Sellers wonder why neighbor with same floor plan, agent won’t discuss pending sale
Q: We are trying to list and sell our home on a tight schedule. There is a property under contract with the same floor plan two blocks away. Our listing agent said he could get the pending sale from the listing agent “no problem.” Well, it was and is still a problem. The listing agent on the neighbor’s home refused to discuss his pending sale with our agent. My husband walked over to chat with the seller, who was instructed not to discuss any details of his home’s sale. Evidently, this agent told the seller that a house under contract needs the negotiations to remain private. My husband and our listing agent are thunderstruck by the stonewalling and lack of cooperation. What is the big deal?
A: The sellers and their buyers are involved in the largest, or one of the biggest, transactions of their lives. Due to that fact, they are in the throes of what they conceive of as dropdead-serious negotiations. Stakes could not be higher. The escrow period will soon end. The details of the sale will be forthcoming after close of escrow. In the past, nosey agents who could not pry details from the seller’s agent would simply turn around and call the buyer’s agent. As a result, the buyer’s agent is now anonymous on the Multiple Listing Service until the close of escrow.
Real estate attorneys, doctors, accountants and the like would never discuss a client’s business with outsiders. That is a social norm that goes without saying. Despite that, people feel that facets of the mightiest and most stressful transaction of a neighbor’s life must be forthcoming with strangers upon unsolicited requests. Lest we forget, sellers have to enact a massive chain of successful moving events if and when a pending sale is solidifying. All the while knowing their sale could fall apart and their home goes back on the market — stigmatized, no less. As a consequence, there is no upside to sellers “showing their cards.” By sharing points of an ongoing home sale, listing agents compromise a seller’s position in the marketplace. By doing so they are shucking their mandated fiduciary duty, which is always without their client’s consent.
Buying or selling real estate? Realtor Pat Kapowich provides turnkey services including relocation, staging, market analysis and strategic planning. 408-245-7700 or Pat@ SiliconValleyBroker.com.