Portland Area Real Estate Blog - "Did I say that already?" : The old "Vanishing Seller" trick....

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The old "Vanishing Seller" trick....

By: Phil Anderson
Tuesday, February 13, 2007 11:06 AM

Has this happened to you?

You call a listing agent (“LA”), checking the status of a property and are told it’s still on the market, no known offers coming in, etc.

You ask a question about when the roof was replaced (for example) and the LA calls the Seller, then calls you back in 10 minutes, saying, “Seller says 2 years ago, complete tear-off and he still has the invoice for proof”.

Five hours later, you show the property and your clients love it. They decide to make an offer. You call the LA agent, to let them know an offer will be faxed to their office within the next hour.

The LA tells you that the Seller has just left on a sailing tour of Tahiti and that the LA needs at least 7 days to get the offer to the Seller for their review.

Is this one of Murphy’s laws that Sellers instinctively know when to become incommunicado, or is it a (vile) tactic taught in classes to LAs which I must have missed?

Comments

Member Since '06	Chris and Janet Gaut said: I always go on the assumtion that I am being told the truth. Even if my gut tells me that I am being lied to. If you start speculating, you could be wrong. It could be a tactic, but what can you do about it? Call the LA a liar?? That will never get you anywhere. Just control the things that you can and conduct yourself in a manner that allows you to sleep at night. Hopefully those sellers are having the time of their lives and still have a buyer waiting for them when they return. If it's a tactic, it's a risky one. Janet Gaut February 13, 2007 1:46 PM
Member Since '05	Carol and Steve Coldwell Banker Parker Realty said: Since I come from a province which is very small..we know most agents pretty well. We would know which agents were feeding us a story and which ones were legit. Either way, there isn't really anything you can do about it. I would continue showing these people properties and hope they find something else to buy so the agent and the sellers would learn a lesson about being available. Carol February 13, 2007 2:07 PM
Member Since '04	Phil Anderson said: Wow....that really doesn't happen to you guys? Amazing. I'd bet that on nearly 1/4 of my deals here in Portland, when I call the LA to let them know we'll be making an offer, the LA tells me that they are very, very busy and that they (the LA) cannot get with the Sellers today, or tonight; that it will have to be tomorrow or perhaps the following day. (*I really think they are buying time to shop my offer, calling everyone they think might also be interested.) Don't get me wrong, I do submit the offer and usually put a response time of 24 hours or so. And magically the Seller is available and the offer becomes a deal (95% of the time). It makes it that much more refreshing when I present an offer and the LA is great, and the Sellers respond early that evening, once home from work, and off we go to a pending sale! February 13, 2007 4:31 PM
Member Since '03	Mipeco Realty, Inc - Michaela Krestenic, Broker-Owner said: Used to happen around here (Illinois) when the market was hot but not any more. Most sellers are willing to negotiate right away before the buyer decides to go elsewhere ... there's plenty of homes on the market. February 14, 2007 8:37 PM