Question:
Showed a house to a buyer client and her husband. They were squabbling a bit back and forth on price and the wife went outside and told me to have a talk with the husband. I went outside after and found my client fully in conversation with the seller, who she saw on the land and realised was an acquaintance of hers. I told the selling REALTOR® right away.
There were 3 offers on the property an hour later. Mine, the selling realtor’s, and one other REALTOR®. We submitted an offer but I gave the selling REALTOR® notice that my clients could come up in price to match almost any price written. I know that the REALTOR® has no obligation to mention that for me, but believe that he should mention it to the seller because that would be in his seller’s best interest.
My client asked me multiple times if I told the REALTOR® that we were willing to pay more. I assured her, yes, absolutely.
The selling REALTOR® sent me a text saying that the sellers chose another offer. I asked if he had mentioned that we were willing to come up in price and he ignored it.
My buyer has now informed me that she had a full conversation with the seller and that the offer that was chosen was that of the selling realtor. The seller was not told we would come up in price, and was actually pushed towards the other offer because “it had minimal conditions” (but the same conditions as ours).
The seller was not told she had the option of countering anyone or anything else, she was simply given the offers and told “pick one”. I told my buyer that this is between her and the seller now and that I cannot comment on it, because I can’t have anything to do with her conversation with another realtor’s client.
From the sounds of it, the seller and my buyer are both very angry. Obviously, I am extremely frustrated, too, but I almost…don’t have a right to be? Because I shouldn’t have even been told this information. But I believe that dual agency in multiple offers is what is responsible for this.
Answer:
The Seller has rights. If they were duped and the agent acted in the best interest of their own Buyer and not the Seller, then the Seller can take steps to vitiate the contract.
The Seller would need to contact their own lawyer to initiate the appropriate steps right away. That will “end” the deal.
The real estate agent acting on behalf of the Seller breached their fiduciary duties to the Seller and tricked them through deceitful misrepresentation.
However, this entire matter is strictly up to the Seller and the Seller alone. No one else can initiate steps to bring the contract to an end.
Brian Madigan LL. B., Broker