Dear Urban Diplomat: how do we deal with a sneaky real estate agent?
Dear Urban Diplomat,
We just sold our semi, and our agent pulled a sneaky move. We got two bids, one higher by about $40,000. Then he lied to the leading bidder, saying the two bids were very similar, and asked if they’d go higher. They did, by $6,000, and got the house. Our agent was proud of himself, and I was ecstatic—that’s a vacation for the family—but my wife was horrified. She wants to refund the extra. Should we?
—Over Asking and Then Some, High Park
Money comes and money goes, but guilt lingers. Give back the money so your wife can sleep at night, and do it fast. If the deal hasn’t closed yet, you can tweak the Agreement of Purchase and Sale to knock off that six grand, so you don’t pay extra tax and commission. If your agent kicks up a fuss, remind him that realtors “have an obligation to act with fairness, honesty and integrity,” according to the Real Estate Council of Ontario’s code of ethics, and that you could report his transgression. Since you approved of his trick, you probably shouldn’t snitch, but making him sweat a little might help him rethink his ways. It might also karmically benefit you when it’s your turn to buy.
Send your questions to the Urban Diplomat at urbandiplomat@torontolife.com
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Dear Urban Diplomat,
We just sold our semi, and our agent pulled a sneaky move. We got two bids, one higher by about $40,000. Then he lied to the leading bidder, saying the two bids were very similar, and asked if they’d go higher. They did, by $6,000, and got the house. Our agent was proud of himself, and I was ecstatic—that’s a vacation for the family—but my wife was horrified. She wants to refund the extra. Should we?
—Over Asking and Then Some, High Park
Money comes and money goes, but guilt lingers. Give back the money so your wife can sleep at night, and do it fast. If the deal hasn’t closed yet, you can tweak the Agreement of Purchase and Sale to knock off that six grand, so you don’t pay extra tax and commission. If your agent kicks up a fuss, remind him that realtors “have an obligation to act with fairness, honesty and integrity,” according to the Real Estate Council of Ontario’s code of ethics, and that you could report his transgression. Since you approved of his trick, you probably shouldn’t snitch, but making him sweat a little might help him rethink his ways. It might also karmically benefit you when it’s your turn to buy.
Send your questions to the Urban Diplomat at urbandiplomat@torontolife.com){kind=link}
As a REALTOR(R) who sits on our Provincial Association as well as our local Real Estate Board Professional Standards Committee as well as Investigative and Hearings I feel the seller should bring this complaint to the Regulator and have them investigate this. The agent from what is stated was unethical and breached one of the CREA articles by his/her actions and this is unacceptable and unless this is brought forward, the registrant will continue to behave in such fashion. I do not feel that the seller should fear any repercussions that may be directed to them unless they instructed the agent to lie. If they had, the agent should not participate in an unlawful act which is fraudulent misrepresentation.
A shady realtor!? Well gee golly now I’ve heard just about everything
To disclose any details of the offer(s) – true of false, is a breach of Code of Ethics. The fact that the Sellers benefitted would not impress anyone. If the Sellers lost their deals because of the spin to push the price, they would not have to worry now would they and they would be screaming for another agent and filing that complaint immediately. Similar – Price? Date? Number of pages? We do not know what the Buyer heard do we?
You should really ask a person who is a lawyer who can give you legal advice, not a person who is a Toronto Life columnist who can google RECO’s code of ethics.
I’m so proud of myself. As a layman I have never really given much thought to Realtors and their ethics. When I was about 25 (many years ago), I had inquired with a realtor about the home he advertized for sale. He immediately showed me that he already had an offer — he handed me the signed document and he suggested that I should offer a higher price. I must have looked at him like he had two heads because he immediately walked away. At the time I didn’t really know why I was repulsed by his actions, but now I know what he was doing wrong… as Richard Forster succinctly put it, “To disclose any details of the offer(s) – true of false, is a breach of Code of Ethics.” … but something tells me this is common practice. The professional association needs to try a little harder, it seems. Maybe put a few “secret shoppers” out there. No need to destroy anybody’s careers… but how about a $25,000 fine?
Oh please. You benefited and now you’re gonna whine that your wife is upset. I’m surprised that you and your wife have such low opinions of yourselves that you have to turn to Toronto Life for an answer.
I’m wondering who you write to when a non-vegan raccoon craps on your deck
should we assume this is the entire story? or is this just another journalist trying to get sound bytes off to sell news? were the offers similar? they could have been. was the other bidder his client? If not, then he didn’t say anything to the bidder because that bidder had his own agent…..let s get the entire story.
Effective July 1, 2015 copies of all written offers including those not accepted in a multiple offer situation must be handed in to the listing Brokerage according to changes on Bill 55. This is to create more transparency for the benefit of buyers, during multiple offer negotiations. http://www.reco.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/Bill-55-Fact-Sheet.pdf
http://www.dealdocket.com celebrate transparency in the Toronto Real Estate market
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