Are auctions open for being sued?

[imagine2frolic]

I had a real estate agent when I bought my home. The seller had their own agent. He represented me, and because he did he got half of the commission. I would think that he would carry a legal responsibility to me?

Now that I have a lease with an option to purchase. My agent, the same, handled everything, and because of this the buyers saved what their agent would have made. They came with no agent.

I would think in the case of the car auction it would be BUYER BEWARE as 1985 stated.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by imagine2frolic

I had a real estate agent when I bought my home. The seller had their own agent. He represented me, and because he did he got half of the commission. I would think that he would carry a legal responsibility to me?

That is not how it works in CA. Each state is different. In CA, the Agency forms are clear about whether there's one or two agents in the deal. Although the buyer's agent (called the selling agent) "represents" the buyer, the selling agent is being paid by the seller. The buyer does not pay the selling agent, and this is disclosed to both buyer and seller in that huge stack of forms that buyers and sellers sign.

[1ntCobra]

Originally Posted by imagine2frolic

I had a real estate agent when I bought my home. The seller had their own agent. He represented me, and because he did he got half of the commission. I would think that he would carry a legal responsibility to me?

Now that I have a lease with an option to purchase. My agent, the same, handled everything, and because of this the buyers saved what their agent would have made. They came with no agent.

I would think in the case of the car auction it would be BUYER BEWARE as 1985 stated.

I have only purchase 2 houses and sold 1, but I doubt the rules have changed since those sales or that the rules are very different in other states.

The normal real estate agent that you find to shows you houses is working for the seller regardless of who the listing agent is. You have to explicitly ask for a buyer's agent for things to work differently and you probably have to pay that buyer's agent a fee yourself that is completely independent of the sales commission. Most people have no idea about the buyer's agent option. And if you know how the game works, you don't need that option anyway.

You have to remember that the normal agent showing you houses is not just a salesperson trying to get a bigger commission, that agent is obligated to pass any information on to the seller to might give the seller an advantage over the buyer. This obligation is either part of the Realtor code of "ethics", standard contracts or some nonsense. So you really have to be careful what you say around the agent. If you say, I'll offer $250K, but I'd go to $275K if I have to. You know what, the agent that is showing you the house is obligated to pass that bit about the $275K on to the seller, so that the seller can use that information when countering. It is not a two-way street, if the agent knows the seller is willing to take $240K, they will never pass that information onto the buyer.

It's kind of an interesting game, you need to get information from the agent, like comparable properties, but don't ask the agent for advice and never tell the agent what you are thinking. And when you get the comps, ask why they are for houses miles away and tell the agent to get more comps and include houses on the same street as the one you are trying to buy. The less you say to the agent, the better off you are. And when it comes to making an offer, the agent will probably tell you it is standard to leave the offer outstanding for some length of time. Ignore that advice, have the offer expire after 2 days at the most.

Oh, and be sure whoever else is with you (spouse, friend, relative) understands the rules and what not to talk to the agent about.