Australian Real Estate Blog : Barry Plant Real Estate - "Gazumping ...
Actually, Barry Plant did say this to me in an email:
"After nearly forty years as a real estate agent and being part of creating a company of nearly 800 people, with 75 offices selling more than 10000 properties last year, I can confidently say how proud I feel to have chosen real estate as a career and the thought of how many people our company has assisted in achieving their families dreams and aspirations, not forgetting capital growth and security, allows your slant on the real estate industry to pale into insignificance."
An estate agent with a big chain of offices and a big ego probably doesn't see the need to explain anything to anyone.
Dear St. Peter,
What we really have here is an agent who is looking after the entity who pays his commission, his seller.
Bravo, Barry's salesperson needs a pat on the back.
The buyer would like to take the property off the market at a its price, BUT WITH NO CERTAINTY OF COMPLETING THE PURCHASE, and the buyer well knows this; and so they have agreed to let the seller continue to offer the property for sale, no doubt hoping like hell they sellers don't get another offer.
Note the offer has to be higher or have better terms. It is not just any offer.
To paraphrase the situation. I'll take your wobbly offer, but until you firm it up you let me be free to take another better offer. If I do get one you match it or move on. That's fair.
Loosen the grip St. Peter.
Well said DEKKM. Note that there is one party who is always a winner in this situation. Don't worry that the vendor may be stuck with a "wobbly" offer, or that the purchaser may be gazumped, the focus is on the true winner - the estate agent.
I'm sure that Barry Plant does indeed pat his agents on the back every time they manage to secure a sale through the use of his gazumping clause.