Yup, you had a conditional Withdrawal

I went and met with a very nice couple the other day who had their home listed for about a month back in April, (it is now late September) at that time they had asked the agent that had the listing to withdraw it from the Multiple Listing Service. They had told her they decided not to sell. Unknown to me, was the fact this agent gave them a conditional withdrawal, with an expiration date of 180 days. So, not only was she locking them into a listing agreement beyond the initial 6 month listing agreement she was prohibiting them from listing with anyone else but her.

After sitting and talking with these people for about a half hour they were more than happy to list with me. The funniest part was when I showed them in writing that I would speak to them weekly they both laughed and said that would be awesome since their previous agent was a ghost once the papers were signed. So, we signed the paper work I took the listing and proceeded to market their home…

Then about a week later I get a call from the seller, it seems the previous agent was in a snit over the fact they listed elsewhere and that SHE HAD THE CONDITIONAL WITHDRAWAL and she intended to enforce it! I asked my client to have her call me, which she did not. I attempted to call her (got her voicemail) she had finally sent me an email. And sure enough she had the conditional withdrawal.

Now, in my opinion the right thing to do would have been first off to give these folks an unconditional withdrawal, which is what I do if someone decides not to sell. But I guess I have a certain moral code that keeps me from holding people hostage when it comes time to sell their homes. The second thing she should have done was to let them out of this, and wish them the best of luck. Which she wouldn’t do. So, let me get this right; these people didn’t call you or anyone from your company when they decided to re-list. They found an agent that they wanted to work with and now you are going to FORCE these people to re-list with you for 6 weeks? Why in God’s name would anyone want to enter into what amounts to an adversarial relationship at best? I mean they didn’t want you back and now you are forcing yourself and your company upon them??

Here is the funny part, this agent is the reason why I got my license in the first place, and it wasn’t because she was an awesome agent and I was inspired to be like her, in fact it was just the opposite. I figured if this is what good is in this profession then I would have no problem being great!

Back in 2004 before I was involved in Real Estate we decided to sell our home. We had contacted a different agent (Whom was equally useless but that’s another story). We had met this agent at a new home development and after speaking with her she spent the next 20 minutes trashing our present agent, and her company. Kept telling us we should have no problem selling our house and we should list with her. When I told her I had a contract and that had to expire, she proceeded to tell me how I should call my present agents broker and ask for an “Unconditional Withdrawal” so I could list with her. Since I was unhappy with my present agent for a number of reasons I did. And she was more than happy to sell my house while I bought a big new home from her. Once all the paperwork was done she vanished on me too. Until it was time to pick up her commission checks and then we were best friends again! Here is the part that always makes me laugh… She had told us on more than one occasion that she gives “Awesome House Warming Gifts” so after she received the commissions on a total sale amount of $1,365,000 (new house both sides of deal, and sale of old house) she shows up at my door with another agent because she wanted to show her our kitchen with a $12.00 tin of chocolate from BJ’s Wholesale Club… I put tens of thousands of dollars in this women’s pocket and I get 12 bucks worth of candy…amazing!

I truly believe in Karma and I am certain this agent has and will continue to reap the benefits from the way she conducts business and for her lack of regard for anyone other than herself. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to withdraw a listing for any reason at all, do not let your agent saddle you with a “Conditional Withdrawal” if they are the least bit of a professional they would never even ask you to accept this, and you shouldn’t!