I’m working with a buyer who wants to make offers on three properties at once. She said she will terminate two of the contracts when she decides which one she wants to buy. Is this ethical?
No laws or rules prohibit your buyer from making offers on more than one property at a time. Similarly, the Code of Ethics does not bar you from representing a buyer making simultaneous offers on multiple properties. If the buyer has a termination option for all three properties, she has the contractual right to terminate two—or all three—of the contracts within the termination option periods. However, there is a risk involved that you may want to communicate to the buyer. If any of the option fees are not paid within the time prescribed, it may be deemed that the buyer does not have a valid termination option. In that case, the buyer may not have the ability to terminate one or more of the contracts, which could leave the buyer contractually obligated to purchase more than one property.
Simultaneous offers is one thing but it feels sleezy to me to go under contract on multiple properties without disclosing this to the listing agent. This kinda thing is so damaging to the momentum of a listing when it falls out in option due to no fault with the property. I would advise my buyer this is borderline bad faith and encourage him not to do it. I had a buyer do this on one of my listings one time and I learned my lesson as a listing agent. As a listing agent, negotiate a meaningful option fee in the… Read more »
100% what Mica said!
This is fair, after all – neither the seller or the seller’s agent has any obligation to let you (the buyer’s agent or the buyer) know that the seller has a fully signed back up contract in place. During the crazy seller’s market, if a buyer were to ask for something as mere as a lightbulb, the seller would buck up, say nothing, not respond and wait for the buyer to terminate all while knowing – they had a stronger or should I say “another offer”, fully signed with earnest and option money sitting at the same title company. If… Read more »