Illegal or just unethical?
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Illegal or just unethical?
We put an offer in on a house that was a possible short sale. They countered & we countered back. The selling realtor did not contact us by the expiration date nor would she take our calls. Later that evening she finally got ahold of our realtor & said there was (suddenly) another interested ‘out of town buyer’. So, the bank sent out a counter to both of us. We really didn’t feel like we had a chance of beating the other buyer since the counters went to the other realtor before they went to the bank but made an offer anyway. The other buyer had the higher bid. Come to find out, it wasn’t an out of town buyer; the selling realtor actually bought the home herself. I just need to find out if this is legal & what action I can take if it is not.Thanks in advance!
Asked on June 25, 2009 under Real Estate Law, Idaho
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
Just unethical--very unethical, in my opinion--but not illegal. The realtor put in an offer that was higher, which is her right. Since she was just the selling realtor, rather than your agent, she had no obligation to you beyond the basic ones (no lying, no fraud, etc.) and her moral obligations to seller would be met by geting him a higher offer.
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