WORST Realtor in Tenn (Dover: credit, real estate, landscaping)

[tully83]

We just got back from Tenn, spent a few days there looking around. And had some dealing with the WORST realtor ever. Here's the story.

Found a house on the internet called the realtor 2 times ,no reply, 3 emails no reply... So with 11 days off from work road trip time.. The house was on 3.18 acres with large barn and 2 bedroom one bath for $49,500. Looked good on there web site. So 10 hours of driving and 601 miles we were there.
The house was bad roof leaking, so bad the the walls were rotten and front porch was having a rot problem. best thing that could happen is a lighting strike.

There were no trees or landscaping in the picture, but when we got there there was a wild brush 6-8 feet tall that grew up since the pictures were taken.

The pictures were taken 3-5 years ago, the realtor never updated them, and would not return anycalls or email...

We went to there office and talked with them, told them what we seen. Then said we wanted to buy a house in the area, they said they would email mail us some stuff and mail us some info. now 10 days later nothing.

Moderator cut: liability issues with naming names, sorry

[alleycat]

Well, I'm sorry you had that experience. I can assure you that most real estate agents in Tennessee (or elsewhere, for that matter) are not like that.

[SmokyMtnGal]

Originally Posted by tully83

We just got back from Tenn, spent a few days there looking around. And had some dealing with the WORST realtor ever. Here's the story.

Found a house on the internet called the realtor 2 times ,no reply, 3 emails no reply... So with 11 days off from work road trip time.. The house was on 3.18 acres with large barn and 2 bedroom one bath for $49,500. Looked good on there web site. So 10 hours of driving and 601 miles we were there.
The house was bad roof leaking, so bad the the walls were rotten and front porch was having a rot problem. best thing that could happen is a lighting strike.

There were no trees or landscaping in the picture, but when we got there there was a wild brush 6-8 feet tall that grew up since the pictures were taken.

The pictures were taken 3-5 years ago, the realtor never updated them, and would not return anycalls or email...

We went to there office and talked with them, told them what we seen. Then said we wanted to buy a house in the area, they said they would email mail us some stuff and mail us some info. now 10 days later nothing.

So stay away from SPOTLIGHT PROPERTIES in Dover Tenn.

No emails returned, no phone calls returned, barn, 2/1 on 3.18 acres for $49.5K and you still drove 601 miles?!?!?!? And, what's more, you expected communication to suddenly start just because you asked again for information? Let's not even mention that you didn't get a Buyers Agent Realtor. Did you really expect a perfectly sound house, good barn and acreage for $49.5K??? And you are complaining about the realtor???? The person to blame for your trip looks at you every morning from your bathroom mirror. Sorry.

[Tennesseestorm]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. My aunt here locally and my uncle in Richmond are realtors. Neither would never do something like that. I think my aunt works for Callebs and my uncle works for Excite.

Hope you find what you are looking for!

[Tinman313]

Send a note too the realty board........

[ScrappyNana]

Sorry to hear about your experience. You know, most realtors can show you listings that other realtors have. I would get in touch with one with a good reputation and they'll show you any properties you're interested in.
I've been in touch with several realtors over the past few years in Cumberland, Putnam and Fentress counties. They've all been great about emails and returning phone calls. A couple have gone that 'extra mile' without being asked. They've all been great enough that I've referred many clients to them.

[marmac]

Here is what worked for me on my trip to Alabama in Nov.
I went to Realty.com and went to the state and city I was interested in. I then printed out maps to every house I was interested in that area. I then arrainged them on a "route" and did "drive-bys"

I see no need in wasting a realtors time when a simple "drive-by" can eliminate houses either to location or condition.

After you have eliminated houses by a "drive'by"-------THEN contact a realtor about the houses you want a closer look at.

I am quite sure a "drive-by" would have eliminated the property you were looking at.
As another poster stated-----if something is too good to be true, red flags should go up.

[RoaminRed]

Barn, house, acreage...that price was a red flag from the start. The lack of communication was another flag. There's really nobody to blame here for your wasted trip other than yourself.

Should have contacted another agent, one that actually wants your business.

[bbkaren]

If it sounds too good to be true, it generally is.

If I saw an ad like that I'd assume it was junk. I don't know where it's located but regardless, that's too good a price to be a nice house.

you sure it didn't say anything about "as is" in the ad?

Also, while it's bad form for the realtor not to return your call, you definitely should have had a buyer's agent look into it. You could've saved yourself a world of trouble and time.

Live and learn--better luck next time!

[harry chickpea]

Marmac, we did pretty much the same thing that you did. In addition to the maps, I downloaded the aerial images from terraserver to get a better feel for the lay of the land. Using the street info from some of the listings, we were able to place the homes in our GPS software on our own and do silent drive-bys. We saw at least 100 of the lower price houses and parcels of land this way. Anything less than about 70K was undeveloped land, a tear-down house or mobile home, a tiny lot, or in an area that wasn't safe.

While there is no excuse for a bad realtor, a buyer expecting to find something in this price range has to kiss a lot of frogs before finding something that doesn't have insurmountable problems. Anyone who has done some looking knows that a $50K property with house and barn is going to be rough, and any agency handling it is going to be primarily working with people with poor credit and only the possibility of a small commission. Shall we say there is a serious lack of motivation for the realtor?

We wouldn't waste gas by driving into an area without having designated at least 15 or 20 prospects for drive-bys. Inevitably, the best prospects would be under contract, at least half of the others would be immediate "let's get out of here!" properties, and only a couple would warrent further investigation or a walk-through. Finding good property can be a full time and tedious job for a few months. However, considering that you might be able to find a property that is nearly perfect and at a bargain price, the pay can be great.