NSW Real Estate Agent is not working in my best interest

[sally657]

Hi, I'm just after some advice if possible. We put our house on the market with an agent & the second person to view the property made a full price offer. He had no finance approved, so we didn't take it seriously. A week later the agent said he would send the sales advice to the Conveyancer, still no finance approved.
while this was going on nobody else came through our property, which was strange! 2 weeks later he got approval & did inspections, al good so we thought.
Then last weekend a lady came to my door & asked if the house was sold, I said yes. She then said she had been trying to view my house from the moment it went on the market & was ignored by the agents initially & then told it was sold, not true. She showed me emails she had sent to agent asking to view, agents reply was it's sold sorry.
I told this agent I wanted them to continue to show my property until it exchanged, this obvioulsy did not happen. This lady said she would have paid more & had finance approved from the start. She feels robbed & so do I, surely this is something I can fight? I want my contract with this agent torn up & be able to sell to this poor lady privately.
I would really appreciate any advice.
Thanks very much, Therese

 

[Hmm2000]

You must be psychic Therese! Recently in that situation as a buyer, but I didn't have the guts to go to someone's door and ask (in case I cause offense or scare someone - if they live alone, they may not be comfortable with someone just rocking up!)

I'm not a lawyer, but I suspect that given contracts were exchanged, unless something happens like the buyer pulls out, etc, it's a done deal. All you can probably do is leave a google review to let others know to be careful with that RE group (if that!)...

I'll be curious as to what guidance/ advice the qualified and experienced people on this awesome forum gives you.

All the best!

 

[sally657]

Thank you for your reply 7 sorry to hear you went through this as a buyer!
Only thing is contracts have not exchanged, I contacted my Conveyancer immediately & told her not to exchange!
I also rang the Dept Fair Trading who told me the agent is very much in the wrong & I would be within my rights to end my 3 month contract with them.
On what planet do they think they have the right to take an offer from a guy with no finance & then ignore every other person who calls to make an appointment to view my house?
The way I see it is that they have taken money from me because this other lady would pay more & did have finance approved.
I am going to have a very interesting chat with this unethical agent.
Thank you & I hope I get some more replies about this.

 

[sally657]

Also yes the lady did have some guts just rocking up to my door, but I am so glad she did.
How else would I have know what this agent gets up to?
Angry I am!!

 

[Hmm2000]

Hey Therese - I hear you! It's also frustrating from the buying perspective because I wondered what was going on?!! (apparently RE agents holding off potential buyers for someone they favour is not uncommon). And I didn't want to get anyone offside (I don't pick up social cues well and have previously relied on colleagues and friends to help me to make sure I'm not overstepping an invisible mark).

Ok, it sounds like there is no contract exchanged, in which case my limited understanding is they can't force you to do anything?!! (as told by someone on another forum - happy to be corrected if anyone on this forum knows better!!).

Alternatively, if the agent/ buyer are still trying to press ahead after you've expressed your concerns and there is no contract - well, it may be worthwhile to get an experienced lawyer/ solicitor who works in this space ASAP? (You may want to have a look at the lawyers who share their knowledge on this forum/ relevant threads as a start - they are fantastic!)

Keep us updated if you don't mind - I think there are lessons worth knowing for newbies like me. At least now I might try - well, not knock on someone's door, but maybe send a one-time letter via AusPost to alert them of my interest and attempt to put in an offer if I really, really love the place and I am getting ignored for no reason by the RE agent!

Thanks for your perspective. Hope it all goes well and you can get the price you are after and the lady can buy the place!!

 

[sally657]

Hi Hmm2000,
Thanks so much for your reply.
I am sorry that you had to endure this from an agent also, they have no right to favour one buyer over another!
They are obligated to show house until contracts exchange, in my case as I said the buyer did not get finance approved for 3 weeks & in that time the agent did not show any further buyers through, we just though people must hate our house!?
Anyway my plan is to tell the agent to tear their agency agreement up & go with this lady.
They need to know this behaviour is illegal so Dept Fair Trading told me & I won't stand for it!!
Good luck finding a house & hope you can deal with some decent agents, they are out there.

 

[Hmm2000]

Hey Therese

Hopefully everyone can be sensible and just move on given the lady is offering more price-wise, which is what vendor and agent should be aiming for!

Thanks for your well wishes! All the best!