🚀 go-pugleaf

Allan,

I am not an attorney, but I have a lot of friends who are. The comments
I am providing below are my opinions, and have no legal basis, so please
don't quote me.

<OPINION>
I am not sure per se if there is a law that mandates this sort of situation.
It would surely be challenged as an impediment to a free market or some
other reason.

Unless you can prove that your bid was refused because of discrimination
(race, sex, age, etc.), I am not really sure what you can do legally.

I have seen cases like yours lately because realtors are trying to get
the highest bid possible to inflate their already (IMHO) high commission.
Since they think that they could get higher than your bid or even the
other person's bid, they are hoping that either the two of you or even
a third (or fourth, etc.)  party will bid even more money than both of you.
The sad thing is that most of the time, this strategy works -- either
you and/or the other person withdraws his/her bid and the new high bid gets
the unit.

I have also seen the opposite happen as well. I have seen realtors accept
a lower than market bid just to sell the house, even though everyone
including the owners told the realtor that they would not accept lower
than their asking price. Eventually they were pressured into selling
by scare tactics from the realtor which not only were unfounded, but
unethical as well. I hope that realtor gets banned from the industry
for such practices.
</OPINION>

Good luck and let me know how it turns out!

Regards,
Jeff Schaffzin

In article <8gc8os$du8gq$1@fido.engr.sgi.com>,
Allan Schaffer <allan@southpark.engr.sgi.com> wrote:
|Hi all,
|
|A very unusual situation that I'd like to find some answers for.
|I've done some searching of online sources for the relevant laws or
|standards but (not really knowing what keywords would pinpoint this)
|have come up dry so far.  Pointers are welcome.
|
|(Numbers are made up, obviously)
|
|A seller listed their home for sale for $400,000.  Multiple offers
|were presented, one at the asking price of $400K, one at $450K, and
|one for $475K.  In this case "I" am the $450K buyer.
|
|The $450K and $475K offers were counterbid (each) to $500K, plus
|certain tweaks in the contract terms (escrow date, rentback, etc).
|The $475K bidder declines and drops out entirely.  I, the $450K
|bidder, accept the contract terms but restate my bid at my original
|price of $450K.
|
|The seller at the point continues showing the house and (presumably)
|collecting new bids.
|
|So the question:  the seller now has a bid, above the asking price,
|with the agreed terms.  Yet the seller is still showing the house,
|still listing it through their agent at the original $400K, and has
|not accepted any bids.
|
|My impression (based on hearsay) was that once a seller receives a
|bid at or above the asking price & with acceptable terms, they are
|obligated to either (1) accept the bid or (2) take the house "off the
|market".  Is there any truth to that?
|
|Thanks (and again, I'm happy to do the research myself, if someone
|can tell me where to look!)
|
|Allan
|ps.  In case regulations vary this is in Santa Clara County, CA
|-- 
|Allan Schaffer                                            allan@sgi.com
|Silicon Graphics                           http://reality.sgi.com/allan