News Bulletin - March 15, 2022

Submitting Offers on Multiple Properties

The Commission has received reports of licensees representing buyer clients who will submit offers on multiple properties at the same time, knowing that the buyer does not intend to buy multiple properties.

This strategy is being used in the current real estate market in an attempt to secure an accepted offer on a property, and if more than one of their offers are accepted, they choose one property to proceed with purchasing, and terminate the other agreements using out clauses.

A licensee that engages in this practice is in violation of the Act and the By-law, specifically sections:

• RETA section 22(1)
• by-law 702(2) 
• by-law 702(34)
• by-law 702(35)

When submitting an offer to a seller, the buyer is representing that they will enter into an agreement in good faith if their offer is accepted. A licensee submitting multiple offers on behalf of a client (unless their client is willing to purchase multiple properties) knows that at least some of the offers being made are not being made in good faith as there is no intention to purchase all of the properties. 

The fact that at the time the offers are submitted it is unclear which of the multiple offers is not made in good faith does not change the licensee’s knowledge that the buyer does not intend to be bound by one or more of the offers.

If a buyer wants to use this strategy, you must advise them that this is not a lawful instruction and violates the Act and the By-law.