Widow with 3 adult sons remained in the family homestead of 40 years. The growing needs of being a senior now require a single floor for mobility and less snow shovelling or house / lawn maintenance. Its expensive to heat the 4 bedroom house for one person. She expressed her interest to change to a condominium with her BFF [who was previously a REALTOR ® ] Smartsizing*
There was a swift introduction to a Friend of the BFF. [bird dog]
He took her out a few times to look at condos, and then reminded her that she was obligated to him. The sons are all past clients of mine. The sons recommended that she contact me about her needs.
BUT ... She felt obligated.
They settled on a condo unit and a closing date. The home was listed for sale at $XXX. Toronto, Ontario, Canada's real estate market for detached homes is firmly a SELLER's Market. After a few days on the For Sale, he asked What will you take... What's your final price. What's your lowest price?
She finally responded to the questions with... "I will not take less than $YYY"
An offer from a showing appeared exactly at $YYY and the agent sheepishly added;
But thats all they can afford to pay....
The agent double dipped the seller on the detached home and sold a condo.
The family suspects that the Widow [their Mom] was shorted [duped] out of about 10% of the homes value by an unscrupulous agent. We all want a trust relationship, transparency and fiduciary duty to our clients. Mom doesn't believe she was manipulated.
"Happy Buyer" and a "Happy Seller" means that there is no ethical complaint against this realtor. BUT should we sit by and permit this? We talk about raising the bar in real estate transactions then find stories like this are more common.
What would you do?
