Could the listing realtor be dishonest?

Well........first off I do know that the bank looks at whatever offer they receive first in the order they receive them. On foreclosed homes banks tend to take their sweet time on these offers they receive too. I'm not sure it was a wise move to make the deadline so short. That deadline could have come and gone before they even had a chance to look over y'alls offer. Perhaps y'all should try to locate some foreclosed homes on your own and go straight to the listing agent instead........make sure your current agent knows this in advance in case you are under contract with him/her. I hope this advice helps.

This is something that happens sometimes. There are certainly dishonest agents out there, but I like to think people are inherently honest.

But sometimes there is a cash offer (that just means there's no loan contingency in the contract) and a bank will usually take that because it's sure and it's now. They want to unload those foreclosures asap.

I don't know how a listing agent could present a contract without knowing the offering price. He is required by law to present every purchase offer no matter what the amount is or how ridiculous the terms may be. The seller has the right to accept of decline any contract, and they don't have to respond with a declination or counteroffer if they don't want to do that. So since your time line has passed, you can figure that your offer was not accepted. If you get an acceptance later, you have the option of taking it or not, since the time line wasn't observed.

Does your agent think the listing agent is trying to screw you? Your agent won't get paid unless you get the house, so he has a vested interest to make sure things are on the up and up. When I was a real estate agent, we all knew who was shady and who was honest and who was lazy.

Since this is the third occurrence, you might want to consider the offers you're making. Maybe they're too low or you're asking for too many concessions.

1. You don't know what the other offer is. So you DON'T KNOW if you had the highest offer or not...and the bank DOES NOT have to tell you and the listing agent can't b/c they are representing the seller.

2. Any seller will take a cash offer before they will take one that requires financing approval.

3. You don't what the listing agent is telling who...you are just letting your imagination run away with you and making assumptions that have 100% NO basis.

4. The listing agent isn't being dishonest...what you are not 'getting' is that their entire job is to make sure they get the highest offer possible.

5. Get a new Realtor for yourself...obviously you are dealing with one that has no experience with foreclosures and isn't explaining the process to you or you wouldn't have these kinds of questions...especially after 3 attempts to purchase.

6. ALL LISTING AGENTS know what EVERY offer is from a BUYER...it is THEIR JOB to advise their clients on the pro's and con's of each offer.

That is how the game works.

I’m upset with your buyer’s agent right now because they’re clearly not explaining this process to you. If I were you, I’d call up my buyer’s agent and see what responses they have to your concerns because right now it sounds like you’ve been either given bad info or none at all.

The listing agent was trying to be fair. He was saying “Hey, this guy came in with fewer contingencies than your client and I’d like to offer you the chance to amend your offer.” That’s a matter of courtesy, and is common in multiple offer situations. The bank would much rather have a cash offer than one contingent on financing. The bank wants to be rid of the house ASAP. Someone paying cash can close faster, and the bank won’t run the risk of having a financing issue with you at the last min. (I’m not saying anything about your personal finances, just that the other guy is more of a sure sale than you.)

How is it wrong for the listing agent to know the amount of your offer? I don’t understand this at all. He needs this info to present your offer to the bank. In some states, with the seller’s consent, a listing agent can disclose the amount of one offer to another buyer’s agent is said agent asks for info. What’s wrong with that? If you really want the house, it offers you, the buyer, the chance to one up the other offer. I don’t see any legal or ethical issues as long as the seller is ok with this.

Did your agent really tell you it was reasonable for a bank to respond in less than a day? That’s just plain wrong. It’s not just one person who can give the yes or no to your offer. It goes through a whole slew of people and normally it takes several business days to get a response.

The listing agent IS NOT representing the other buyer. He’s only submitting an offer on that buyer’s behalf. The listing agent represents only his seller, and he has no due loyalty to the other buyer.

The real question is, if these types of issues really bother you, why are you looking at foreclosed properties? Perhaps, you should open yourself up to see everything on the market in your price range, not just the bank owned ones.

Unless you have the world’s stupidest buyer’s agent, your offer is CONTINGENT on financing. That means if you can’t get the loan, you’re off the hook for the sale. That’s good for you, but not for the bank trying to sell it. That IS a contingency that a cash buyer won’t have.

It is possible that the listing real estate agent is playing games, but you have no choice but to submit your offer through that agent, since the lender/bank won't accept it directly. You can only hope that the agent is ethical and is not divulging the value/terms of your offer to other interested buyers.

As far as placing deadlines for response to banks, forget it. They review the offers when it gets in the hands of the person handling the offer, and those folks are overloaded right now with many other properties they are handling. Placing a deadline only means that your offer is no longer valid if YOU choose to reject the bank's acceptance. That alone might tend to make your offer less attractive, since the bank will only waste time accepting your offer, with the potential that you might reject their acceptance due to your short deadline.

You can only try to make your offers as attractive as possible and hope for the best. DO remember that only one offer will be accepted. As well, don't assume that offering a value over list price makes yours the best offer. It is entirely possible that the property is grossly underpriced, and that others have offered considerably more than you did.