Sacramento Home Seller Says No DNA Buyer’s Agents

DNA buyer’s agent need not submit a purchase offer, says seller.

This is the first time in my decades of selling real estate that I’ve had a Sacramento seller refuse to accept an offer from DNA buyer’s agents. First, I tried reason. Look, about 90% of the agents who belong to our Board of Realtors sell maybe 3 or 4 homes a year. Many of their sales are to family members. So, the odds of us getting an offer from one of those agents are pretty high. If you refuse to work with DNA buyer’s agents, you’re eliminating a lot of potential buyers from the opportunity to buy your home.

Doesn’t care. The seller flat out stated he thinks it is slimy business. DNA buyer’s agents particularly bother him because he thinks these agents will take advantage of him. Ha, I pointed out: they even don’t know enough to take advantage. Further, most agents are not under-handed, low-life belly crawlers. These guys are stumbling though the business as best they can. Nobody is dreaming up nefarious plots to do a seller in.

Makes no difference. His mind is made up. Just does not care for DNA buyer’s agents. I’m wondering how will I phrase this in the confidential agent remarks? No offers from buyers related to the agent? That in itself will generate calls, I can hear them now. What do you MEAN? It won’t make sense. Well, it will but they won’t see it. Agents will think it’s goofy or doesn’t apply to them or whatever goes through their heads when something different challenges a thought process.

Some DNA buyer’s agents don’t even realize they need to put this personal disclosure into the purchase offer. That’s how little experience and knowledge they possess. Which means I will need to ask each agent whether they are related in any way shape or manner to the buyer.

This proposal also generates a lot of unanswered questions. Will the buyers figure out they can hire a different agent who can pay their family member a referral fee? Will the buyers know why they can’t buy the house? Will their agent tell them? Maybe not.

If the seller doesn’t want to sell to a buyer who is represented by a DNA buyer’s agent, who I am to talk him out of it? After all, it’s not like Facebook, which supposedly has stopped letting advertisers select targets based on discrimination laws. ProPublica reports that Facebook approved advertising in direct violation of Fair Housing Laws. Facebook let advertisers opt out of showing ads to African Americans, mothers of high school kids, Spanish speakers, you-name-it protected class. Shame on you, Facebook.

Of course, I will still need to present all offers to the seller, even if one of them is from an agent the seller will refuse to let us pay. I cannot pick and choose. Maybe I’ll just say agents related to buyer will not receive a commission and that will put an end to it. It will be interesting to see how our MLS reacts.

Happy Thanksgiving!