A friend recently made an offer on what would have been her first house in a small town in eastern Ontario. This is a big deal. A milestone. It goes without saying that it also comes with a certain amount of anxiety. No one wants to make a bad decision, especially when it’s your first.

The property was unique. It has heritage designation and is the only one like it in the area. Talking about how it all went down, I asked her how she and her agent determined the value of such a unique find. She told me that while trying to figure out what to offer for the property she asked her agent to ask the seller’s agent how they came up with their asking price. Her agent’s response? “I can’t ask that.”

I admit it, I didn’t keep my composure.

To paraphrase, I responded along the lines of “What do you mean she couldn’t ask!?”

Part of the process of buying a home with a Realtor is entering into a Buyer Representation Agreement. It gives the authority for the brokerage to represent the buyer in the transaction. This agreement, along with general agency law covers the duties owed to the client.

One of those duties is to “Obey Instructions.”

Before you start plotting what you are going to direct your agent to do, this does not cover things that are illegal or fall outside the trade of real estate. I’m not calling your mother to explain why you’re not coming to visit next week. Sorry. (Unless it’s because we are making an offer. In that case hand over her number.)

But, if you tell me you would like me to ask a question of the other agent, especially when we are considering buying the property they have listed, I’m picking up the phone and asking.

Because you have directed me to do so.

We do a lot of research when preparing to make an offer. We pull recent sales, analyse year-over-year increases and for condos the price per square foot. We want you to make an informed decision and wondering how the seller came up with their price may not even cross your mind when armed with all that information. But if there isn’t a lot in terms of comparables what’s the harm asking how they determined their asking price?

It likely wasn’t arbitrary. Maybe they knew of a recent private sale that was a good comparable. Maybe they applied a cost approach where they looked at land value and the cost to rebuild the house. Maybe they brought in a psychic. Knowledge is power, people! Ask!

Things didn’t work out with the offer (for reasons other than price) so I potentially got worked up for no reason as this is all in the past and she’s moved on. Therefore, I’ve channeled that energy into writing this blog post, so that you know for next time that, as agents, we are working for you. And that means following your instructions.

I have to go call someone’s mum now.