Despite low bids, agent who brings in multiple offers shouldn't be fired

Real estate law requires sales agents to present their clients with every offer, even if it's far below the seller's asking price.

Q. Our home has been listed for sale for about two months. Our sales agent has presented us with four different offers, none of which has been even close to our asking price. Why does the agent insist on wasting our time to review offers that she knows we would never accept? Isn't her job to "weed out" such lousy offers? We are thinking that we should just fire her and look for someone else to sell our home.A. The fact that your agent has generated four purchase offers in the past two months - even though the offering bids were below your expectations - suggests to me that she's doing a good job of marketing your property and should not be fired.I understand how frustrating it is to spend time reviewing an offer that is far below a property's asking price. Believe me, I've been there too.Yet it's also important to understand that real estate law in all 50 states requires an agent who has been hired to market a home to present "any and all offers" to the property owner, even if the offer is for a mere penny. So does the Code of Ethics published by the National Association of Realtors. That means that your agent could face heavy fines, lose her license and maybe even go to jail if she doesn't show you every bid for your house.Talk to the agent about your concerns. It's no secret that home sales remain slow in most parts of the nation, and that many sellers have had their property on the market for several months without getting any purchase offers.Your letter states that your saleswoman has garnered four offers in the past two months, all of which you have rejected, which makes me think that you may be asking too much for the house or are making other unreasonable demands. Ask the agent for an updated list of the latest sale prices in the area, and then adjust your marketing price accordingly.Q. You recently wrote that a bankruptcy can stay on a consumer's credit record for up to 10 years. But how long does positive information stay on file? A. Positive information, such as prompt payments on active credit-card accounts or automobile loans, remains on a report indefinitely and continues to gradually increase a consumer's credit score. Info about accounts that were closed "in good standing" generally stays for 10 years, just as most bankruptcies would.Q. We made a full-price offer for a home that we would like to buy, but the sellers rejected it and made a counteroffer to sell us the house for $3,500 more than their original asking price. Aren't the sellers required to sell the property to us because we agreed to pay the full amount of the price that appeared in the local Multiple Listing Service and in the newspaper? Can we sue for "false advertising" or something like that?A. You can sue, but you probably wouldn't win. Home sellers are not required to sell their property - even if a prospective buyer meets or exceeds the advertised asking price - unless both parties involved in the transaction have signed a written sales agreement. Though you offered to meet the owners' full asking price, they never signed a purchase agreement and so have no obligation to sell the home to you.Q. I was interested by a recent question you answered concerning basic living trusts, and how forming a trust can allow a homeowner's property to pass immediately to heirs without them spending lots of time and money in probate court. I looked up more information about trusts on the Internet and think that creating one would be a good idea, but I am a little confused. Is a "living trust" the same thing as an "inter vivos" trust?A. Yes, they are the same. The English term "living trust" comes from the Latin term "inter vivos," which roughly translates to "between living persons."By forming a basic living trust now and putting your home and other assets into it, you can help to ensure that your heirs will inherit your property quickly after you die instead of having them suffer through the additional emotional pain of the long and costly probate process.bull; For the booklet "Straight Talk About Living Trusts," send $4 and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to David Myers/Trust, P.O. Box 2960, Culver City, CA 90231-2960.#169; 2010, Cowles Syndicate Inc.