Real Estate Agent Pressure

mrsdawnrazor

mrsdawnrazor

Just had a bad experience with a real estate agent.QLD

Scenario - 3 houses viewed 899k, 799k, all offers presented

Spoke to real estate agent on 'all offers presented' to get an idea of ball park. Mentioned 650 verbally and he spoke ot vendor and came back with 670 - I said OK I'll go to contract.

Spoke to real estate agent 2 and said not interested in 1st 2 properties as too expensive. Was interested in 799k but too much (twice size of 'open to offers' property with much nicer house.) He rings back and says how does 700k sound - vendor keen to sell.

Sounds interesting says I so ring agent 1 and say on reflection not interested. Agent 1 tells me I have a verbal contract under contract law and the vendor could pursue me through the court

Ring trading standards to be told this is bollocks but decide to pull out of all deals as today has got too hard and I feel massively pressured.

Pissed off as I think I have let a good deal go but will sleep easier having walked away.
 
He sounds desperate for a sale and considers threats will scare you into following thru.

Have good sleep and in the light of day.......reconsider if you wish to pursue the deal.

If it was that good and has sold...............next.
 
mrsdawnrazor said:
Just had a bad experience with a real estate agent.QLD

Scenario - 3 houses viewed 899k, 799k, all offers presented

Spoke to real estate agent on 'all offers presented' to get an idea of ball park. Mentioned 650 verbally and he spoke ot vendor and came back with 670 - I said OK I'll go to contract.

Spoke to real estate agent 2 and said not interested in 1st 2 properties as too expensive. Was interested in 799k but too much (twice size of 'open to offers' property with much nicer house.) He rings back and says how does 700k sound - vendor keen to sell.

Sounds interesting says I so ring agent 1 and say on reflection not interested. Agent 1 tells me I have a verbal contract under contract law and the vendor could pursue me through the court

Ring trading standards to be told this is bollocks but decide to pull out of all deals as today has got too hard and I feel massively pressured.

Pissed off as I think I have let a good deal go but will sleep easier having walked away.
Click to expand...

Ignore the agent's games and focus on the deal.

You still want it? Buy it.
 
As far as I have been told many times in the past (including by a solicitor), verbal contracts in Queensland are not binding. Until a contract is signed by both parties, you don't actually have a contract.
 
mrsdawnrazor said:
Agent 1 tells me I have a verbal contract under contract law and the vendor could pursue me through the court
Click to expand...

That statement from the agent is absolute rubbish!!! All contracts for the sale/purchase of land or house/land must, by law, be in writing.

Personally, I would find another agent to deal with - one who had more ethics and much less aggressive tactics.

Cheers
LynnH
 
Thanks for the comments. Its funny when you know someone is ********ting you but it still makes your stomach churn.

Also forgot to add that Agent 1 bad mouthed Agent 2 - telling me he was dodgy and had a bad reputation.

Both of these properties have been on the market a while and there is a lot of pressure to close the deal. Funny tho - I have told agent 2 that I am backing off - he was cool - Agent 1 not answering his phone. Also when I talked to him earlier he wanted a fax to confirm I was withdrawing my offer. I am not sending one as I havent officially made an offer as far as I am concerned.

I refused sign a contract on the first house that I tried to buy in Aus because the real estate agent wouldnt let me take the contract to my solicitor first. Only been in the country 2 weeks and didnt know how the law worked so wanted to be sure. We would have signed if she had given us 24 hours to talk to our solicitor. Becuase she didnt we went elswehere.
 
NedKelly said:
I agree. I would phone him to check his license number and tell him you will be reporting him to the REIQ.
Click to expand...

REIQ are toothless tigers..they wont do a damm thing. its like making a complaint to coppers about an assault by a copper, swept under the carpet real quick..........

Find out if the agent has asole contract, if not do a private deal with the seller and tell the agent to take a jump......

He doesnt deserve one cent if that is how he acts..unprofessional as!

You should contact the Fair Trading govt dept if you want anything serious done and also get a letter drawn up from your solicitor and have it sent to him.....at least he will then know to pull his head in a bit...

that sort of caper now days is bad and he should not hold an agents licence....
 
Agree with Ausprop and Ned Kelly. Report to REIQ (assuming prop is in Qld).

His pressure and intimidation may also be due to him about to lose exclusivity of listing as you mention that these properties have been on for a while.

However, this is no excuse for his manner and bad mouthing others/colleagues just shows the calibre of person you are dealing with.

Assuming you are still keen on the property, if the person selling (vendor) is an owner occupier and living in the home for sale, then knock on their door and relay the situation....I'm sure they would appreciate knowing how his tactics and rapport (not) have thwarted your pursuing this deal.

If not, think about finding their details from rpdata or pds.

Other option is to deal with someone else from the agency, assuming you are still keen to pursue the property.

Do not let anyone force you to sign without your slocitor checking the contract note and selling documents, titles, etc. Some rea's will create a sense of urgency. The property and deal of a lifetime comes along once a week....next. And whilst on the legal theme, I'm assuming you have a decent property savvy solicitor in the area in which you wish to purchase.

Keep researching and asking questions. Transacting in realestate is a relationship business. Be fair....be firm.....be nice. But always stand your ground

Good Luck MrsDZ
 
MrsDR, you are legally correct, but having been on the other side of such a transaction, I understand the agent's frustration. I know that real estate contracts have to be written, but that doesn't mean that one should make verbal commitments carelessly.

I'm not saying you should be obliged to purchase a property that you've decided you don't want, obviously, and I don't mean to sound too harsh, as I understand that these things happen. I just don't think it's as clear cut as most posters are making out; I do think the agent has a right to be annoyed. (Though not to make baseless threats; I'm with you all on that front.) If the agent had made a verbal commitment of some sort to a prospective purchaser, I'm sure we'd be baying for blood if he wanted to go back on it.

That being the case, we should be as good as our word, too.
 
I absolutely understand that he will be annoyed and this is not something I would do on a regular basis, which is why I phoned him straight away to let him know I had changed my mind. I could have signed the contract and pulled out in the cooling off period which would have been really nasty but I didn't want to do that and I was trying to keep him informed. The sour taste in the mouth is the threats. he is still insisting on a written withdrawal of offer as he has another offer apparently which he cant present whilst mine is on the table. This again is crap as I have been in multiple offer situations before and this has never been the case. I am loathed to put anything in writing to him as I dont know what he will do with it. Just dont trust him I am afraid.
 
NedKelly said:
I agree. I would phone him to check his license number and tell him you will be reporting him to the REIQ.
Click to expand...

In WA we have the government regulatory authority of REBA who are anything but a toothless tiger (as opposed to the industy body REIWA). what is the equivalent in Qld?
 
mrsdawnrazor said:
I absolutely understand that he will be annoyed and this is not something I would do on a regular basis, which is why I phoned him straight away to let him know I had changed my mind. I could have signed the contract and pulled out in the cooling off period which would have been really nasty but I didn't want to do that and I was trying to keep him informed. The sour taste in the mouth is the threats. he is still insisting on a written withdrawal of offer as he has another offer apparently which he cant present whilst mine is on the table. This again is crap as I have been in multiple offer situations before and this has never been the case. I am loathed to put anything in writing to him as I dont know what he will do with it. Just dont trust him I am afraid.
Click to expand...

Don't put anything in writing! Can you give us a web link to the property?
 
mrsdawnrazor said:
Agent 1 tells me I have a verbal contract under contract law and the vendor could pursue me through the court
Click to expand...
This sort of REA behaviour is what keeps Buyers Agents in a job. :D Fortunately not all REAs are like this and this is minority behaviour - but it does leave a bad taste in the mouth I agree.

mrsdawnrazor said:
but decide to pull out of all deals as today has got too hard and I feel massively pressured. Pissed off as I think I have let a good deal go but will sleep easier having walked away.
Click to expand...
Now this is self-defeating behaviour from you too.:p You got a better deal but because of the emotional upset from an REA you picked up your bat & ball and went home? Come on. Get over the bad behaviour and threats from the bad REA. Don't sign anything as the others have said regarding withdrawing your offer - verbal withdrawal is fine. Go back to the nice REA and get yourself a bargain and as Player says if its sold, move on to the next one.
You really need to keep the end goal in front of mind. There will be threatening REA's to deal with. You will sometimes get outbid at auction. One of your IPs may get termites in it. Occassionally a tenant will not pay the rent or trash the place. The banks may not give you finance when you want it..........just DEAL with it and move your strategy on through.
You just need to minimise the risk in all these situations:
Know where you stand legally when making verbal offers. (This is where you came a bit unstuck last time and it unsettled you. OK - so now you know for next time and can negotiate from a position of strength).
Get pest inspections on your IPs
Be prepared to be outbid at auction if your DD tells you they are paying too much
Buy landlords insurance
Hire a good PM to manage your porperties
Get a good MB to get you finace etc
and lastly if you find you are the type that can't deal with pressure tactics from REAs, then consider using a local BA perhaps?
At the end of the day YOU need to be the one applying pressure to vendors and their agents to get yourself a good deal - not the other way around.;)

All the best with the purchase.
 
Verbal contracts arent worth the paper they're written on.

We just went through a stressfull "bidding war" attempting to buy our PPOR over this weekend... here's the story
- saw property during the week. Liked it, and made an offer on thursday with contract at $486K. We considered this a really good price
- Vendors (developers) decided to wait to see what would happen over the weekend before accepting our offer.
- on saturday, another buyer made an offer with contract at $488K
- on saturday afternoon, our agent had EMAIL agreement from the vendors that if we submitted an offer of $490K on sunday morning, they would exchange on it.
- sunday afternoon, the other buyers submitted $491K.... and vendors put the ball back in our court to beat that offer
- a couple more to and fros... and we eventually secured for $497K (we considered under $500K to be fair price). Nothing else of this quality in the area, so was worth it.


Moral of the story - the deal aint done until the contract is exchanged. END OF STORY.
 
Latest email from him

Dear Mrs Dawnrazor


As you had made the verbal agreement on the Seller's Counter Offer of
$670,000 based on a deposit of $10,000 and subject to a 21 day Finance
Approval and 21 day Building and Pest Inspection Approval and 45 days
from the Contract Date for Settlement, I require you to withdraw your
abovementioned offer in writing. ( email is fine).

I will notify the Seller immediately of your decision.


All the details above are the details that I gave him for the contract which I have not signed
 
Why don't you ask him to provide regulatory proof that a withdrawn verbal offer needs to be in writing. Sounds like typical agent BS.

If he does provide proof, you give him the withdrawal in writing. If not, end of story. Seeya.

He is the one that wants you to take action so always try to put the onus on the other party to provide evidence that you have to in this case.

By the way, he is showing how disappointed he is that you have withdrawn your offer. This is a revealing sign and if he was a decent agent (if that's possible) he wouldn't act like that for obvious reasons.

What i would do is withdraw my offer (verbally or in writing) and if you still want the place come back with a lower offer in a weeks time.

Take note of his reaction. Tell him you are at the limit of your finance and if he wants a big fat commission cheque he better go into bat for you with the vendor. Otherwise forget the whole thing.
 
mrsdawnrazor said:
Latest email from him

Dear Mrs Dawnrazor


As you had made the verbal agreement on the Seller's Counter Offer of
$670,000 based on a deposit of $10,000 and subject to a 21 day Finance
Approval and 21 day Building and Pest Inspection Approval and 45 days
from the Contract Date for Settlement, I require you to withdraw your
abovementioned offer in writing. ( email is fine).

I will notify the Seller immediately of your decision.


All the details above are the details that I gave him for the contract which I have not signed
Click to expand...

Email him back and say you made no offer just a general enquiry and that you don't like his threatening behaviour and that you have sought legal advice and you are currently in the process of reporting the matter to the
QLD real estate institute and Fair Trading.
 
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