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Kara
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They call me "Tater Salad"
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Re: Real Estate Agent ethical question for you...
Posted by DancinBarefoot
I don't know all the ins and outs, BUT, I was specifically told NOT to sign in at open houses for this very reason. At every open house DH & I went to alone (and all of them were "discovered" by either us or my mother) we refused to sign in. I told the agent under the advice of my attorney we were not signing in.
That's probably a good idea!
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Posted 7/26/07 5:55 PM  |
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Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate
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greenfreak
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Member since 9/06 11483 total posts
Name:
greenfreak
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Re: Real Estate Agent ethical question for you...
Posted by Kara
Why do people sign things without reading them and fully understanding what they mean? I have been to abot 100 open houses and I bet you the form you signed stated that you either disclosed the buyer's agent then or would purchase the home through the listing agent.
Why are you assuming something that says "sign-in sheet" is a binding agreement? And it had NO legalese on it whatsoever or disclaimers. It had a grid of blank columns and rows with titles at the top and the agent's names. That's it.
I'm glad you knew the ins and outs of all of this before you went to your first open house, but some of us don't. Look down on us if you will, but maybe when you are on the other side of that knowledge line, it gets harder to remember what it was like when you just started out and were winging it.
I would never judge people for their lack of information; I would try to help them and inform them instead.
I never said my agent wasn't respecting the seller's agent. I went out of my way to say that he was. I am the one questioning all this, and received a lot of good information that hopefully will help others in my situation.
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| Posted 7/26/07 5:58 PM |
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Superkat
More a stranger than a friend
Member since 5/06 9730 total posts
Name:
K
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Re: Real Estate Agent ethical question for you...
Posted by Kara
You could have refused to sign that sheet or said that you would be finding a buyer's agent at a later date. That would have been acceptable -- or you could have written "TBA, but we intend to use a buyer's agent" on the form.
ETA - If you refused to sign it, though, the listing agent at the open house could have refused to show the house at that time.
See, this is the kind of thing you would only know if you had been through it already or if you were involved in RE. Or if you learned when someone else was burned. You can't assume that someone would know to write "will be determined at a later time" blah blah. That is a lawyers answer. 
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| Posted 7/26/07 6:10 PM |
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Kara
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Member since 3/07 13217 total posts
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They call me "Tater Salad"
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Re: Real Estate Agent ethical question for you...
I'm sorry if you thought I was juding you and looking down on you - I wasn't. I'm very matter-of-fact when I write, and I'm not trying to insult you. Read my posts on the home board - I have no clue what I'm doing half of the time. 
However, the form I think you signed is one I've seen and filled out many times. If it's what I'm thinking, it clearly states that if you choose to purchase the house, you will do so through the listing agent (and your buyer's agent IF disclosed on the form). It doesn't have to have legalese in it to be binding.
I didn't say your agent was being disrespectful either, I said he should respect the other agent's right to the sale. I didn't mean to imply he was being disrespectful or pushy -- and I'm not the only person who used that language. I just meant I don't think it's worth pushing.
And I AM just starting out - not a bastion of real estate knowledge. As a lawyer, however, I see SO many people sign things without reading them and questioning them and I really think people should be more careful. (And I have been guilty of this MANY times myself) I think these forms are tricky b/c no REA will explain the implications unless you question them... and unfortunately most people just assume it's a sign in thing -- and I've seen many REAs tell you "Oh, just sign in" and hand you the form. It's awful - you think you're just signing in, but you're signing away some rights if you don't read it. I probably signed about 3 dozen of them before I realized it was a contract. Luckily, I didn't wind up making offers on any of those, though I didn't have my broker's license at the time, so it wouldn't have mattered much.
I do think a lot of REAs would consider sharing the commission, though. It's a slow market and if you were willing to walk away over this, the listing agent might change his or her mind. Unfortunately, you'd then actually have to be willing to walk away if it came to that.
Again, sorry if my post was harsh. I wasn't trying to put you down. 
I hope your post saves at least one person from making a mistake signing something. It's definitely good for others to know.
Message edited 7/26/2007 6:14:07 PM.
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| Posted 7/26/07 6:12 PM |
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greenfreak
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Member since 9/06 11483 total posts
Name:
greenfreak
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Re: Real Estate Agent ethical question for you...
Thanks Kara 
There really was no disclaimer on that sheet, I would have read it. Hell, I even faxed my sales agreement to my lawyer to make sure it's legit. 
We should make a helpful thread. Like "steps to take when buying a house". Or maybe it already exists and should be stickied. I think it would really help other people avoid my difficulty here. 
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| Posted 7/26/07 10:13 PM |
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VickiC
Rocking the party
Member since 5/05 4937 total posts
Name:
Vicki
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Re: Real Estate Agent ethical question for you...
Posted by greenfreak
Posted by Kara
Why do people sign things without reading them and fully understanding what they mean? I have been to abot 100 open houses and I bet you the form you signed stated that you either disclosed the buyer's agent then or would purchase the home through the listing agent.
Why are you assuming something that says "sign-in sheet" is a binding agreement? And it had NO legalese on it whatsoever or disclaimers. It had a grid of blank columns and rows with titles at the top and the agent's names. That's it.
I have to say that before we had an agent, we went to open houses and signed that same blank sheet. All of the sheets we signed in with never even asked if we had an agent. Just asked for name, number and email address.
When we went to open houses after we had an agent, our realtor called ahead and said we were coming, so we didn't sign the sheet.
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| Posted 7/26/07 11:19 PM |
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Kara
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Member since 3/07 13217 total posts
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They call me "Tater Salad"
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Re: Real Estate Agent ethical question for you...
Posted by greenfreak
We should make a helpful thread. Like "steps to take when buying a house". Or maybe it already exists and should be stickied. I think it would really help other people avoid my difficulty here.
That's a great idea!
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| Posted 7/27/07 8:18 AM |
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pugmama
April already?
Member since 3/06 5297 total posts
Name:
Erica
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Re: Real Estate Agent ethical question for you...
I have been to tons of open houses and are currently looking for our 2nd home..and I never knew that sign in sheet was some sort of binding agreement. I dont even recall seeing ones with a statement on them.
Thanks for this post, now I know.
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| Posted 7/27/07 11:42 AM |
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Kara
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Member since 3/07 13217 total posts
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They call me "Tater Salad"
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Re: Real Estate Agent ethical question for you...
Posted by VickiC
Posted by greenfreak
Posted by Kara
Why do people sign things without reading them and fully understanding what they mean? I have been to abot 100 open houses and I bet you the form you signed stated that you either disclosed the buyer's agent then or would purchase the home through the listing agent.
Why are you assuming something that says "sign-in sheet" is a binding agreement? And it had NO legalese on it whatsoever or disclaimers. It had a grid of blank columns and rows with titles at the top and the agent's names. That's it.
I have to say that before we had an agent, we went to open houses and signed that same blank sheet. All of the sheets we signed in with never even asked if we had an agent. Just asked for name, number and email address.
When we went to open houses after we had an agent, our realtor called ahead and said we were coming, so we didn't sign the sheet.
Not all of the realtors will ask you to sign the sheet disclosing a buyer's agent at the open house. I'd say about half of them do -- or, at least about half of the ones I've been to did. Others just had a regular sign in sheet that didn't ask anything about that.
However, if you do have a buyer's agent, it's best to be upfront about that at the open house. If you don't have one, just say your attorney advised you not to sign in as someone else suggested.
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| Posted 7/27/07 11:47 AM |
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Re: Real Estate Agent ethical question for you...
OK- but the sellers agent usually tells you when you put in an offer that they are representing the seller and makes you sign something agreeing to that. So you are saying that if you didn't have one at the open house you are not entitled to have anyone representing you. That doesn't seem ethical either.
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| Posted 7/27/07 1:10 PM |
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Kara
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Member since 3/07 13217 total posts
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They call me "Tater Salad"
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Re: Real Estate Agent ethical question for you...
Posted by architectnycity
OK- but the sellers agent usually tells you when you put in an offer that they are representing the seller and makes you sign something agreeing to that. So you are saying that if you didn't have one at the open house you are not entitled to have anyone representing you. That doesn't seem ethical either.
NO! I didn't say that at all.
I said some make you sign a sheet stating that you are disclosing your buyer's agent or, if you don't disclose one, you'll purchase through the seller's agent only.
I didn't say that if you didn't sign it you still had to do that. I just said only about half the open houses I've been asked us to sign the form. If there's no form, you didn't agree to anything just by going to an open house and writing your name.
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| Posted 7/27/07 1:13 PM |
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SweetTooth
I'm a tired mommy!
Member since 12/05 20105 total posts
Name:
Lauren
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Re: Real Estate Agent ethical question for you...
Posted by greenfreak
Thanks Kara
There really was no disclaimer on that sheet, I would have read it. Hell, I even faxed my sales agreement to my lawyer to make sure it's legit.
We should make a helpful thread. Like "steps to take when buying a house". Or maybe it already exists and should be stickied. I think it would really help other people avoid my difficulty here.
Tricia, it sounds to me like you singed just a sign-in sheet, not an agency disclosure, which is what Kara is referring to.
Technically, if the agent was answering questions about the house and all that stuff, he should have had you sign one, and you would have gotten a carbon copy to take with you.
Legally, there is nothing the listing agent can do if you want to make an offer through your agent, but ethically, its not the right thing to do, and I can understand why the listing agent is annoyed. But he can't refuse to work with your agent or to present your offer because that would be agains the rules, and you could bring him up on charges.
Anyway, now you know for next time!! If you go to an open house, just bring your agent's card and tell the listing agent you already have an agent.
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| Posted 7/27/07 1:32 PM |
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luckyinlove
I love my baby girls!
Member since 12/06 2441 total posts
Name:
Lauren
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Re: Real Estate Agent ethical question for you...
I definitely agree with some people here that it is kind of messed up to bring another agent into the process when one agent already showed you the house-- open house or not, he did his job. My sister was in a similar situation to yours when she was house hunting and lost a house for bringing a buyers agent into the mix after going to an open house. Her agent and the sellers agent actually almost got into a fist fight over it! She realized that she was wrong and did not do this again. I would either move on and find another house with your agent friend, or put in an offer with the sellers agent. Good Luck!
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| Posted 7/27/07 2:23 PM |
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greenfreak
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Member since 9/06 11483 total posts
Name:
greenfreak
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Re: Real Estate Agent ethical question for you...
Posted by luckyinlove
I would either move on and find another house with your agent friend, or put in an offer with the sellers agent. Good Luck!
Too late. They already accepted our offer (sans RE agent) and the inspection is Monday. 
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| Posted 7/27/07 6:49 PM |
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Kara
Now Zagat Rated!
Member since 3/07 13217 total posts
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They call me "Tater Salad"
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Re: Real Estate Agent ethical question for you...
Posted by greenfreak
Posted by luckyinlove
I would either move on and find another house with your agent friend, or put in an offer with the sellers agent. Good Luck!
Too late. They already accepted our offer (sans RE agent) and the inspection is Monday.
GOOD LUCK!!
Our inspection is tomorrow!
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| Posted 7/27/07 8:28 PM |
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