This is a good reminder that nothing is enforceable in real estate unless it is in writing. Texts and emails simply do not count. Some Agents do not even check them that often so this would be a very unsafe assumption to handle a business transaction in such a casual manner.
Monday, 11:30 am: I submit an offer on a home for a buyer. I email it to the listing agent and text her to let her know it's coming.
Listing agent texts me back and let's me know she received it.
The expiration of the offer was Tuesday at 6:00 pm. I wanted to make sure that she had enough time to meet with her sellers to either accept or counter.
Monday comes and goes with no response from the listing agent and sellers. Not a problem and not a surprise.
Tuesday afternoon at around 4:00 pm I start to wonder when we'll hear back from the listing agent. I text her and she says "soon."
Again, not a problem.
As we approach the 6:00 pm deadline, I really start to wonder what's going on. I'm in communication with my buyer and let them know that I'm just not sure what's going on.
Tuesday, 5:59 pm. (One minute before our offer officialy expires) I get a text from the listing agent. She texts that the sellers are going to counter at X amount. The she asks me what I think about their counter.
My response was "WHAT counter? This is a TEXT."
She gave me the ole "Oh, come on now Jared, let's just go verbal (or textal if that is even a word??) until we can agree on a price, then we'll write it up and make it official.
Nope. Not happening here. Technically, since our offer expired at 6:00 pm Tuesday and it was after that time,our offer is dead.
During a real estate transaction, NOTHING is official until it is signed. Period. A text is not a counter.
Once I gave her the business, she scrambled and sent us a signed counter. Yes, it was a little bit late, but we moved forward and got the deal done.
The only texts I recieved from her after that were letting me know that she was sending over a signed counter or signed inspection response.
I hated being "that guy" but I play by the rules.
Amanda and Jared Christiansen are award winning Realtors with Century 21 Bradley Realty in Fort Wayne.
Enough about us...
Tell us what you want your real estate experience to be, and we will do it YOUR way.
Buying in Fort Wayne? Tell us your wants and needs. Let us know how you envision your family living. Tell us what's important to YOU, and we'll find the community and home that fits what you are looking for.
Selling in Fort Wayne? Our job is to make you the most money possible in the shortest amount of time. We offer our sellers professional staging, professional photography, and more internet marketing than most. We will also put your home on our weekly television show Sunday mornings on ABC.
We are committed to giving you everything we have to offer. We are both full time agents and will work around your schedule. Do nights and weekends work better for you? NO PROBLEM. We are here to help YOU at YOUR convenience.
Amanda can be reached at 260-704-0843, and Jared can be reached at 260-704-0842.
Buyer Articles:
My Home Inspector Better Get His Butt On The Roof
Should I Hire A Sitter For Showings?
I'm looking for the deal of the century!
Is my Realtor going to be at the home inspection?
Seller Articles
17 ways to make sure your home won't sell
Do your neighbors hurt or help the sale of your home?
FAQ by home sellers in Fort Wayne
_________________________________________________________________________________
Maybe it is a generational thing but I hate it when people try to transact business with me via texts, my reply is generally to just call them back rather than playing the game of texting cryptic messages back and forth.
Thanks so much for the reblog Cheryl! In this day and agen, texting is a great way to communicate, but it's not official unless it's in writing. Have a great week!