Expert: Karyn Foley - 3/15/2009

Question
Hi,
Waht is the responsibility of a seller to advise that he has listed property that is not yet available for sell(the deal has been negotiated up to the day of closing)?

Answer
Your questions is confusing, and I do not quite understand what you mean.  Therefore, I am going to have to do some guess work.  Please email me back if I am guessing wrong and clarify your question so I can be of greater help.  The word misrepresentation is quite challenging, so perhaps you should rethink that accusation.  Confusion often exists when there is a misunderstanding or hard feelings when one of the principals is not successful in a transaction.  If a property is listed but not yet available for showing is usually, but not always, withheld from the multiple listing service accompanied by a form or statement signed by the seller stating that the agent is to wait and not submit it to the public until such time the seller wishes.  Sometimes a member of the public learns about this situation from neighbors or other sources, and requests special permission to preview the property anyway, and the seller says OK.  There are no rules to my knowledge that would prohibit a property from receiving or accepting offers during this period.  The report of the pending sale would still need to be reported, and any offers that continue to come in should still be reviewed by the seller up and until the day the property changed ownership and is then considered truly sold.  The seller can call the shots, but the way the process is handled is determined by the local real estate board where the home is located.  Different boards of realtors have different rules, but the rules are usually regulated and followed by the real estate agents.  Even if a home is listed in the multiple listing service, many sellers do not want a lock box or many times even a sign on the property!  Again, the seller sets the tone of how the home is to be presented to the public, and when.  If you are still concerned about the situation,  I would suggest calling the local board of realtors and discussing this with their office.  Please get back to me if there is something else that needs to be explained or if I can be of additional assistancver.