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So you're saying it's impossible to get a walk-through if you are an out of state buyer who cannot get there in person. The mantle should have been included and was stolen. So how could I have prevented that? We lived 9 hours away and I was 9 months pregnant. We could not get back up there again for a walk-through. I know it was a fixture and I never even considered it would be taken! On this same note, what about a buyer from Canada or overseas who cannot be there in person for a walk-through? Are they supposed to just hope that the place is ok and is not filled with garbage or whatever?
I do walk-throughs for my out of area buyers. Liability is a huge part of my job and I just do what I think is morally right. Has worked so far for me. This would be a good question to ask during a buyer agent interview though.
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Originally Posted by MovedfromFL
Second, you say "the burden of due diligence is with the buyer". Yes, it is, but how is your average buyer (esp. a first time buyer) supposed to even know what issues to look for? YOU are the expert and YOU do this every single day. We do not! That is where we need your professional help, as our buyer's agent.
I think this is the sole purpose of hiring a buyer agent. To advise you on what questions to ask. This would be another good question to ask an potential buyer agent. "How will you assist me with due diligence on this property."
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Originally Posted by MovedfromFL
By the way, shouldn't a listing agent take the time to learn BASIC facts about her listing? Like the fact that it sits next to a commercially zoned lot? Oh wait, it's up to the buyer to figure that out, and she is off the hook legally, so why should she care?
Yes the agent should look at the basics of their property. Whether or not they should be investigating the properties next to theirs is debatable. What the agent should have said was "I don't know what the zoning of the property next door is." Assuming it was residential is a good way to get sued.
I knew it was commercial, so I asked her point blank "Is that adjoining lot commercial?" She swore up and down that it was NOT. So I told her that yes, in fact, it IS.
Due diligence is the last thing on a buyer's mind. Most are so excited and are planning a big move, dreaming about paint colors, and fitting their furniture in the new house in their mind. Who stops to think about things like the financial condition of the HOA or if the seller will rip a mantle down?
I knew it was commercial, so I asked her point blank "Is that adjoining lot commercial?" She swore up and down that it was NOT. So I told her that yes, in fact, it IS.
Due diligence is the last thing on a buyer's mind. Most are so excited and are planning a big move, dreaming about paint colors, and fitting their furniture in the new house in their mind. Who stops to think about things like the financial condition of the HOA or if the seller will rip a mantle down?
Live and learn.
A mantle is clearly a fixture. If the seller wanted to take it they should have replaced it before they listed the house for sale. It is totally bizarre to take a mantle from a house.
Out here you could have taken them to small claims court and gotten money to replace it at least.
If our buyers want a walk thru in the end that's fine, but as part of the contract, we've given them not only a house warranty but $641 in escrow cash to fix anything in the first 6 months that they deem is broken or to pay the deductible on the home warranty items.
Plus as it turns out, we have worked professionally with the seller's parents and aunts for 30 years.
If you have sellers as nice as us, you really don't need to worry about some kind of critical walkthrough. Anything you don't like or think needs to be fixed will be taken care of in the escrow we gave the kids. Yeah, when we know the parents, our buyers are sort of like our kids.
IMHO if the buyer can't make the time for the walk through you take the chance of getting what you get. You either feel it is important enough to get there or you roll the dice and you don't.
IMHO if the buyer can't make the time for the walk through you take the chance of getting what you get.
Always get a walkthrough the day before or day of. I heard of one situation where the owner turned off all the utilities the week before, the pipes froze and wrecked the house.
Sometimes the owner of the house is in the hospital or nursing home, and his/her children sell the house and because they don't live in the house, maybe they don't know the house and the area well enough to tell the listing agent.
Are you the one that was wanting to sue your buyers agent and the seller because the neighbor behind you sometimes shoots guns on his property?
That has nothing to do with my checklist here, but yes, I have a neighbor that shoots 30-06 high powered rifles 200 feet from my living room couch.
It sounds like cannons inside my home.
I did not want to sue my buyer's agent (he is well protected by his contract). I simply asked if he should have alerted me to the fact that I was buying a home that backed up to an agriculturally zoned parcel. (due diligence)
What the neighbor was doing was against our county ordinances, and I was able to get him to move 450 feet away from my home.
Now, however, Florida law has changed and there is no longer any distance requirement, and the police will not even take a noise complaint related to gunfire. Hence, my decision to sell and move on.
Also, that same "buyer's agent" LIED to me and told us that we had to submit our purchase offer on an "as-is" contract because "that is standard procedure in Florida now." Also, as our buyer's agent, he only gave us a 5 day inspection period (to get the inspection, get the report, review it, and submit our requests). Also, he insisted that we put $5,000 in earnest money ($1,500 would be more like it on a home of this value)
It seems like he was more interested in his commissions than protecting my best interests.
The lesson here is to not buy in a hurry (we were in a mad rush, as I said before), and to always do your own due diligence (which might have lead me to discover the shooting issue with this property, esp. if I questioned the neighbors).
Believe me, most buyers would have a major issue with this property. I'm not some kook out to sue everyone. (it's very difficult to do that and like I said, I consulted lawyers, as well as my current listing agent, and they all said this is not a "material fact" that has to be disclosed.)
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