Hi all, I just had a kind of baffling discussion with a real estate agent who I have been assuming for 2 weeks was the seller's agent since she was the one who ran the open house and who has shown me the property twice since. The house is overpriced at $275K, the sellers are extremely anxious to unload it, and she just urged me to make a $245K offer. (I think it should be more like $220K, but that's another story).
Just now she asked me to sign a buyer's agent agreement and I was like "Wha? You're not the selling agent? Then why are you the one trying to sell me the house??" (I do admit that I was little confused as to why the seller's agent was urging me to offer $245K) She said something a little incoherent & mumbly about how much she loves doing open houses because then she can meet possible buyers (I think she was in the agency office where other people could hear her). I didn't really get the relationship between her and the listing agent.
When I asked "But why am I talking to you and not the seller's agent?" (who is in her office) she said "oh no, you wouldn't be talking to them directly."
I have done 2 FSBO sales, and only one sale with an agent representing me in another city. I am now in a new city, and also new to using real estate agents, so maybe this is just something I don't know about, but I admit to being totally baffled by this.
Why the heck would a buyer's agent looking for clients run an open house and not the selling agent? Why is a buyer's agent now contacting me all the time about how I really should make an offer sooner rather than later, pushing the great neighborhood, giving me remodeling ideas, telling me I have an emotional connection to the house now etc etc?
I like the house fine but I'm not in love; the house has been on the market for 40+ days in a normally hot market, price has been reduced once and apparently is going to be reduced another $10K soon, zero offers. There are also a couple of weird things about it that could be fixed in the future but which make it hard to sell now. I am the only person who is currently showing interest and if I don't get it, it will be totally fine. (If I do make an offer it will probably be in the $210-$225K range. Agent keeps telling me how desperate sellers are, and my numbers show that this is where it really should be priced; there are almost identical comps across the street and next door.) So from my POV there is no rush.
I actually like this agent a lot (even though she is a bit new to the business), and I was indeed getting confused as to why she seemed to be thinking of things that were good for me, like making a low offer, at the same time that she was trying to get the best deal for the owners. (Hmm, which is maybe exactly what she is doing; sellers are deluded about current asking price)
But I also have some red flags going up at the idea that the buyer and seller's agent work in the same office. I really don't get how that is supposed to help me.
(I do admit to being skeptical of the whole idea of buyer's agents after selling my house a few months ago in a hot East Coast market. From my POV, the buyer's agent made a pile of money -- out of my pocket -- for doing next to nothing, and from the buyer's POV the house probably went for a bit more than it should have. So I dunno.)
Any opinions? Thanks!