Sounds fraudulent to me. You are correct to be suspicious.

Do not take your home off the market. It sounds like a fraud to me. But even if it isn’t, if he can’t show you the funds, then you will be dealing with a 3rd party which is another whole kettle of fish to deal with.

@elbanditoroso @chyna I think it sounds fraudulent as well but I can’t figure out in what way it would be a scam or how he could gain anything from this.

I would keep both eyes open. There were scammers in Vegas who would determine when homes for sale would be empty, then they would play “Agent” and show the house. When they get a bite, they would get a cash deposit for a house they don’t own, and disappear, leaving someone who thinks they can move in without a home.

Your realtor should be figuring this out for you. I don’t know what his game is but clearly until there is more money on deposit and more funds documented, there is nothing to proceed with.

I think he found out about a company who buys for flipping, and he is trying to act as a scout, but he has no experience. He’s trying to sell the idea of your house to the flipper, but maybe they aren’t biting.

That’s all I can figure.

Tell him to stop wasting your time and hard pass.

@JLeslie I think you’re exactly right.

Why are you doing this ?

Your realtor should be the “face to the public” ! ! !

You can offer anything you like as earnest money. It’s up to the seller to accept or not. The seller….........not the agent.

You need to see proof of funds, whether all-cash offer or not. If all-cash, you (or your realtor) need to see a recent bank statement, or no deal.
Also, $100 earnest deposit is laughable. A minimum of $5000 would be more like it.
Don’t take your house off the market.

@Tropical_Willie When I say I or we, I mean the realtor and I. She knows everything and is communication with this buyer but she is giving us no advice on the matter. She’s useless. We asked the broker for a new agent because we’ve been so disappointed with her lack of communication and other issues but the broker wanted to hear none of it. We’re stuck until January in a contract with this company so here I am asking the smart people of Fluther for advice because it seems there’s nowhere else to turn.

@MollyMcGuire But isn’t the amount too small to risk putting the house in a pending status and stop all showings? I don’t feel he’s serious with such a small amount. If he’s just a scout and he still has to find a buyer, there’s no guarantee. He’s basically another realtor but without a license.

@ItalianPrincess1217 I agree with you. Keep the house on the market until he comes back with something firm and you have a contract agreement.

@ItalianPrincess1217 Why did you sign such a long contract with the realtor? Most for for 3–6 months, max.

@elbanditoroso It’s a 6 month contract. That brings us to January.

Can you possibly get out of the contract since she has essentially broken her end of the contract by not doing her job? Something to look into.

@chyna I argued that point to the broker. Unfortunately the broker made a better lawyer than broker. She was more interested in having a comeback to everything I said than offering actual solutions. I don’t think she heard a word I said as she was too busy cutting me off, speaking over me, and talking to me like I was an uneducated child. She was the most condescending woman I’ve come across in a long time. It would take a miracle to be let out of our contract and I think by having that conversation with the broker we probably made the relationship with our agent much worse.

Ask them if they will hold an open house for realtors. These are usually done on Tuesdays around here. Maybe you’ll get some other realtor interested in showing the house if it’s on multiple listings.

@janbb Good idea. I wasn’t going to do anymore open houses but if it’s just for realtors that’s something we haven’t done yet and probably worth a try.

You can offer realtors an extra 1% or extra $500 bonus for any contract that comes in before November, or whatever you choose. You might be more likely to get it shown.

By the way, even before you consider doing a bonus, make sure you realtor is offering the buyer side the percentage that is common in your area if your contact doesn’t specify it. If you’re paying her 6%, if it doesn’t specify in the contract she may be only offering 2.5%, and keeping 3.5%. Just double check if you aren’t sure. At your price point she might be charging 7%, I don’t know the deal you have.

@JLeslie Offer my realtor an extra bonus or the buyer’s realtor the bonus? And would that just come out of my pocket?

@ItalianPrincess1217 Can you understand that there doesn’t have to be a rule for everything for everyone. If you are selling your house YOU get to decide how much earnest money to accept with the contract. I don’t have to agree with you and you don’t have to agree with me.

@JLeslie That $500 bonus would be illegal in some states. Brokers are only allowed to be compensated via percentage of sale price. I think it should be that way everywhere, and it actually may be. I don’t know property agency law in all states.

@MollyMcGuire I’m very confused. I never said anything about rules. The general consensus (from people with more home buying experience than me) is that $100 from a cash buyer is insulting and not worth the risk. I understand a buyer could offer 1% or %10 and I could accept it or not. But the fact that he initially only offered $10 is laughable. He might as well offer nothing. He’s asking me to take it off the market with no proof of funds and nearly no money down.

You are beating a dead horse. All I said is it is up to you to accept $10 or not. There is no rule about how much it has to be. As much fun as this is, I’m not going to talk about your earnest money anymore. I wish you success in selling your home.

@ItalianPrincess1217 Every part of the commission has to go through the listing agency. You would not be giving a bonus on the side so to speak. The total “commission” goes to your listing broker, and then he divides it up among his sales people, and the buyer’s broker according to the listing agreement. If you increase the commission then you make an addendum to the listing contract stating the extra money goes in full to the buyer’s broker. You sign it and the listing agent signs. If you choose to do it.

Like I said, I wouldn’t add money just yet, I would confirm your agent is offering the percentage you think she is. You can ask for the full listing/full sheet on the mls that shows all the broker’s comments. That will show how much she is offering to the buyer’s realtor. I’m not assuming she is offering less than half, but I have seen it happen. It also gives you a chance to see that she didn’t make any typos or mistakes. One time a realtor listed my SIL’s place as a 3/2 and it was a 3/2.5. Anyone can make a mistake.

Right now, let’s say your contract is to pay 6%. Typically, what that means is the listing agent is advertising your property on the MLS as 3% to the buyer’s agent. Depending on the state, the listing contract sometimes specifically says the split will be 3% and 3%. If it doesn’t say it, your listing agent can do whatever she wants. She can advertise only 2.5% to the buyer’s agent, and keep more money for herself. Not many agents do this, but some do.

So, when the buyers’ agents are looking through listings they see their commission on your house as lower or higher, etc.

I hope that makes sense.

@MollyMcGuire Why would it be illegal? I’ll go ahead and believe you that it is in some states, but I don’t see the logic behind it. Realtors negotiate commissions all the time, 6%, 7%, or a flat fee for listing the property. In FL it’s illegal for use to use terms like “standard commission.” Technically, we are not supposed to present any amount as a standard.

I’ve done listings for 4%. 1% to me, and 3% to the buyer. I did this for family.

I did 5% for investors who did a lot of deals with me. 2% to me, and 3% to the buyer’s agent.

@JLeslie Okay that makes sense now. I checked and she’s splitting it all up evenly.

@janbb I checked with my realtor about having an open house for realtors. She said they only do that when a house is newly listed otherwise they don’t usually work. So apparently it’s pointless in our case as we’ve been on the market for 40 days.

@ItalianPrincess1217 That’s good. That’s usually the case.