It's the Rule

by: President & CEO Terese (Terry) Penza, CAE, RCE, e-Pro

Furious or disappointed

The number one phone call I take is from an agent that just lost out on a sale. What happened? First, they negotiated verbally and felt they had a solid deal: Verbal is against the license law, is as good as the paper it is written on, and in Illinois contracts have to be in writing.

Second, they as well as their buyers think they have bought a house because another agent verbally said the deal was good: Verbal is as good as the paper it is written on, a good agent would explain to the buyers that they do not have a deal until ALL contingencies are met.

Third, agents totally forget about the attorney approval clause. Due to several lawsuits many attorneys consider the attorney clause almost the same as a rite of rescission.

Lastly, agents seem to think that their buyers will get another chance at the deal if the buyer does not like their first offer. There is nothing in the license law or the Code of Ethics that states that the seller must give everyone a second chance to put in an offer.

Did you put your buyer in this situation? Then you did not represent them properly! It is YOUR responsibility to guide the buyer in the transaction and keep him properly informed. If you had property informed the buyer about this hot market, multiple offers coming in without knowledge and other pitfalls that they do not have a deal until the title holders sign the contract AND ALL CONTINGENCIES are met. That is the difference between your buyer being furious or disappointed. You told them they had and deal and they didn’t – that is NOT the fault of the other agent – that is YOUR fault.