Frustrated! Issues with selling my home...help! (Wellesley: for sale, real estate)

[MovingMomma17]

Hi, any advice is much appreciated!

Background: moved to MA two years ago. Bought a home we love and wanted to raise our family here. Remodeled two bathrooms. Cared for the home. Now we are relocating again!

Current:
1) we decided to go with the agent who helped us buy this home. We received an offer really quick (slightly lower than asking). Our agent started texting that the buyer contacted her and wanted to buy our furniture. I thought that was odd for the buyer (not her agent) to contact our agent. I found out they are "acquaintances."
In addition, while we were out of town, she had access to our home to let the buyer agent in. We also have a RING doorbell and we saw/heard her speaking ill about is and us having too many locks. For the record, we added a latch b/c our toddler can reach the bolt and chains (which were on the door when we bought the home)'

2). After the inspection, we found out we needed to fix a couple of things. We did this right away. The buyers agent had five things on the concession. One was ridiculous. So he picked another. He HAD to have five things. We had a radon test (electrical machine) by a nationally certified radon tester 2-years ago that came in at 0.5.. However, the buyers agent tested it using canisters in the lowest non livable space and received a reading of four. We said we would give a credit after we had a mitigation specialist give us a quote. Now the agent wants two mitigations put in, add electrical work, and if follow up tests show high numbers for us to fix it!

3)We also found out the smoke/carbon monoxide detectors were not up to code (but 2-years ask it was?!). Our agents husband is a fire fighter and stopped by tonpreinspect and found six things wrong. At this point I'm wondering why she didn't have him do an inspection prior to our moving in. Her explanation for why it wasn't up to code was because whom ever inspected for sale was too easy!


My questions:

1) what are our rights. Can we let her out of the contract for being disloyal to is? We feel she isn't representing us as her clients.

2) of are we unreasonable to think theirnagent is being unreasonable and a "bully" (our agents words)?

3) do we have protection for the smoke/carbon issue with the state since it is a state mandate test? We spent $500 to fix this when whom ever tested it should Haag had the prior owners fix the problem two years ago.

It keeps adding up. We are starting to feel we are being mistreated b/c are moving out of state.

Thanks for reading! Any insight is muh appreciated!
MovingMomma17

[jan0105]

1. I'm not sure how your agent is being disloyal to you, other than saying you had too many locks? Maybe I'm misunderstanding something. The furniture request doesn't seem out of line to me.

2. I don't know why the radon remediation system wasn't already installed in the lowest level of the house. I can understand a buyer wanting a mitigation system put in with a reading of over 4. I'm confused on why they want two systems put in. Is the lowest level very large?

3. You can't sell a home without a smoke cert, and fire codes change frequently. I'm quite sure it was up to code when you bought it. I think you're out of luck on that one. It's honestly very rare that I get a smoke cert on the first try.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by jan0105

1. I'm not sure how your agent is being disloyal to you, other than saying you had too many locks? Maybe I'm misunderstanding something. The furniture request doesn't seem out of line to me.

I'm not sure what the issue is here either. I'm sure Jan will tell you as well that some clients you just get along with better than others. Maybe because you have similar interests or personalities that mesh well. However, that doesn't mean your agent is doing a bad job or is being disloyal just because they don't want to be your best friend.

Also, OP, just because the agent knows the buyer doesn't mean they are trying to put one over on you. However, I will say your agent is a dummy for bad mouthing you while standing in front of a camera.

Originally Posted by jan0105

2. I don't know why the radon remediation system wasn't already installed in the lowest level of the house. I can understand a buyer wanting a mitigation system put in with a reading of over 4. I'm confused on why they want two systems put in. Is the lowest level very large?

I don't think there is currently a mitigation system in the house because the OP's test came back at 0.5. However, it does sound like the OP's radon test was not done on the lowest level of the house. Basements even if unfinished when you buy the house can be finished to create habitable space. Always a good idea to perform your test on the lowest level of the home. Canisters are just as widely used as the electronic radon monitor. OP, there's no reason to think the test was faulty just because they used a different method than you did. I like my clients to hire someone who uses the electronic monitors if they can simply because they can detect if there is tampering.

As for your disagreement about mitigation . . . this is a ridiculous argument to get in to. Just hire the mitigation company yourself and have the house retested afterward to show that the mitigation was successful. Then there's no argument as to whether or not two systems are needed. A house doesn't have to be large to need two systems, but no need to get into the discussion just agree to mitigate and it makes the discussion so much simpler.

Originally Posted by jan0105

3. You can't sell a home without a smoke cert, and fire codes change frequently. I'm quite sure it was up to code when you bought it. I think you're out of luck on that one. It's honestly very rare that I get a smoke cert on the first try.

Absolutely! I believe the smoke detector codes just changed December 1, 2016. The new codes may actually force you to replace all of your detectors to be in compliance. One of the biggest changes in the code is that a detector can no longer be more than 10 years old. So, if yours are older than 10 years you may need to replace all of them. When you bought the house this wasn't the case.

Personally, I always pass the smoke inspection on the first try. I do my best to keep up to date on what the smoke/CO detector regulations are and I do a pre-inspection with my seller clients where I walk through the house and tell them what changes need to be made in order to pass. I've even installed some detectors myself in a client's home if they're too busy to do so or for elderly clients. Whatever it takes to get the job done!

OP, my larger concern for you is that your agent either doesn't know what they're talking about or they're not willing to take the time to explain things so that you understand 100%. You're the one making the decisions. So, your agent needs to make sure you know what's going on and understand everything.

[jan0105]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

Absolutely! I believe the smoke detector codes just changed December 1, 2016. The new codes may actually force you to replace all of your detectors to be in compliance. One of the biggest changes in the code is that a detector can no longer be more than 10 years old. So, if yours are older than 10 years you may need to replace all of them. When you bought the house this wasn't the case.

Personally, I always pass the smoke inspection on the first try. I do my best to keep up to date on what the smoke/CO detector regulations are and I do a pre-inspection with my seller clients where I walk through the house and tell them what changes need to be made in order to pass. I've even installed some detectors myself in a client's home if they're too busy to do so or for elderly clients. Whatever it takes to get the job done!

Smokes are legit my least favorite part of this job. Every town has different regs around here, every inspector enforces different parts of those regs ... the amount of time I have spent in the smoke detector aisle at Home Depot is ridiculous. I had to buy a ladder once to install one in a 1.5 story foyer (in a skirt and heels!).

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by jan0105

Smokes are legit my least favorite part of this job. Every town has different regs around here, every inspector enforces different parts of those regs ... the amount of time I have spent in the smoke detector aisle at Home Depot is ridiculous. I had to buy a ladder once to install one in a 1.5 story foyer (in a skirt and heels!).

Absolutely. Every so often I come across an inspector who makes up his own version of the rules. I once was asked by another agent in my office to cover a smoke inspection in Wellesley. The inspector from the fire department failed the house because the CO detector was mounted on the wall and he wanted it installed on the ceiling. Meanwhile, there's no such requirement and if anything it makes more sense to have the detector installed closer to the floor because one of the most likely sources of CO (the furnace/boiler) is in the basement. So, a lower mounted detector will alert you earlier.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

Absolutely. Every so often I come across an inspector who makes up his own version of the rules. I once was asked by another agent in my office to cover a smoke inspection in Wellesley. The inspector from the fire department failed the house because the CO detector was mounted on the wall and he wanted it installed on the ceiling. Meanwhile, there's no such requirement and if anything it makes more sense to have the detector installed closer to the floor because one of the most likely sources of CO (the furnace/boiler) is in the basement. So, a lower mounted detector will alert you earlier.

It's terrifying that an 'inspector' is not only is ignorant to the rules, but also hasn't noticed the plethora of outlet powered CO detectors ... how many homes have outlets on the ceiling?

[convextech]

Originally Posted by MovingMomma17

I thought that was odd for the buyer (not her agent) to contact our agent. I found out they are "acquaintances."
In addition, while we were out of town, she had access to our home to let the buyer agent in. We also have a RING doorbell and we saw/heard her speaking ill about is
...
Our agents husband is a fire fighter and stopped by tonpreinspect and found six things wrong. At this point I'm wondering why she didn't have him do an inspection prior to our moving in.

Hmmm. I would have issues with these things too.

I would wait out the buyer and see if they back out on their own. If they do, I would fire my agent and get a fresh one.

I don't want an agent talking "ish" about me (their client) to one of their friends, who might be getting a lower price in addition to that because of the friendship.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

It's terrifying that an 'inspector' is not only is ignorant to the rules, but also hasn't noticed the plethora of outlet powered CO detectors ... how many homes have outlets on the ceiling?

It was completely ridiculous. He probably was just having a bad day. This particular detector was battery operated so it actually could be mounted anywhere, but I have no idea why he insisted that it be mounted on the ceiling.

Originally Posted by convextech

I don't want an agent talking "ish" about me (their client) to one of their friends, who might be getting a lower price in addition to that because of the friendship.

While I agree that this agent probably is not doing the best job and replacing them wouldn't be a bad idea, the seller ultimately has to agree to the sale price. It's not the agent who decides. So, how can they get their friend a "discount"? In the real estate industry, we have a lot of certifications and designations that you can earn but I'm not aware of there being one for hypnosis.

[jan0105]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

In the real estate industry, we have a lot of certifications and designations that you can earn but I'm not aware of there being one for hypnosis.

I should look into a hypnosis course....

[Hazelnettie]

You don't have to do everything the buyer wants you to do. You can flat out say no or offer them what seems fair to you. At some point they have to say ok or walk away from the sale.