Yup. She wants her money. You should post the address of the house if you don't mind doing so, I would like to check it out on StreetView as I'm sure some others here would as well. If you don't want to do that, maybe the street so we can see what the neighborhood looks like?
The address is 6 birchwood ave Monroe CT. I'm also getting the feeling my agents are just trying to get the deal through so they can cash in. I'm about ready to walk from the deal and drop the agent.
So we had our meeting with my Mom's agent this morning. Here was the stink: 1) Seller signed an addendum agreeing to fix a whole host of issues, very specific on how and what was to be fixed. 2) Then the seller asked us to let them get 3 bids to have the work done after closing, because the wife is a teacher and time is a factor. 3) The seller then presented one bid, which was vague as fuck and didn't list a few critical items. 4) After pressured they presented a revised bid that was still vague and incomplete. The seller, the seller's agent, and my agent were all trying to ramrod the deal through at our expense. So we met a few hours ago, and the message delivered: "Repairs made prior to close, exactly per the addendum. Period. Let me know when we can get our inspector back in to review the work. I'm going to the Blues Festival now..." My agent was saying all the right things, apologetic, etc. But it was clear from her eyes and body language that we had caught them in some shit and that she had underestimated me.
Yes, they are only a glorified sales person. Don't believe all the "rosie" news you hear about the real estate market heading upwards. It's only hype and sales tools to sell more homes by a desparate industry that has a huge overstock of inventory. This is why one month you'll hear great news about home sales and a totally contradictory report a week or two later.
My agent had the nerve to call me back last night with a follow-up offer from the seller - 500 bucks. 500 bucks, plus the $1900 already on the table. I know damn well the repairs are going to cost $3000-4000, they must take me for a fool...
haha I've already decided that if i don't get the house so be it. If they fall anything short of exactly what i want I'm collecting my deposit and walking from the deal. I've made that clear to my agent. They can get all the estimates they want, no credits for me fix it and fix it right then show me proof of who did it and re inspect.
They're all still attempting to make the same chunk of change they were back in the good ole days of huge home sale profits. The market should correct that......"should". I remember getting a $250,000 construction loan and having the real estate agents putting up signs and flyers selling the homes for 1.75 mill before the house was half done. The clincher? Those homes sold for more than the asking price in a lot of cases. I'm not sure who was making the big bux, but I know it wasn't me or my crews. Then we got to bail out the banks.....
Here is an update. I talk to my real estate agent that claimed the water had been fixed. When i asked for a repair invoice she started back stepping saying oh they just turned it on nothing was wrong with it. Yet the inspector couldnt coax a drop out of it when we were there. Further into the conversation she explained the estate would get the water running and the septic going and then i'd get a credit for the amps. This was my breaking point since i said it about 1000 times that i wanted all 3 taken care of by them i didnt want to deal with credits and that i would walk from the deal if this didnt happened. She played it off like she didnt know(even though i e-mailed her and txted her several times). Once i told her to go ahead and cancel the deal i get a call just now as i'm about to leave to sign the paperwork that i dont want the house, that the other real estate agent hadnt even talked to the estate yet about fixing all 3 things and that if i still wanted to present that they would. This whole thing is just SHADY as hell i'm walking away from the deal.
Yes, that's how it's done. From what I've noticed and been hired to rectify in the past I have come to realize that the agents care nothing about the clients and their investments so long as they get their cut. The pet phrase with real estate agents is "bubblegum and tape". I have lost a few jobs by refusing to do bubblegum and tape repairs. I'm sure there are lots of agent that start out with some integrity and are able to stay that way, but I've yet to meet one that's been doing it for awhile that has much honesty left. The place is a liability and cannot sell itself so lying to you is the only way to close the deal. Take the money and run!
Shadey deals and scams are the way bizizdun. An honest person can't make the same cash as a dishonest person now a days. I get by because I want my needs rather than need my wants so I don't need as much cash. It totally astounds me what shit people can come up with to wrestle dollars out of other people.
There might be shady agents, but a client shouldn't let it come to that. You owe an agent absolutely nothing. They don't make a dime if you don't sign the paperwork, so if you're even slightly unhappy with the agent you should drop them like a bad habit. You have no obligation whatsoever to "stick it out" with someone who isn't fighting on your behalf. Get a new agent and keep up the house hunt, you'll find something better and when you look back you'll think "wow, I'm glad that place fell through".
Report her ass to your local/state realtor association. If she isn't presenting your offer/counter she isn't doing her job.
If you don't have it in writing, then don't bother. You need to be sure, beyond a doubt. It sounds like she's trying a fast one.
Well sorry about the deal falling through, but it sure sounds like it was in your best interest to bolt. I agree with Shabaz, you should report your agent. Our deal is moving forward. As predicted the seller caved into all our demands - all repairs done and inspected prior to close. The septic inspection came back clean (pun), and I suspect we'll be closing within a few weeks. I'd be very interested in knowing what they ultimately paid for all of the repairs, but I doubt I'll ever know. For sure my agent won't tell me, because it would just make her look worse than she already does.
To this day, I still regret buying my house, and leaving it up to the agents "word" that everything would be professionally cleaned. It was quite convenient because the day we took possession, it just so happened that our agent was heading on a cruise, and low and behold....it was with the person we were buying the house from. We spent ALL DAY cleaning the house from top to bottom. It was an absolute mess through and through. When I buy another house (someday when the world doesn't end), I will make sure that the inspection is thorough, and EVERYTHING is in writing and agreed upon. Although, right now, for me to buy a house would be foolish because I would need at least a $300k down payment to make mortgage payments even remotely close to what I pay right now.
In writing. That is the key thing. My agent kept wanting me to call the seller, or call the seller's contractor, to clarify what work was going to be done. "Those are just words Marcia, until I have it crystal clear and on paper is doesn't mean a damn thing."
