Do Realtors Use Shady Tactics?

Do Real Estate Realtors Use Shady Tactics?

Anyone with a TV or radio knows the real estate market has been red hot and a seller’s market over the last few years.

In the last few years, I have heard all sorts of horror stories, and you know, take it with a grain of salt kind of thing; it’s never as bad as someone makes it out to be.

Let me share our story with you of a house listed with Interlake Real Estate that we just made an offer on using the newest realtor consumer trend, the “Blind Bidding System.”

The blind bidding system is basically what the realtors are using now to get the most money as possible out of buyers or purchasers by saying you have “X” amount of days to submit a bid. Once the Bids are received, they will be reviewed on “X” date. 

They refuse to disclose the highest bidder, so purchasers bid in fear of losing and are bidding tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars above asking in specific markets.

Realtors use this to drum up as many bids as possible and tell the purchasers there are “17 bids on this property” creating urgency and doubt and causing them to bid higher than they would normally ever bid.

This practice sounds excellent for a seller but very manipulative for a buyer, especially a first-time home buyer.

My wife and I have been saving up to purchase a property to relocate to. We have been working endlessly and saving our money which, to be honest, with no travelling, visiting or eating in restaurants over the last few years, helped.

Along with this and some assistance from a bank loan, we could make a clean offer in this seller’s market.

Our realtor sent us a listing that just went onto realtor MLS (Multiple Listing Service) that, from a glance, worked into the budget and would be a perfect location. We scheduled a house viewing that day and walked the house and property; it was, as advertised, a fixer-upper.

The property was listed on May 16th, and will accept offers until May 19th at 5 PM. As this was our first time playing in this new bidding system, as it had yet to hit the small towns, we cringed but entertained it. The house was listed for $129,900 and needed everything fixed; I mean everything.

My realtor mentioned she had to deliver the offer in a sealed envelope to the listing agents office in Selkirk, Manitoba, where the bids are to be reviewed for an estate sale, and the power of attorney to the estate will sell the property to the highest bidder. 

Our realtor met us on May 19th at 2:16 PM, and we made an offer of $135,101 (Sorry, I like odd numbers!) and she sealed it up and got in her car and went off to Selkirk to their office. Our realtor went to meet Crystal Line and Ellen Wyka, which were the real estate agents representing the family selling the house, while they opened the offers with the power of attorney to the estate at 5 PM.

Sitting waiting anxiously to learn if we are now owners of a property or if we must continue our hunt, our realtor calls with bad news, and she said our offer wasn’t accepted. I was disappointed and asked how much we lost by, and she went on to tell me that we were the highest bidder, but they chose to work with a lesser bid.

I had to get her to repeat herself and tell me again that we were the highest bidder but they “chose” to work with a lesser bid.

I couldn’t believe my ears when she told me this. We offered $135,101 ($5,201 over) no stipulations, no conditions, and take possession in 30 days or less if the lawyers can do the paperwork faster than that.

I keep inquiring and asking questions about how this is possible that we were bidding for a house and top bid wins only to find out that the realtors Ellen Wyka and Crystal Line of the Interlake Real Estate branch allowed their clients to accept an offer for less money.

My heart sank, and my mind started running, thinking, how can this be possible? I just bid on a house in a blind bidding system, they took my offer to the family’s power of attorney for the estate, and I was the highest bidder, and they still sold it to someone for less money.

I try to wrap my head around why a seller or realtor would go this route to accept a smaller bid. Accepting a bid that’s less money means the sellers get less money and the real estate agents get less commission. 

Did they have a side deal with the sellers or offer to reduce their commission if they accepted a customer they brought them? Was the other client theirs so they could get paid double commission as the listing agent and selling agent?

Did they work the system and tarnish their reputation and morals to fill their pockets? In most centers and towns realtors are individuals who are supposed to display strength and leadership daily in their local communities.

I reached out to Ellen Wyka and Crystal Lines boss at Interlake Real Estate branch brokerage owner Chris Neufeld. He said, “Ellen and Crystal are obligated to follow the legal instructions of their client.” aka I’m going to turn a blind eye. Conveniently his real estate office and realtors got double the commission on this deal while leaving the high bidder out in the streets.

Some might say we are poor losers, but we are great losers; we just expect when you win at something, especially playing by someone else’s rules, you expect to WIN or, in this case, purchase something.

What do you think? Did these realtors at Interlake Real Estate play by the rules?

Share your experiences purchasing over the last two years and let us know if you agree things need to change and realtors need to be held to a higher standard