Cffer made to non listing agent prior to listing .....

We were looking at properties last week and two different agents mentioned a property coming on the market .

Subsequently ( without specifically saying they had the listing ) one indicated there was an opportunity to buy prior to listing so the vendor could avoid marketing costs.

This morning we made an offer but this evening received a reply email saying that he didn't have the listing , but was working with the listing agent .... who is the other agent who mentioned the property to us .

I've sent an email to both of the agents explaining the situation as we don't want to find we're in the middle of a legal dispute when the listing agent found out that the buyers were people he had mentioned the property .

Legally I don't think the non listing agent would have a claim on any fee but I assume the outcome will depend on the relationship between the agents .

That's assuming we get it ....

Any thoughts

Cliff

 

Did the listing agent show you the property via open house or private inspection ?

 

Solution (conjunction agreement between the agents). Obviously price must be agreeable to the vendor.

 

No one has showed us the property at this stage . Our offer is subject to inspection.

Scott , while conjunction agreement is a solution , the reality is that both agents told us about the property before they had signed up to sell it and the listing agent told us about it before we made an offer through the non listing agent

The agent who we made the offer through , implied that he had the listing . If we had known he didn't have the listing , we wouldn't have made the offer and would have waited until the property came on market .

I think it is borderline unethical for the agent who missed out on the listing to imply that he had it and to solicit an offer ( which he did ) when he didn't have the listing .

The owner had decided which agent to go with and the non listing agent is seeking to do the listing agent out of some of his income .

i have no problems with going directly through the listing agent . My concern is that if there is another prospective buyer ,and we are going through a conjoint agent ( sothe listing agent gets less money ) the listing agent may give an alternative buyer preferential treatment , eg letting them know our bids so they can match or beat an offer . IF they " forget "to return our correspondence etc we may miss out .

What i don't want to find is that we go through the listing agent , and then the non listing agent tries to imply we had a contract with him to represent us in any dealings and therefore is entitled to money . Given that the agent is representing the vendor and they're the one who sign the contrac and pay the agent , I don't think this can be implied , but I'm not a lawyer ( and i don't really want to pay for one )

at this stage I've made both agents aware of the situation and they are going to talk this morning .

Cliff

 

Who has the selling agreement. as simple as that. You are not in a contract with anyone, assuming you havent signed anything yet. An agent cannot lawfully sell a property without an agreement in place. Is the seller willing to lose a buyer would be more of a question to ask.

 

Rang and talked to the state REA association and they said deal with the listing agent and did we want to make a complaint against the other agent ....

He was just over enthusiastic , so happy not to .

Agents talked to each other and non listing agent no longer involved . Wouldn't have minded over hearing that conversation....

Offer now made through listing agent . Will see what happens

Cliff