I yesterday signed the contract after my offer was excepted on friday i quickly organised a building inspection for first thing Saturday morning. It all came up clear so i got my .25%deposit and signed my half of the contract. The owner was unable to sign her half as she had a family emergency. Yesterday afternoon my agent called me and told me he had to submit another offer as it had been made and that is the law. What rights do i have, i thought the house was mine.
Please can anyone give me any advice?Sounds fishy to me. I’m willing to bet the next phone call you get from your real estate agent is that you will need to increase your offer to get the vendor to sign.
You will need to decide if you think this place is worth it. Here in Queensland (and I’m sure this is much the same in other states), you can sign a contract subject to building inspection, finance, and any other clause you wish. I would never invest money in inspections until both parties have signed the contract.
Can’t help you with legal side of things, perhaps a legal person on this forum can help.
If you lose the contract, chalk it up to experience. Always consult your solicitor before signing contracts unless you are confident of all of your rights and obligations.
Gary Young
Home Loan Connexion
Mobile 0407 64 66 32
Fax +61 7 4636 4841We have all been bitten by real estate agents tactics, especially in this fast property market. I agree with Home Guy Loan, I think the Agent will come back with “please increase your offer if you really want to secure this property” routine.
Personally I always try and avoid what I call “Contract Auctioning”. It is an indicator of the market we are in.
My advice………..put your hurry in your pocket and wait and see what happens. These things always come on a weekend just to make sure you have enough to worry about when you wake up on Sunday morning. Walk away if you feel uncomfortable. There is always another property.
Cheers
CaddyLegally, this is actually quite complicated.
You don’t need to submit another offer because you have submitted a valid offer which has not been communicated to the vendor effectively (in writing)
The reason why the agent wants another offer may be because legally, in Queensland at least, he must submit the offer within a set period of time (24 hours) and he has failed to do that for whatever reason. THAT IS HIS NEGLIGENCE AND BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY AS THE SELLERS AGENT (WHY NOT FAX OFFER?)OR AT LEAST GET ORAL ACCEPTANCE.
You have placed a deposit. Don’t accept this deposit back. Tell the agent that he must present the offer or you shall report him to the Real estate institute for his negligence.
You may have to make a fresh offer on fresh paperwork at the last minute, but that is mere paperwork, formality for law. Make sure there is an oral acceptance or rejection before then.
Bottom line: you have made a valid offer and they have your money. They have a duty to present
(If this gets more serious, you do need a lawyer)
She has accepted my offer verbally but becasue the agent did not get her to sign within 24 hrs (due to her having to rush to hospital as her brother was taken into emergency which i understand) now the agent has told me he is legally obliged to submit the late offer of another party which then the owner can decide to sell to me or them. Is this legal? i have a copy of my contract signed but only by myself not by the owner. Can my agent legally make an offer on behalf of someone else at this late stage?
Thank you for your advice as i cant get ahold of my solicitor till monday
Legally, this is actually quite complicated.You don’t need to submit another offer because you have submitted a valid offer which has not been communicated to the vendor effectively (in writing)
The reason why the agent wants another offer may be because legally, in Queensland at least, he must submit the offer within a set period of time (24 hours) and he has failed to do that for whatever reason. THAT IS HIS NEGLIGENCE AND BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY AS THE SELLERS AGENT (WHY NOT FAX OFFER?)OR AT LEAST GET ORAL ACCEPTANCE.
You have placed a deposit. Don’t accept this deposit back. Tell the agent that he must present the offer or you shall report him to the Real estate institute for his negligence.
You may have to make a fresh offer on fresh paperwork at the last minute, but that is mere paperwork, formality for law. Make sure there is an oral acceptance or rejection before then.
Bottom line: you have made a valid offer and they have your money. They have a duty to present
(If this gets more serious, you do need a lawyer)
[/quote]This is difficult legally.
You say you have oral acceptance, if you were buying or selling anything other than land, (with house), this would be a valid contract in itself.
This agent is acting highly unethically, but it is ambiguous as to whether its breached the law. There is conflict of law here.
On one hand, legally, your offer has lapsed (if its 24 hours)……… but then again you received oral acceptance and the contract was not presented.
If a subsequent higher offer was presented and is signed… there is still an ambiguity regarding them holding your deposit, for an offer that was accepted but not signed in uncertain circumstances.
Even when you employ a lawyer, the conclusion will be mixed because you are relying on an exception to the law regarding fraud or suspicious dealings. The lawyer will not give a conclusion because this needs substantial research.
In the mean time, you have to raise hell with the agent because, with the oral acceptance, this transaction becomes extremely dodgy on the agents part. Not just ‘ethically’ with the agents profesional conduct, but you may well have an ability to enforce this contract legally, even though they have not signed it. This needs research but, if the agent lied to you about not being able to present the offer, that may constitute a legal exception to the signiture rule.
amyscu,
My experience is NSW and my experiences are based on this state. I have completed the real estate course at the TAFE and offer these comments.
Nothing is binding until the contract has been signed by both parties. Any deposit paid by you is a sign of good faith and really means little. In fact many agents don’t bother with this deposit unless they feel the offer isn’t genuine.
The agent is legally bound to present all offers. Whilst you feel aggrieved how much worse would it be for the other purchaser or indeed the vendor if there was a higher offer that an agent didn’t communicate out of some loyalty to you? Remember he has been appointed by and will be paid by the vendor.
If there is a higher offer on the table then you will need to make a more attractive offer. This is how the market works. The property isn’t sold to you unless the vendor has signed the contract. Put yourself in the vendors shoes.
I am sorry to offer advice that may not be welcome and I sincerely hope that this works out for you.
Simon Macks
Mortgage Hunter
[email protected]
0425 228 985If for example, the agent said that, the oral offer was accepted and the vendor “is intending to sign”, then you would have a stronger case.
There is actually a precedent on this point.
Unfortunatly, even if you do have a valid legal point (you may), as Mortgage Hunter portrays, the reality for real estate agents is that acting legally is an optional extra.
The reality is that if the house is worth it, you have to make that extra offer.
All you can do now is raise hell, suggest fraudulent conduct on his/her behalf.
It’s one thing to be legally right, but you have to buy this property now instead of winning a legal settlement in coming months or years.
To Mortgage Hunter, read Jenman to see all the illegal procedures the real estate institutes actually teach their graduates. Amazing
Hangon a second Jenman??
You’re talking about the same Jenman ethics which say that auctions are not the way and that auctioning is one of the unethical practices in which real estate agents sell.What about the Jenman ethic that says as a Jenman Agent said to me last weekend.
” We take your offer as well as any other offers tat come along today, to the owner and then they can decide”. Which is essentially a Secret ballot Auction.There are non ethically cunducting Agents all over Australia, be they REIQ, Jenman, REINSW etc trained.
Approach the Real Estate Institute b4 you get the result.. Do your research and be prepared. This agent make the money for the sale whoever he sells it to..
Cheers and good luck
Calron the Alcamist
Turning things into gold is fun.
[email protected][
]Mate Calron
I just mentioned a book which mentioned the contents of a real estate institute course.
I didn’t join the Jenman fan club
Dear harold and others who cared.
My solicitor told me i had no legal grounds so the only chance i had at buying my house was to increase my offer.
The agent went to the vendor with two envelopes mine and the competitions even though theres was slightly higher the owner sold to me. Its nice to know some people do take moral obligations into account.
I may have has to pay more for my house but i got it in the end and i think its worth it.
Thanks all []
and others buying on the central coast of nsw beware ive now heard this happens alot!i am a real estate agent (one of the good ones) The answer to the question is that a vendor can have as many contracts offered to him as he wants and then choses which one is the best. The agent can then get all the purchasers to put in their best and final offer. Unfortunately until the contract is signed by both parties it is not valid. And it is the agents job to get the seller the best price.
Hang on guys,
What did this agent do wrong?
The law says he has to present all offers to the vendor who decides which to accept.
No agreement is binding until contracts are exchanged.
These are the realities.
It is up do the vendor to select which offer he will accept. They often accept a lower offer where there are clauses such as subject to sale on the higher offer.
Amycsu I am pleased you got the house.
We shouldn’t perpetuate this ill feeling against all agents – especially when they are doing their job?
By the way I did the RE course out of a personal interest in my own dealings and a professional interest to advise clients. I have never been nor plan to ever be employed as an agent.
Glad it turned out well.
Cheers,
Simon Macks
Mortgage Hunter
[email protected]
0425 228 985Simon – agree [
]Congratulations Amy, great to hear you had a happy outcome.
PS Simon are you doubling up replies just to get more posts stars?? That’s cheating!
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MelHey amy,
Great to see that you had a good outcome. Congratulations.
One tip for you and others who come into a similar situation in the future. Get the agent to confirm the vendor’s acceptance by fax. Just a simple fax saying “the vendor has accepted your offer” should do. That way, you’ve got written notice of acceptance. This is likely to constitute a valid and binding contract (depending on the particular property laws specific to each State).
Cheers
MThe laws seem different in each state. I remember to pay 10% to exchange contract in NSW & ACT.
If we can exchange contract on only 0.25% deposit we can change their mind & forfeit that amount easily!
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