Listing Agent Difficulties?

Learn How to Fight and Overcome the Obstacles

This should be short and sweet depending on whose side you are on with listing agent difficulties. A student makes the usual ridiculously low offer for an REO (bank owned property) and gets rejected. The student personally feels rejected, but I explain persistence pays. Low and behold the lender counters two months later.

These are not the exact numbers so both parties (student and Realtor®) are not embarrassed or plain mad at us. The bank dropped the sales price almost 50% from its previous asking price.  This was despite the Realtor® having said there were multiple offers on the table and to give him our “highest and best offer”. I suspect the other offers didn’t close (if there were any).  The Asset Manager got tired of waiting. We would not have gotten the counter-offer if there were other offers even one dollar better.

Now for the “almost” real numbers.  The original offering price was $40,000 from the student, asking price by the bank was $119,000. Not sure what listing price it started at, but you can assume $175,000 as a pure guess.

I could give you the exact numbers and the entire listing history but I don’t want a Defamation of Character Suit from the Realtor®. Some Realtors® are so sensitive.  They tell us that we are insulting them by making low offers. I wonder if they pay full asking price when they are shopping for a home for themselves, or full list price for their cars. If they do, God Bless them as someone has to pay retail to keep the economy going. I hope they are also paying all their income taxes because so many people don’t.

Anyway, the student’s offer is flat rejected (so she is told).  Most investors would have quit and stopped here. After all, rejection means “no deal”, right? So after following up for a couple of months, the bank comes back with a “counter offer” at $65,000. That’s a 45% decline if you haven’t noticed. We counter at $61,000 and the answer comes back, “NO”. The property is worth $90,000.  We call the Realtor® and try again to get it for a little better price. From the Realtor’s® response, you would think it was coming out of his pocket.  So again we get a “NO” answer.

The bank has now sent an Addendum confirming the $65,000 price.  They are ready to go. The Realtor® is still uncooperative about asking for a price reduction.  So in a bold move we say, “OK, we’ll pay the $65,000 but we are going to add a co-broker on the contract”. There is a short silence on the Realtor’s® end.  He answers, “Do what you have to do.” That sort of drew a line in the sand.  So we re-submitted the contract with our co-broker and it comes back approved and signed.

So let’s see who the winner was. We paid what we were willing to pay for the property and got a good deal. The listing agent made a commission.  Oops, I mean he made a ½ commission on the $65,000 or $1,950.00. So the listing agent held his line and wouldn’t ask for a reduction to $63,000.  It cost him $1,950.00 which our broker got as a freebie.  She loves us even more now than before. The Realtor® can brag that he sells every property at full listing price or higher.  At this time it is true since he reduced the listing price accordingly.

change your life mentoring click button j 300x236 1I suspect the listing agent believes he won out because he didn’t ask for a price reduction and “made us” pay full price. He could have pretended he asked the bank and told us it didn’t work. We might have been satisfied and we would still have taken the deal.  He had to be a control freak and it cost him almost $2,000.

If you believe that we burned a bridge behind us, forget it. Listing agents run the risk of losing their listing agreements and contracts with banks if they play games. They do it anyway and they do get caught, but not often enough. If you submit a higher price than another offer, you should get the deal. If the listing agent is not in cahoots with another investor you will get the deal. If you see the final sale price in the public record for less than you offered, you should report the agent and his broker to the Department of Business Regulation and the Board of Realtors®.

Everyone involved in this transaction got compensated.  This included our very happy broker, us who got the deal, and the listing agent got paid although not what he was expecting.  That was his choice. Who do you think the winner is here?  Is the glass half full or half empty?

To your limitless success,

Dave Dinkel

Real Estate Mentor Program Founder

Visit davedinkel.com for full privacy policy, terms of use, etc.  Be sure to contact us through the website at davedinkel.com if you have questions or concerns ([email protected]).  Results mentioned in this presentation and any video, article, and/or material related to Dave Dinkel and his associated businesses are not typical nor are a guarantee of any earning potential.  No advice is to be construed as legal, accounting, or professional advice EVER.  Please consult related licensed and qualified professionals before taking any action.  No person(s) mentioned in the articles and /or shown on videos received compensation in any form for their opinions.

Listing Agent Difficulties?

Learn How to Fight and Overcome the Obstacles

This should be short and sweet depending on whose side you are on with listing agent difficulties. A student makes the usual ridiculously low offer for an REO (bank owned property) and gets rejected. The student personally feels rejected, but I explain persistence pays. Low and behold the lender counters two months later.

These are not the exact numbers so both parties (student and Realtor®) are not embarrassed or plain mad at us. The bank dropped the sales price almost 50% from its previous asking price.  This was despite the Realtor® having said there were multiple offers on the table and to give him our “highest and best offer”. I suspect the other offers didn’t close (if there were any).  The Asset Manager got tired of waiting. We would not have gotten the counter-offer if there were other offers even one dollar better.

Now for the “almost” real numbers.  The original offering price was $40,000 from the student, asking price by the bank was $119,000. Not sure what listing price it started at, but you can assume $175,000 as a pure guess.

I could give you the exact numbers and the entire listing history but I don’t want a Defamation of Character Suit from the Realtor®. Some Realtors® are so sensitive.  They tell us that we are insulting them by making low offers. I wonder if they pay full asking price when they are shopping for a home for themselves, or full list price for their cars. If they do, God Bless them as someone has to pay retail to keep the economy going. I hope they are also paying all their income taxes because so many people don’t.

Anyway, the student’s offer is flat rejected (so she is told).  Most investors would have quit and stopped here. After all, rejection means “no deal”, right? So after following up for a couple of months, the bank comes back with a “counter offer” at $65,000. That’s a 45% decline if you haven’t noticed. We counter at $61,000 and the answer comes back, “NO”. The property is worth $90,000.  We call the Realtor® and try again to get it for a little better price. From the Realtor’s® response, you would think it was coming out of his pocket.  So again we get a “NO” answer.

The bank has now sent an Addendum confirming the $65,000 price.  They are ready to go. The Realtor® is still uncooperative about asking for a price reduction.  So in a bold move we say, “OK, we’ll pay the $65,000 but we are going to add a co-broker on the contract”. There is a short silence on the Realtor’s® end.  He answers, “Do what you have to do.” That sort of drew a line in the sand.  So we re-submitted the contract with our co-broker and it comes back approved and signed.

So let’s see who the winner was. We paid what we were willing to pay for the property and got a good deal. The listing agent made a commission.  Oops, I mean he made a ½ commission on the $65,000 or $1,950.00. So the listing agent held his line and wouldn’t ask for a reduction to $63,000.  It cost him $1,950.00 which our broker got as a freebie.  She loves us even more now than before. The Realtor® can brag that he sells every property at full listing price or higher.  At this time it is true since he reduced the listing price accordingly.

change your life mentoring click button j 300x236 1I suspect the listing agent believes he won out because he didn’t ask for a price reduction and “made us” pay full price. He could have pretended he asked the bank and told us it didn’t work. We might have been satisfied and we would still have taken the deal.  He had to be a control freak and it cost him almost $2,000.

If you believe that we burned a bridge behind us, forget it. Listing agents run the risk of losing their listing agreements and contracts with banks if they play games. They do it anyway and they do get caught, but not often enough. If you submit a higher price than another offer, you should get the deal. If the listing agent is not in cahoots with another investor you will get the deal. If you see the final sale price in the public record for less than you offered, you should report the agent and his broker to the Department of Business Regulation and the Board of Realtors®.

Everyone involved in this transaction got compensated.  This included our very happy broker, us who got the deal, and the listing agent got paid although not what he was expecting.  That was his choice. Who do you think the winner is here?  Is the glass half full or half empty?

To your limitless success,

Dave Dinkel

Real Estate Mentor Program Founder

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What Should I Do If a Seller Ghosts Me?

If you feel you have been ghosted, act decisively and quickly. If you have tried texting and calling, it’s time to drive by the seller’s location. I always take the recorded Notice of Interest or Memorandum of Contract to leave, so the seller knows it exists. Go by at a time when you know they will be there and don’t be confrontational, just get the facts.

In our experience with new investors, the chances of losing a deal with no contract is likely over 85%. Verbal commitments do not apply in contract law; get everything in writing, especially contract changes.

Different ‘gurus’ have different opinions, but our experience is finding motivated sellers and then a buyer for your deal. Ideally, you should be finding motivated buyers from day one, so you are ready when you find a seller. Buyers are easier to find as you can see at https://davedinkel.com/products/

Prevention only comes about by thinking a Black Hat wholesaler will be coming after your deal. First, educate the seller that an unscrupulous investor may come by and illegally offer more money, have the seller sign your “Notice to Homeowner,” stating that he understands he cannot accept another offer.

There is nothing illegal about changing their mind, it is called seller remorse and occurs about 25% of the time. However, if they have signed your contract, it can’t be cancelled for any reason unless acceptable to the investor/buyer.

If price is an objection, you need to find out how important it is to sell fast and for cash. If the seller isn’t under a time constraint, has a money issue, or has a personal dilemma, he may not agree to the price you need. Offer to help move and build it into your price before you make your offer. However, never give the seller money; only pay the moving company, and only after closing (escrow with a closing agent). If fear is the seller’s issue, break it down into what the real problem is and answer their objections one at a time.

You can get to the root of motivation for a seller by asking a few questions. First, “Why are you selling?”, “How soon can you close?”, and Are you ready to sign an AGREEMENT today, if not, what do I have to do to make you comfortable?’. The answers to these questions will determine the truth about your seller’s motivations.

The best times to involve your attorney in your deals are to have him review your contracting, review the signed contracts from the seller and end buyer, have him open escrow and start the title work, negotiate with city or counties for lien reductions or mortgage payoffs with lenders, and to close the transactions.” Your attorney is not the adversary; it’s the opposing party’s attorney who is a deal killer, and having your attorney allows him to help overcome this obstacle.

The key to successful prospecting and bringing back deals that didn’t close is to follow up until the property is transferred in the public record. Some of our deals have been where the seller came back to us months and years later because they felt comfortable with us and not the other “pushy” investors who contacted them.

Your contract’s most important clauses are inspection period (as long as possible), when the EMD must be deposited if at all, your ability to access the property, any added clauses specific to the property that will protect you against seller claims later that were verbal only.

Visit davedinkel.com for full privacy policy, terms of use, etc.  Be sure to contact us through the website at davedinkel.com if you have questions or concerns ([email protected]).  Results mentioned in this presentation and any video, article, and/or material related to Dave Dinkel and his associated businesses are not typical nor are a guarantee of any earning potential.  No advice is to be construed as legal, accounting, or professional advice EVER.  Please consult related licensed and qualified professionals before taking any action.  No person(s) mentioned in the articles and /or shown on videos received compensation in any form for their opinions.