Some agents don't play well with others, which can put their customers and clients at a disadvantage.

One New Haven, Connecticut buyer, Joseph Pesticci, suspects that he and his wife Liliana lost a bid on the home they wanted for no better reason than the listing agent didn't like his agent.

He just isn't sure he can prove it, and he doesn't know where to turn for "justice."

Pesticci describes his agent, whom we'll call Agent #1, as a "type-A personality," who was "stand-offish" to the listing agent, Agent #2, because Agent #2 was "not from this marketplace" and "knew nothing about the Orange market" and had "underpriced the home considerably."

The day that the Pesticcis went to view the house on the day they made their offer, Pesticci says, "During our viewing, our agent periodically corrected Agent #2 when I would ask questions as to septic, roof, etc. Our agent is familiar with all the contractors in the area and would point out who she thought had serviced the house when the listing agent wasn't sure. As we left, our agent made a flippant remark to us that Agent #2 was not from this marketplace."

The Pesticcis made an offer. It wasn't accepted, prompting Pesticci to write the following letter to the listing agent:

Ms. (Agent #2):

You were the listing agent for _________ in Orange. We were a prospective buyer that submitted an offer on the house. We were told by you at the time of our viewing that you had already received an offer on the house and were accepting "best and final offers" to present to the seller that night. We understood that there would be no countering of offers available, and that we must submit our best offer to you.

We submitted an offer of $390,000 ($15,100 over the asking price) with no mortgage contingency and the ability to close in 30 days or less. We submitted the offer through Agent #1, at ________Realty. We had noticed during the walk-through of the house that Agent #1 was not very amicable with you - but were more interested in getting information on the property.

Later that evening, (around 11:00 PM) we were saddened to understand that we did not win the bid. Most of our colleagues and some other agents I know were very surprised that such a generous offer did not win. We were certain that someone had most likely bid $395,000-$400,000 or more.

This morning, I saw that the winning bid on the house was $391,000 - only $1,000 over our offer! So, am I to believe that this was truly a best and final bidding and you received this winning offer of $16,100 over asking prior to my offer?

I understand that competing offers may place "odd" amounts over asking in hopes of winning the bid. However, $16,100 over asking is a bit too odd for me to believe in coincidence - especially when there is a competing bid for $15,100 over asking. Rather, I suspect that our offer price was "leaked" in some fashion to the winning bidder, such that they could bid just enough more to secure their acceptance. I also suspect that this "leaking of confidential bidder pricing" may be the result of some conflicting issues between you and Agent #1 such that you would prefer she not be the participating agent in this deal.

While I may not have a confession from you of this sort, I certainly have a situation that is most suspicious - and has been labeled so by three other agents. I have been told that this does happen and it is an unfortunate part of the real estate business.

My damages are that of time in finding another suitable house, money in watching prices and interest rates go up, and lost opportunity, and while I cannot unwind this situation - I most certainly can report this "coincidence" to the Real Estate Board and your company for further inquiry.

Thank you for your attention.

Joseph and Liliana Pesticci

Fueling Pesticci's suspicions was the fact that the selling agent representing the buyer whose offer was accepted was also from out of the area.

"The only peculiar fact about the buying agent is that she is an agent that doesn't necessarily specialize in the area of this house," suggests Pesticci. "I don't know if you are familiar with the area of CT, but the buying agent (Agent #3) is out of Milford, and appears to have houses listed for sale on her site more in the central New Haven area - and in the price range of $150-250k. In other words, I find it very unlikely that she could be as crafty as she was with this bid to somehow know the Orange market well enough to bid $16,100 over the market price - when my agent is the top seller in the Orange market and has lived in Orange for 30+ years."

Did Joseph's agent blow the deal for him through her condescending behavior toward the listing agent? Pesticci thinks so - enough to have fired Agent #1 after losing the bid on the home of his dreams.

"What I would like to know is what recourse do I have to expose this," says Pesticci, "and somehow see that justice is done - either as a breach of Realtor ethics or some damage in the form of compensation for lost opportunity based upon this breach? Is there an organization that specializes in addressing this type of situation?"

Pesticci is writing the brokers of record for Agents #1 and #2, as well as the local real estate board.

He hopes to have a response shortly.

Published: August 6, 2003

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