on the assumption that this is in fact the case. Assuming that's true, then I'm sorry for the trouble that you're in. Additionally, I'm sorry that you feel such pressure about this. I can tell you're kind of freaking out a bit. I can't tell you about California law but Massachusetts laws are generally quite similar to California in the vein of consumer protection and rights of parties. In Massachusetts, every agent always represents the seller unless you directly ask an agent to be a buyers agent. This is not just a matter of loyalty or who's paying the bill – it's a matter of law. Going forward, I would highly recommend that you engage a buyer's agent to work with you on your behalf. If this agent is not appealing to you, then tell him you're going to seek a buyers agent now. The words are "I'm not satisfied with the level of communication that you've given me, and therefore I am going to seek my own agent to assist me here. I would like to amend my offer to put this person into the contract." This action will do two things: One – it will spur The seller's agent to update you much more often because if you do in fact secure a buyer's agent then he will need to split his commission with that person. Don't mince words at this point – get him to work a little for you. After all, he is earning your half of the commission too from what I can tell. Two – your buyer's agent will be walking into this transaction when it's three quarters of the way through. I would think that that person would work extra hard for you now since you didn't engage them to look at 15,000 properties prior to this picking one. They're getting money for almost nothing. I would like to think that that means they're going to work extra hard for you at this very second. Try to find somebody of that nature with good representative capacity. Although it's true that I have no idea what other tasks this agent has helped you out with and/or how long he's been working with you for, personally, I'm an advocate first, a property guy second, and a project guy third. I'm a broker last. I can offer you the above advice with a clear conscience even though other agents may cringe. On the other hand, it will withdraw your offer if he accepts your position. If there are a couple of offers currently in and at odds with each other, then you may lose out on this home quickly. Either way, you should be working with somebody who's working for you alone. If any of my assumptions are not true then please set the record straight so myself and the rest of the community can help you out a little better. Best of luck. Steve
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  • Jose Quintana
    OP
    Esparto, CA · Member since 2015 · 12 posts · 1 vote
    10y
    We do have a buyer agent. But the seller agent hasn't told us when they are going to submit our offer. Like they are waiting around for some better offer before she presents ours.
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  • Steve McGovern
    Professional · Lowell, MA · Member since 2014 · 232 posts · 223 votes
    10y

    your Buyer's agent needs to navigate that, then. Again, your other option is to withdraw your offer. How much time did you give them in your offer to except or not except? That's a standard negotiated term. 

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  • Christina Yoon
    Accountant · Hunt Valley, MD · Member since 2016 · 49 posts · 17 votes
    10y

    In my area,  time is of the essence.   Doesn't spell it out exactly how long an agent has to present.  

    You could put a time limit on your offer.   I always recommend this to my buyer clients.  Last thing you want is an agent buying time to get other offers and creating a bidding war.

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  • Matt Lefebvre
    Real Estate Broker · Manchester, NH · Member since 2014 · 630 posts · 420 votes
    10y

    @Jose Quintana, if the listing agent has not submitted the offer to the seller yet and told you so, that is illegal.  If the listing agent has submitted the offer to the seller and they have not responded back, it is legal, although not really ethical... The listing agent should however, respond back with the status of your offer, unless the seller has specifically ordered them not to respond (which I've seen happen).  Sometimes sellers get so frustrated with a lowball offer that they flat out refuse to communicate with the other party and tell them not to talk.  However, if you don't hear back for while, I'd strongly recommend having your buyer's agent talk with their broker and then connect with the listing agent's broker.  Broker-to-broker conversations usually get the job done.  Though only go down that route if you are really getting no response.  

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  • Jeff Martin
    Flipper · Hopkinton, MA · Member since 2016 · 19 posts · 9 votes
    10y

    @Jose Quintana You've gotten some excellent advise above on how to get this going. One last thing I would add: It can definitely be a difficult market for buyers out there, as it seems you have experienced. This often leads to emotions getting more involved than they should. People get so frustrated or anxious that they start making bad decisions just to get it done (ie paying too much, overlooking/ignoring issues). No matter how crazy it gets, just remember its the largest business transaction most people generally make. Do not let emotions get involved and make sure you make the right deal for you. In this situation, for example, it would be easy to be so focused on the seller finally responding, but with a bad counter offer, and you accept it out of relief of the response and finally getting a house, not based on making a good deal. Don't get attached to the house or the deal until you move in. Until then its just a house and if it doesn't work out, the search goes on. Trust your instincts and not your emotions. Good luck!!

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  • Rob Poulin
    Investor · Rochester, MA · Member since 2015 · 33 posts · 10 votes
    10y

    The industry seem strange to me in many ways. I don't think a sellers agent has to submit your offer to their seller if they have, for instance, been instructed by their seller to not submit certain offers, such as offers blow a certain price? I'm not sure, but that is how it seems to go? At least with bank owned properties. I've submitted some through my buyers agent to the sellers agent and apparently, the sellers agent has not even submitted the offers to the seller .... in this case a bank. 

    Then there are those instances where my agent can't even get me in to see the property because the selling agent needs time to get their preferred contractor friends in to evaluate the property for themselves to see if they want to buy it. No matter how hard we try, we can't even get in to see it. Then it goes under agreement, is sold, is rehabbed and is listed again months later by the same exact agent who sold it to their contractor friend. The agent/office gets the first commission when it sold to their contractor friend, and later another commission when it is sold to the eventual home owner (and who know what else?) And the contractor friend gets first dibs at it and a nice low price. This is all legal, I believe, if the seller is aware of it and agrees to it. But you've got to wonder some times when the seller is a senior. I had a business who's customers were 90% seniors (and I had a few thousand customers) and I know the way seniors can be, especially if they do not have someone looking out for their interests. My own parents are there now, and I have to watch what they do closely. Recently, my father was conned to sending money to a group who told him they were protecting him from ISIS. They actually convinced him that since he was already sending them money, he was on an ISIS target list and the only way he would be safe was if he continued to send them money because they were fighting ISIS. Makes you wonder if the sellers best interest really is the priority all of the time. With access to the MLS, tax records, appraisers data, Sec of States Corp. division, etc ... it's very easy follow the paper trail of some of these so called pocket deals, even if they use LLC's or other entities.

    So, myself, I wonder if the sellers agent is obliged to present all offers, even if brought to them from a buyers agent. It does not see so. 

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