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With all due respect, and I'm trying to learn from what you're saying, I still hear the realtors advocating a position on behalf of the buyer.
I'm not selling my house based on a future remodel of it - I renovated everything 5 years ago to the studs. I'm selling it as it exists, with the systems it has.
I don't care, a buyer renovating is the norm here, that's what I did myself. I do expect that I would be informed beforehand if someone is disassembling any part of my property or up on the roof, etc. I've had problems with inspection damage in the past and my agent knows that I do not allow inspections without my agent or someone representing me being there. That's why they steamrolled me; they knew I wouldn't like it so they did it anyway on the sly. That's what ticked me off.
I don't blame you. I don't understand the contractor not putting things back like he found them. It would seems like a phone call should have followed, along the lines of what was the result - and if the answer was that they were not going forward, then to ascertain when the contractor would be back at the property to put things right.
With all due respect, and I'm trying to learn from what you're saying, I still hear the realtors advocating a position on behalf of the buyer.
I'm not selling my house based on a future remodel of it - I renovated everything 5 years ago to the studs. I'm selling it as it exists, with the systems it has. If it's not right for any buyer, no problem, lots of people look but don't buy. My disinterest in working with this buyer is, they were deceptive and obnoxious from the beginning so I would expect difficulty getting to a closing. It's the way they went about it.
The buyer can decide it's not the right house for her, but I may decide it's not the right buyer for me to sell to (based on how they conducted business with me already, not their race, religion,etc). As seller, I also get to choose and have my criteria. This party conducted business in the wrong order and out of sequence by having an inspection first, wanting the title 5 and personal closing info second, while not having made an offer, instead of the other way around, which is customary. The way they were lining things up, I expected any offer to be lowball or otherwise unappealing, and I don't want the distraction.
It seems to me that getting a quote is a poor excuse for pulling out my electrical wring. It also seems to me that the realtors should be bringing the parties together, that won't happen by ticking me off. At the least there's been a lack of communication and understanding.
I totally agree and if I were in your shoes I would be sooo pissed. First off, I know selling a home right now is tough but that does not mean people can tramplethrough your house, dismantle things and walk away. This is your home. I have a problem with realtors that decide your home is just a product. If the buyer is serious about adding an addition, then fine but that does not mean pulling out wiring for peets sake. IMO, with so much inventory on the market why would anyone buy a home with the first intention is to add on to the home. Why not look at houses that already have the room they are looking for?
The buyer could give you an offer with the condition that an addition is possible. If not, then they walk away if you agree. I have been a seller and buyer. I bought my house last year and the seller I dealt with was a huge pain in the neck. I gave them a strong offer with 2 days to decide. They waited till the last hour to say no. I think most people know right away whether or not they like the offer. So we moved on. A few months later the sellers came back to us and asked if we were still interested. I guess after a few months with no showings or offers made them realize they made a mistake. So we said we were still interested but wanted to go through the house again. We went through house, got excited and sat down to write up the offer (the same one we offered before) and our realtor then dropped the bomb that the sellers had called her earlier and said they had a showing in a few days and wanted us to wait until that showing because they were pretty sure they were going to get another offer. They basically wanted us in the bag but wanted to see if the other potential buyers would offer more. My husband and I were livid. Both realtors, the sellers and mine seemed to be on the sellers side. I said I was done and walking out. My husband knew how badly I wanted the house so he said that we would submit our offer but we wanted a 24 hr reply or we were out. The sellers agreed to our offer. They were idiots and were idiots all the way up to closing too. But I love my house and glad it worked out. So OP, go with your gut on this one. If your realtor doesnt find any of the damage offensive, then dump them too.
with so much inventory on the market why would anyone buy a home with the first intention is to add on to the home. Why not look at houses that already have the room they are looking for?
That's a good point and a question I've been asking myself. Partly, it's a modest house in a good location with better houses, land and a scenic view.
It also seemed odd that the buyer already had a contractor when she hadn't yet even seen the house, and insisted on having her agent, three friends, and a contractor along for the first showing. Usually people take a 15 minute walk through with their realtor first. Then, if they have any interest they will come back a second time with their spouse or a contractor.
I understand it's a soft market but in it's totality this looked more like a problem than a buyer. This was 2 or 3 weeks ago, despite all the commotion there was no offer and I'll have the wiring fixed myself when I find someone to do it.
It's unfortunate that they left the wiring exposed and your agent should've addressed this with the buyer's agent and made arrangements to have it repaired.
I don't think you were being scammed or they would be a problem buyer - it simply sounds like a serious buyer who was trying to get all their ducks in a row before they wrote a purchase agreement - until you had your agent "get rid of them".
So what if those "things" were done out of order? I'm all for advocating a cleaner contract - to get some of the possible contingencies out of the way even before a contract is written makes for a deal that has a higher chance of making it to the closing table.
A year or so ago, my husband and I were looking at a single family house to purchase for a rental. I wrote up the offer, they countered, and before accepting we went back to take another look. There was a free-standing trash compactor in the corner of the kitchen and we moved it about 6 inches away from the wall. (Let me stress it was NOT a built in.)
We also opened up the cabinets under the sink.
Apparently, we neither closed the cabinet door nor moved the trash compactor back. Ooops.
The next morning before I could send back our signed counter accepting the buyer's price, their agent called to tell us the owner wouldn't sell to us because we moved the compactor & left the cabinet door ajar. Say wha?
(It may be worth mentioning that it was a cash offer and no home inspection contingency either.)
The property is STILL on the market well over a year later.
Don't be THAT seller. Realize this in the end is a business deal and you're selling a product. I know that because this is your home (and not just a house) it's tough to remove all the emotion ... but you need to. If you want to get it sold.
Last edited by Chuckity; 07-24-2010 at 09:29 AM..
Reason: ima badddd spellllerrrr
Chuckity is dead on, it is not that you have to be an automaton and bend over for unreasonable abuse, but by letting emotions overrule logic you risk being 'unsellable'.
To be sure, if I were showing the house, and knew the sellers were particularly picky about overly aggressive examinations, I would have done my best to either get some cooperation from the listing agent OR made triple sure that EVERYTHING was ship shape before we left. Leaving wires hanging out was a big error.
From some comments it sound like other sellers feel like every showing is this close to having a street thug rifle through you "hand washables"...
Folks, you can not have "let them buy another house" mindset. EVER. you need / want every potential buyer to feel like "This is the only one for us" even if that means biting your tongue when they do something bone-headed...
By telling your agent to "get rid" of a potential buyer you quite possibly have not just killed this deal but made it known to your agent that you are not as eager a seller you ought to be.
Again, you should have had your agent communicate in a polite in a professional manner that some wire was pulled out from around a porch light in a way that suggests an overly aggressively viewing, and you expect this to be made right, but even that is not likely to happen given the "get them out of my hair" attitude expressed.
In other threads I have stated how I have intervened when potential buyers have gone overboard with photos of the contents, so I understand there are lines that ought nit be crossed. As I said I have been involved in sales of tear downs, where the seller really likes their older home. When the only requests verification of the build able area and lot lines it is very tough for some folks to accept that all their hard work making the house livable and attractive are going to end up in a landfill. Then my job becomes one of assuring the seller that there hard work did make the overall neighborhood more desirable. The things that made their area a good place to raise the sellers family have attracted a new family that will build a home that their kids will call home. A fair price will enable this happen and give the sellers the funds to move on to the next stage of their life. It can be done considerately or callously..
That's a good point and a question I've been asking myself. Partly, it's a modest house in a good location with better houses, land and a scenic view.
It also seemed odd that the buyer already had a contractor when she hadn't yet even seen the house, and insisted on having her agent, three friends, and a contractor along for the first showing. Usually people take a 15 minute walk through with their realtor first. Then, if they have any interest they will come back a second time with their spouse or a contractor.
I understand it's a soft market but in it's totality this looked more like a problem than a buyer. This was 2 or 3 weeks ago, despite all the commotion there was no offer and I'll have the wiring fixed myself when I find someone to do it.
IMO, they are lookie loos. I would suspect the "contractor" is a relative or friend. Who has a contractor on retainer? Sounds like someone with big ideas and no cash.
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
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This is exactly why I attend every single inspection on every property whether I represent the seller or the buyer. I'd suggest it's good business practice for all agents and it's the law in my office.
It's unfortunate that they left the wiring exposed and your agent should've addressed this with the buyer's agent and made arrangements to have it repaired.
I don't think you were being scammed or they would be a problem buyer - it simply sounds like a serious buyer who was trying to get all their ducks in a row before they wrote a purchase agreement - until you had your agent "get rid of them".
So what if those "things" were done out of order? I'm all for advocating a cleaner contract - to get some of the possible contingencies out of the way even before a contract is written makes for a deal that has a higher chance of making it to the closing table.
A year or so ago, my husband and I were looking at a single family house to purchase for a rental. I wrote up the offer, they countered, and before accepting we went back to take another look. There was a free-standing trash compactor in the corner of the kitchen and we moved it about 6 inches away from the wall. (Let me stress it was NOT a built in.)
We also opened up the cabinets under the sink.
Apparently, we neither closed the cabinet door nor moved the trash compactor back. Ooops.
The next morning before I could send back our signed counter accepting the buyer's price, their agent called to tell us the owner wouldn't sell to us because we moved the compactor & left the cabinet door ajar. Say wha?
(It may be worth mentioning that it was a cash offer and no home inspection contingency either.)
The property is STILL on the market well over a year later.
Don't be THAT seller. Realize this in the end is a business deal and you're selling a product. I know that because this is your home (and not just a house) it's tough to remove all the emotion ... but you need to. If you want to get it sold.
I think in your case you had uptight sellers. Leaving a cabinet open or leaving something slightly ajar are simple mistakes. Any reasonable seller may feel slightly annoyed but would not freak out. Pulling out wiring is a different matter. I am thinking the sellers you encountered might not like the idea you were going to make their home a rental. My mom was like this. She had a small home in a transitional neighborhood. An investor looked at her house and she was fine until she learned the buyer might rent out HER house. She wanted a family to move into her house. It was a tiny 2 bed house, no family would be moving into it, ever. She drove me nuts. I can only imagine what her realtor thought. Eventually a single woman bought the house.
I have respect for good realtors but in my experience, sadly, I have ran into more bad than good. The first realtor I ever had was awesome so I got spoiled. Every realtor after that was a complete joke. I am amazed by the disrespect some have while showing houses. I think it becomes old hat to them and no longer view the house as someone's home. The realtor I had was like this. We looked at our house in the dead of winter. Right after a huge snow storm. We walked in the house and I took off my boots. The realtor said it wasnt necessary. She stomped through the house with her boots on (there was 14 in of snow on the ground) leaving snow bits all over the place. I said well, I do not want to get their carpet all wet. She said to me "its just water!" When we went to write up the offer, we sat at the sellers kitchen table (her boots dripping all over the floor). When my realtor couldnt find her pen, she rifled through the sellers kitchen drawers looking for one. Then she realized her cell phone was dead, she used the sellers house phone to call her office. Didn't put it back on the hook either. I felt really uncomfortable. It didnt help that the sellers were already a pain the in neck. I just love watching HGTV when it shows buyers looking at a master bedroom and then flopping on the sellers bed and saying ya, this is great! Its like seriously? You are going to flop on someone else's bed?
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They basically wanted us in the bag but wanted to see if the other potential buyers would offer more. My husband and I were livid. Both realtors, the sellers and mine seemed to be on the sellers side. I said I was done and walking out. My husband knew how badly I wanted the house so he said that we would submit our offer but we wanted a 24 hr reply or we were out. The sellers agreed to our offer. They were idiots and were idiots all the way up to closing too. But I love my house and glad it worked out. So OP, go with your gut on this one. If your realtor doesnt find any of the damage offensive, then dump them too.
None of us are saying "be a doormat"...
She wanted a family to move into her house. It was a tiny 2 bed house, no family would be moving into it, ever. She drove me nuts. I can only imagine what her realtor thought. Eventually a single woman bought the house. 
