There is also the aspect of whether the prospective buyer made a fully clean offer - if the buyer placed contingencies on the offer (i.e., obtaining financing or passing inspection), the offer is no longer considered full since the contingencies create a counter-offer.
And this would fall under contract law, not real estate commission laws - all that is required of the real estate agent is that he/she present the offers to the seller.
Only the seller sets the price and an full price offer is just that, an offer. It does not have to be accepted.
you misunderstand who is setting the price. The SELLER is setting the price, not the agent. The agent/broker only can set the price based on commands from the seller.
It is not illegal for the seller of a home to attempt to get as much as they can.
The seller is NEVER required to accept any offer.
once under contract,,, seller cannot take more offers
in that case you stated,,, no contract was established
but I heard a real estate buyer agent once successfully sued a listing agent and seller for turning down his full price offer before another offer came in for more.
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we all hear dif things.
the seller could have appealed this and won
The previous people who answered your question seem to have a grasp of the law regarding this. I only have personal experience.
About 20 & 22 years ago, I put in offers on two properties listed by realtors. Both offers were for the full listing price, were cash offers, and I was not asking for any inspections nor for the owner to do any work to the homes before the sale. In both cases, I thought my offers that would be accepted. In both cases, my offers were rejected in favor of other buyers.
By co-incidence, years later I learned that both offers were rejected on the advice of the realtors who personally knew people who wanted to buy those homes but were waiting to jump in ahead of a serious prospective buyer. In the first situation, I was chatting with the former owner at a Drivers' License Branch; in the second, it was the buyer at my doctor's office. In both situations, I sure there was a breach of Ethics by the realtors.
However, I ultimately found a much better home in a much better neighborhood for less money.
Realtors are not saints. They would sell their Granny down the river for a commission. And folks selling homes just want the most money and best deal they can get.
In your first scenario the buyer's agent cannot sue for the commission. A suit of that type must be filed by the listing agent.
If your second scenario is as you say, then the agent has violated the Realtor Code of Ethics. But I suspect you don't have all the facts. The seller, for whatever reason, didn't respond to the first offer. Perfectly legal. Subsequently there were multiple offers and the agent notified all parties. The agent doesn't negotiate. Most of the time when there are multiple offers the final price is above list price. Nobody forced the buyers to offer above the list price.
I know it's being done - as it was in early 1990s for 10 years before the crash - but I heard a real estate buyer agent once successfully sued a listing agent and seller for turning down his full price offer before another offer came in for more.
Recently a listing agent allowed deadline to pass on first agent's offer - then countered both offers the next day - via Text - not even in writing - just playing both sides verbally till both buyers agreed to pay more.
Since buyers want to purchase, they are playing the game as if at an auction house but wondering it is legal via the real estate commission rules?
