Feel bad for my gf- Real estate agents is this the norm?- long but good for future buyers

My gf saw a home on mls, she called about the open house this coming weekend, the agent said we are not sure if we are having the open house since there is an offer that was accepted would you like to see the house? this was yesterday afternoon, she said yes. I went with her to help watch the kids. so we see the house, she loves it, her and her DH make an offer, ( the asking price is 550, they offer 535) the agent looks at the seller with big eyes and makes a gesture that you would at an auction when something is sold and made a sound bonk as she did it and then says while looking at the seller oh maybe I shouldnt say that. so then they do this role play it looks like saying like 3 times well you know there is another offer and we cant tell you what it is, unless the homeowner gives me the ok, so the home owner shakes her head ok, the agent says is it ok to tell them, and then they are like well we are going to be honest we got a full offer. so her DH says ok we will go match that or go over. the agent was like well no dont bid more we will have you as a back up.

so later they get a call from thier broker that the other offer is a solid offer and they allready had an inspector give the ok.

her heart is broken.
so my question is- do you still show a house 1 hour away from the buyer on a tuesday afternoon on a whims notice if you have a solid accepted offer?

And still advertise an open house?

Re: Feel bad for my gf- Real estate agents is this the norm?- long but good for future buyers

I'm not an RA but, I've seen this happen before. Our offer was accepted on the house we bought but, until we were in contract, they continued to show it. Friends of ours offered asking on a house and the people still held an open house after that (before they went to contract as well).

The seller is just protecting their best interest in case the original offer falls through for some reason.

We have friends who had their offer accepted and were excited about the house and they ended up not going to contract. The inspection went ok but, there was one issue that they couldn't come to an agreement with the owners on.

ETA: Hope your friend finds an even better house

Message edited 7/25/2007 10:07:42 AM.

Re: Feel bad for my gf- Real estate agents is this the norm?- long but good for future buyers

That stinks!

We recently had something similar where we had an appt. at night and when we showed up, another agent came and gave a bid. It was obvious that they knew it was coming.

We ended up offering our bid, they countered and then we countered back. They came back and said they weren't going to accept lower than their counter --- and that was it. The other buyer met their counter.

We were annoyed that they didn't just say that their counter was firm and final, but realized aftewards that the other buyer's mortgage and deposit situation wasn't as good as ours. They wanted to make sure it would get through Attorney Review before letting us go.

The advertising for the open house was/is probably set before. And you never know --- I've had deals fall through during the Attorney Review before as well. I don't think its uncommon that they would continue to show until they were in contract!

Re: Feel bad for my gf- Real estate agents is this the norm?- long but good for future buyers

If the contracts were not signed yet, yes, agents do still show the house. I know it doesn't seem fair, but a lot of buyers do back out after making offers, so until a signed contract is in hand, realtors can and will keep showing.

The gestures betweent the realtor and seller seem odd though. It sounds as if they should have discussed the offer privately, and then gotten back to your friend.

Tell her not to worry--these things happen for a reason and there is a great out there for her!

Re: Feel bad for my gf- Real estate agents is this the norm?- long but good for future buyers

thank you so much for replying. I told her you girls were the ones to get advice on this stuff and I would tell her. I need to cheer her up, thanks again

Re: Feel bad for my gf- Real estate agents is this the norm?- long but good for future buyers

We went to an open house when there was an accepted offer, but the RE agent said that since he advertised the open house, he felt like he should still have it (also bc god forbid something falls through with the offer). well we loved the house and went back to see it again a few days later, figuring that the worst thing that could happen was we put in an offer and they still go with the original. Well we put in an offer for the asking price (higher offer than the first offer) and the homeowners decided to stick with the original offer. Looking back I understand why they stayed with the original offer.....if they took ours and ours fell through, well they now probably lost 2 potential buyers.

Fast forward to a few weeks later, we found another house, put in an offer, and someone made another offer. The sellers decided to stick with our offer.

So much can happen between accepting an offer and actually closing....I am learning that an offer is just that - it doesn't mean much until you are actually in contract.

Message edited 7/25/2007 10:17:04 AM.

Re: Feel bad for my gf- Real estate agents is this the norm?- long but good for future buyers

Re: Feel bad for my gf- Real estate agents is this the norm?- long but good for future buyers

While I am not a "fan" of the concept, I understand the seller's view. The deal could fall through.

I would advise your friend NOT to get emotionally attached to houses that she sees. Especially if the house is already in contract.

You just never know. The house is really not yours until you have the keys in your hands.

Re: Feel bad for my gf- Real estate agents is this the norm?- long but good for future buyers

So sorry for your friend. I know how difficult this whole process can be and how upsetting things like this are.

We were in a similar situation but on the other end. We had put down an offer on a house, had the inspection, signed the contracts but then our lawyer called to tell us that the sellers lawyer said that another buyer had already signed a contract. It was a huge nightmare and we felt that the seller and their REA had been playing games but in the end there was nothing we could do. We were also out the $ from the inspection which ****** me off.

I do agree that things happen for a reason. We wound up finding our current home which is so much better. The inspection company we used gave us a huge discount when they heard what happened and since we didn't use a REA for this house the REA for the sellers was very agreeable since he got the entire commission. It all worked out plus these sellers were wonderful.

Good Luck to your friend!

Re: Feel bad for my gf- Real estate agents is this the norm?- long but good for future buyers

yes, until contracts are signed I would keep showing the house. I am selling a property now and that's what i intend to do.