Community Chat

[SilleeMee]

The name of a person who buys real estate is known only to the seller and the agent who sold that property. That is observed in the "Realtor Code of Ethics".

[ROMARY]

Just a question:  'Say' there are multiple offers/bids on paper.

Can the seller review the offers and review the financial history and information on the applications, trying to decide which would be in the best interest of the seller.  ?

Who has the best credit rating, finances, whether cash or trying to find a loan, etc., etc. 

Trying to find a loan takes time.  Sometimes the offer is completely contingent on selling the buyer's house, which could take time.  

I guess my question is 'Can a seller review all of these concerns/written offers, and then decide on whose offer to accept' ?  'Say' for a fast sale.  

[novamc1]

@ROMARY 

Yes, of course, to all your points. 

That's the way any real estate transaction works (or should work).  Seller should have or request or insist on receiving  financial info and ALL terms of the offer in writing from any or all prospective purchasers before making a decision to sell to any particular party.

[novamc1]

@SilleeMee 

I don't think the Code of Ethics requires exactly what you described and is a little more complex and nuanced than that.  There are standards of confidentiality regarding an agent's client and honesty in dealing with all parties to a transaction, but nothing about "not revealing names of people" in a transaction. HOWEVER..........

It would simply be foolish to discuss specific identities of people with others who don't need to know.  That's the Real Estate Code of Common Sense.

The only thing that matters is what goes back and forth between buyer and seller before reaching a final deal. Until then, the deal is not sealed and all lips should remain sealed.

[SilleeMee]

@novamc1 

It's listed under Article 1, section 1-9.

Client names are considered to be "confidential information".

[novamc1]

@SilleeMee 

If you mean Article 1, Standard of Practice 1-9, I think the issue of confidentiality has already been discussed in earlier posts.

Confidentiality means not revealing info that would be against the best interests of buyer or seller clients.  It's foolish to think that it's in anyone's best interest to broadcast the names of people who have made offers on a property, or which one the seller chose before a deal is done.

Think of the havoc that could wreak in a hot real estate market where many people are competing to buy a scarce number of properties, or sellers in a not-so-hot market are needing offers.

[Lipstickdiva]

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@ROMARY wrote:

Just a question:  'Say' there are multiple offers/bids on paper.

Can the seller review the offers and review the financial history and information on the applications, trying to decide which would be in the best interest of the seller.  ?

Who has the best credit rating, finances, whether cash or trying to find a loan, etc., etc. 

Trying to find a loan takes time.  Sometimes the offer is completely contingent on selling the buyer's house, which could take time.  

I guess my question is 'Can a seller review all of these concerns/written offers, and then decide on whose offer to accept' ?  'Say' for a fast sale.  

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@ROMARY , many times all that information isn't available.  Sometimes buyers are pre-qualified but sometimes they are not. 

If there are multiple offers on the table, the agent presents them all to the seller and can tell the seller that Jane Doe has put in a higher offer than John Smith but John Smith is pre-qualified and Jane Doe is not. 

The seller isn't going to know the credit rating of a buyer or finances of the buyer as in the annual income of the buyer, debt to income ratio, etc.  That is personal information between the lender and the potential buyer.  Even the agent isn't going to have that information.     

[Still Raining]

I have only known my buyer's name at the end.  It is never an appropriate question.

Around where I live now there a lot of private sales, often family.  Now there is fertile ground for gossip.  Oh my!  We need party lines again.

[novamc1]

That's right, @Lipstickdiva 

I didn't mean to imply that any seller needs to know such gritty personal stuff such as a credit score.

What matters is proof of  financial abiliity to close a transaction,  That info should be readily provided by the buyer's lender.  If buyer is paying cash for the entire amount, bank statements should suffice, or a letter from the purchaser's bank saying the funds will be available.

And no seller should seriously entertain offers from buyers who haven't previously visited a lender to be qualified  for the loan amount they will need to buy.

[Sage04]

Years ago Agents would take someone out to see houses without knowing if they were preapproved. Now it´s different. We are selling a house now and have a few offers and we were given the amount each person was approved for.

We chose one and of course we know the names because we had to sign the contract. Won´t meet them until Closing.