Did This Really Happen?

I met my client at a local community fair in the fall, and she shared with me that she, her husband, and her mother (who lived with her) were moving out of state and needed to sell their house. After meeting with them, they decided that March would be a great time to put their house on the market since that would give them the time needed to go through their belongings and make any necessary repairs to the house.

Unfortunately and suddenly, the husband passed away from pneumonia 3 months after that initial meeting and now I was left to work with his sweet, precious wife and her elderly mother who had no idea about the finances of the home and relied heavily on the husband’s knowledge of them.

Almost one year later and after many months of friendship, guiding her through the next steps and referring her to people that could help her with repairs and organize their belongings, they were ready for a yard sale!

On the day of the yard sale, the neighbor came from across the street to ask if she was selling the house. My client confirmed that she indeed was selling and then the neighbor handed her a business card, told her she had most recently obtained her real estate license and stated that she could sell the house for her. My client assured her that she already had a Realtor and the woman asked if she had a signed listing agreement which my client confirmed that she did.

So far, this story is completely innocent and ethical with the neighbor just trying to be helpful, but then it takes a turn and this is what happened next.

The neighbor asked my client if it was on the market yet and when my client stated that it wasn’t, she asked for her email and phone number (which she gave since, after all, she is the neighbor and my client was not expecting what ensued). She then told my client that she was pretty sure my client could cancel the listing agreement and sign a listing agreement with her if it was not on the market yet, but she would check with her broker. She then texted and emailed my client 3 times over the next 2 days to confirm that my client could cancel the listing with me and list her house with her and also promised a reduced commission. When my client didn’t respond, she called her and told her she had texted and emailed, but hadn’t heard from her. My client shared that her mother had not been well and hoped that the neighbor would stop calling.

This was my first time experiencing something like this, but I’m sure it’s not the first time it has happened. If you have an agent approach you in this same circumstance, it is a violation of the Code of Ethics 16.4 which states:

REALTORS® shall not solicit a listing which is currently listed exclusively with another broker. However, if the listing broker, when asked by the REALTOR®, refuses to disclose the expiration date and nature of such listing, i.e., an exclusive right to sell, an exclusive agency, open listing, or other form of contractual agreement between the listing broker and the client, the REALTOR® may contact the owner to secure such information and may discuss the terms upon which the REALTOR® might take a future listing or, alternatively, may take a listing to become effective upon expiration of any existing exclusive listing. (Amended 1/94).

I wanted to share this story to protect other folks who may have their house up for sale. I work with a lot of seniors and realize their vulnerabilities which is why I became a Seniors Real Estate Specialist®. My client was disappointed with the way her neighbor tried to get the listing from her, and at the same time wanted to avoid conflict, which is a pretty typical response. She was not expecting it, was very surprised, and didn’t realize the full extent of the neighbor’s intention in the beginning.

I also work with a lot of agents and can say that the ones I have worked with have been very respectful of me. I choose to have good working relationships with my fellow agents by being helpful and cooperative and I want to develop trusting relationships with them just like I do my clients. That makes it better for everyone involved.

If this happens to you, contact your listing agent immediately like my client did and your agent can put a stop to it immediately through the help of their broker.