ANP
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 06:00
Leanne Kraniotis
economics editor
Leanne Kraniotis
economics editor
It’s not allowed, but it does happen: some brokers require potential buyers to sell their current home through them. The NOS spoke to brokers who sound the alarm about it and a private individual who happened to it. It’s hard to tell how often it happens. The picture does emerge, however, that it plays out in different regions.
It goes as follows: you make an offer on a house and the selling estate agent then says that the sale to you will only go through if you sell the house you are leaving through him or her. This provides the broker with extra turnover, because he has a new house to sell. So a kind of tie-in.
According to the own rules of real estate organizations, this is not allowed at all. It means that the real estate agent may not go for the best offer for the selling individual, but for an offer that produces a new house to sell. And bidders who buy for the first time and do not leave an owner-occupied home have less chance of getting a home.
‘Everyday’s business’
“In 2023 it has already happened seven times in my area,” says Alexandra van der Schot of Smash Makelaars in The Hague. “Very recently, a client of mine buys a house and the selling broker claims: ‘we can only award you the house if we are also allowed to sell your house’. As a hard requirement, while that customer wants to sell through me. If you are not interesting enough for such a broker, they will simply choose someone else.”
“In my region it is the order of the day,” says a broker who wishes to remain anonymous. “Recently, a customer was blackmailed who had me as a buyer’s agent. The selling agent said: ‘We have to sell your house, otherwise it is of no use to me’. But my client was not intimidated and stays with me as a sales agent. In the end, the broker then said: we will go for your offer.”
Hidden agenda
“A friend wanted to buy a house and was obliged to put his old house up for sale with the selling broker and not with me,” says real estate agent André Klein from Alblasserdam. “Something like that is really not allowed. The broker should not have a hidden agenda, this should not be taken into account in bids. The owner must determine who buys, not the broker.”
“We speak to a lot of customers who experienced it,” says broker Danny Baaten of De Huizenpraktijk from Zundert. “In every region you can designate someone who plays this game. I think it’s also because it was a tough time during corona with almost no housing supply. Then some real estate agents are inclined to do so, to get homes to be sold anyway.”
It’s seedy and doesn’t fit into the real estate business.
Jeroen van Stralen of real estate agency Van Stralen
“There is an office nearby that often uses tied sales,” says Jeroen van Stralen of real estate agency Van Stralen in Voorschoten. “For example, they say they demand this to keep track of the buyer’s financial situation. But that’s an excuse. It’s shady and this doesn’t fit in real estate.”
Joep (not his real name) and his girlfriend experienced it recently when they bid on a house in South Limburg. “We did not go along with this. This is simply not allowed and it will only become more difficult for the honest broker.”
The broker Joep was dealing with awarded the house to the other bidder, but he lowered his offer. The estate agent then returned to Joep and his girlfriend. They were allowed to buy in the second instance without the selling broker selling their old house. “We did lower our bid, following the other bidder, by 4,500 euros.”
Joep wants to warn other home buyers. “It is abuse of power. You can hold brokers accountable. In our case, they backed down.”
Trade associations: this is not allowed
“It is absolutely clear: this is absolutely not allowed and also laid down in our code of honor and agreements with the government,” says a spokesman for the NVM. “We are familiar with this phenomenon,” says Tristan Bons, deputy director of VBO. “This is not in line with what you should do as a real estate agent. It is not how you best serve your client.
In 2021, then Minister Ollongren of the Interior demanded more transparency from brokers. VBO then spoke “extensively” with the minister about the phenomenon.
“It will still play now,” said Bons. “The more violently the supply of homes shrinks, the more real estate agents look for new sales opportunities.”
The trade associations say that people with complaints about tying can go to the complaints desk for real estate professionals of the Disputes Committee. This has existed since September 2022. Ultimately, brokers affiliated with NVM, VBO or Vastgoedpro can be fined or expelled for violating the rules.
To combat unfair practices, these brokerage organizations have also made the so-called bid log mandatory this year, under pressure from the government. Bids must end up in a logbook that sellers and bidders can review afterwards. But it is easy for brokers to work without such a logbook. This only has consequences if a consumer complains about this to the Disputes Committee.
Do you have a similar experience with a real estate agent and would you like to tell us about it? Send an email to [email protected]
Accountability
The NOS spoke to seven brokers from different regions who denounced this type of tied sales and want to speak out about it. They did not name specific names of brokers doing it. ‘Joep’, the private individual we spoke to, asked us not to contact the real estate agent in question. In his case, NOS was unable to make inquiries.
Real estate organization VBO confirms that tied sales are taking place. Vereniging Eigen Huis (VEH), the advocate of home buyers and owners, recognizes the working method and also hears stories from members about tied sales.
A spokesperson for the Disputes Committee cannot say how many complaints the Disciplinary Committee for Real Estate Professionals is handling. That disciplinary committee has existed since January 1 and has not yet made any statements, not about tying, but also not about other subjects.
VEH does not think that many private individuals who experience this will report to the Disputes Committee. “People who go along with it find it annoying and inappropriate, but are often happy that they were able to get a home in this way,” says Hans André de la Porte of VEH.
“And people who do not go along with it must have real evidence, such as e-mails or voicemails, for a complaint to be successful. And that is difficult, because it is often verbal. Such a complaints procedure also mainly creates negative energy and you get don’t take the house you had in mind with you.”
The names of all anonymous speakers in this article are known to the editors.
2023-08-19 04:00:16
#Brokers #tied #sales #shady #abuse #power
