Fred,

It is a matter of reputation.  If we had an offer and we told another agent that we did, they knew we were telling the truth.  We never made up stuff. In our section of the commercial market place, you knew who was telling lies and who was not.  We really did a good job of policing ourselves, and the word instantly went out...A

I've been the victim of "phantom offers" more often than I care to admit.  I don't care, nor need to have the listing agent "prove" that they have an offer. 

I tell my buyer to ignore the possibility of any other offer, cause my spider-sense is tingling.  Treat this home as though they have no offer, and make any decisions based on that.

I relay what I am told and let the buyer decide if he/she/they want to proceed.  This is a part of the conversation prior to seeing properties.  It happens.

It depends upon the agent. If it's someone reputable, I absolutely believe them.

Otherwise, we have no way of proving until after the Close of the sale. However, it is our responsibility to pass this along to the buyers, advise them accordingly and let them decide how they want to respond.

There is no way to prove the offer is in hand.  You cannot ask for proof, and even if you did an agent that would lie about the offer can easily fake one from an out of area agent or an "offer buddy."

Yes, you can ask questions about the strength of the offer(s), financing, etc. but the agent may fall back on confidentiality of offers, or just make stuff up.

At the end of the day, you have to act and advise your client as if they are telling the truth, unless you have other information about the agent that would lead you to strongly suspect otherwise.

Hi Fred... I guess it's really hard to know if they have an offer or not. I think if your client is really interested in a home it's probably worth acting quickly. I'm always more annoyed when an agent doesn't tell me other offers are coming in.

It happens. I instruct my buyers to always present their best offer. We do what we can with terms.

Unless you know the other agent by reputation, there is no need to ask for proof.

Depending on the degree of interest, I have said: if the other offer does not work out, give us a call. 

It depends on who the agent is. If you've been in business here for more than a few years, you know who plays that game...word gets around.

The other side of your question also aggravates me...there have been times I've had a buyer make a full price cash offer and suddenly the listing agent calls to say another offer just came in, submit your highest and best. Sorry to hijack your Q...stepping down from soapbox...

This is a tough one and I feel like I have to take their word for it, however I do ask plenty of questions to see if I can tease out any more information.  But regardless, I pass this info on to the buyer and let them decide if they want to believe it or not.

Yes, they have an offer or had an offer at the time they said that they did.  I use this information as a benefit to get my client to make an offer.

If it's a few days after the showing and the buyer hasn't made an offer yet, he/she's probably not that interested. Even if I did not believe the listing agent, I would tell the buyer the listing agent indicates there is an offer. There may be or there may not be, but I wanted you to know in the event you were still considering this house. 

Prove it?   Ha, ha...

I have a truth meter that usually says that the agent is lying...

Eve

There are many ways to measure "truth" other than what is being told to us. If we know our markets well and watch the activity, that is a good measure but that alone won't tell us.  Asking for proof - not happening.  The agents' response to asking for proof may be very telling.  I go with my gut a lot. 

In my market, it is very common to set an offer deadline. Once that deadline passes and the property is still active ... we are playing a different game and the playing field changes. 

There are many agents that do this, but it's like playing poker. Use your instincts and go with your gut. I don't bother with researching their reputations as I don't have the time. As with any business, trust is the most important factor. The longer you are in business, the more you who to trust

If you get that from me it's because my seller has instructed me to tell you about an offer, and I really have the offer and with my seller's permission I will tell you who sent the offer to me.  Sometimes I really care about an agent and have worked well with them and would rather work with them again vs. another agent who might have been difficult.    And I can only think of one time where I am pretty sure the agent was just making it all up when there was not really another offer.  And I've been doing this a long long time.

My word runs the show...If I say so...its so. I cannot speak for others

There's a game I cannot play neither as Buyer's agent or the Seller's. Small niches won't allow for it and my pockets could not afford the results. Word travels quickly and generally in a negative path.

There's no way of knowing for sure.  I usually just let my buyer know and it's up to the buyer whether he wants to make an offer or move to another property.  Some buyers are willing to compete for the home they like but some don't. 

One way to prove that an offer has bee received is to request page one of the AOS and let the LA know to scratch out the buyer's name (to maintain privacy).

This is a great question, Fred Griffin Tallahassee Real Estate & one that I don't have a solid answer for when buyers ask me the same.  This comes up especially in multiple offers.  I go by reputation, I make a call and start asking a bunch of questions that, if nothing else, give me an idea of if I'm dealing with a "player" or not.  That's not a solid approach though...  Oh what an industry we're in! 

If I ever say that to you. I'm going to tell you who the offer is from. I got an offer coming in from Century 21. Joe Blow go call him if you don't believe me.

I don't make them prove anything. in our area 9 times out of 10 it's true so I definitely want the heads up and be given a chance rather than have my buyer call and say they are ready and look and see that it pended within the last 24 hours. That said, in answer to your question, I don't ask them for evidence. And whether or not I beleive them depends on who the listing agent is. And whether or not I tell the buyer depends on who the listing agent is and depends on who the buy is.  If the buy is already skeptical of agents and is strongly adverse to buyer competition and the last three times this particular listing agent called and said he had an offer and I needed to act fast - yet the home didn't pend.  I would not call that buyer and tell them as it would simply feed their negative view of agents. And there are a few other scenarios where I probably wouldn't relay the "we have an offer message" but most of the time I would relay the message as 90% plus of the time, it's true.

I would not even bother to ask. Submit your best offer.

Fred, you just never actually know for sure.  Sometimes when you know them, the trust is there.  

Of course there is an offer.

However, if you believe real estate agents are vile, deceptive and manipulative demons. then skepticism is in order. I do have evidence that many are in bed with zDevil. What is your basis for 'spotting BS' other than speculation and reflection?

The reality may be, listing agent received a call from Sally Sells who says, "I'll be sending you and offer in a few minutes."   LA extends a courtesy to showing agents that suggests if your buyer still has interest, they should be advised someone else may make their choice for them. 

Sally, however, never delivers on the offer because her excited buyer spotted a FSBO on eBay they need to look at. Sally believes it a spoofed FSBO and needs time to let the fraud be exposed. The next day Sally buyer believes there is a better deal out there somewhere because of the 'too good to be true' fraud FSBO.

The very best of intentions, in the community of real estate agents. gets vilified. 

I know how I would respond to other agents demanding guarantees and/or proof. In a busness where there are NO assurances, such a demand, in my opion, reflects poorly on the aggressor.

we have never delivered an offer unless we have it scanned to us....we need to have it in hand showing all of the terms and conditions....

I keep the other agent on the phone and probe, asking questions that might give me insight into their statement. Like, do you think it is a solid offer, what is their financing, any contingencies? Etc etc.  it helps my jitters.  I then chat with my client and follow up later just to show the other agent, I KNOW

In our market, if there is a multiple offer scenario.. then the vendor must sign a disclosure.. which names the agent of each offer, that the offers were presented to the vendor and the time and number of offers.  These disclosures then get filed with the deal at the broker level and are then provided to each buyer agent upon request.

Same question I always ask myself when listing agents called me. 

And always don't believe they do...

I think you need to "consider the source", that is know if you trust the listing agent to tell you the truth. 

There is a broker on east side. You call him telling there is a tree under the crawl space from leaking pumbing. Rather being embarrased he says it has already an offier. You call him again later on another home. Rather than giving the correct answer he wrote back make an offer. Weeks later MLS shows active.   There is a credibility issue on that make an offer broker . 

The listing agent does not have to prove anything. When you are on the buyer side and hear this, the question i ask is when is the seller reviewing the offer. Ther eare ways to tell if this situation is real or not. I can say being a listing agent mor ethan a buyer a broker, offers bring more offers. When i hear an offer is coming in, it is good business to let everyone now who saw it that an offer is coming if your buyer is interested get an offer in too.  More offers equals a better price for my seller. 

Great question...my belief is to size up the whole situation.  How long has the property been on the market; what is the reputation and experience of the LA; what is your own gut feeling....I too struggle with this situation since if you ask for evidence you then possible risk the communication between you both...I look forward to others answering .... 

It was a local agent here that made the National news being sued for a "Phantom Offer" and it changed the Multiple Offer scenario drastically more than a decade ago.  We now have systems in place to prevent this and yes, it has to be proven.

If I know the agent and they're honorable, I take their word for it.  Many times though it comes across as the oldest line in the book. 

Many years ago, I did not know the agent and they told me they had an offer.  It was a small boutique building with only 10 units.  I told the buyers who didn't believe it.  Well, turned out the agent really did have an offer and they closed on it.  Luckily, there was one other unit for sale which the buyers then bought.

I always relay this informationto the buyers if I'm told. 

If I say I do, then I do.