How about this new community

[ferro28]

Originally Posted by RedZin

I am only going by your scenario. I do not know both sides of your story.

I cannot say why she encouraged you to close without all the items complete on your punch list. But, I can tell you I know that people close on homes all the time before the punch list items have been completed. I've closed on a home without some of the punch list items completed. The builder finished them up after closing and my realtor didn't have to nag them to get them to do it.

You're painting a picture of a terrible builder. Tries to discourage representation by a realtor (by promising discount not to use a realtor), ignores request to complete punch list, winds up in court where you win a lawsuit.

Not saying you had a great realtor. She may well have been a lousy one.

It is also possible that she knew your builder was shady and that (not making more commission in the other neighborhood) was her main reason for attempting to get you to buy elsewhere. It's all conjecture without knowing her side of it, but it's safe to say that your builder was in the wrong here if you sued and won, no?

Part of the reason we hired her was because we did not know if the builder was good or bad- the internet was not what it is today. She told us he had an excellent reputation- it was only a few years later when I hired a lawyer to sue the builder that we found out it was his father that had the good rep, not him.

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by ferro28

Twenty years ago I relocated to Raleigh after spending 5 years researching where to move. I wanted a new home, ordered the new home magazine, found homes in my price range that I liked, flew down with my family for a long weekend and checked out Raleigh, Cary, CH, Durham etc. We rode up and down the roads all day and in the end we all loved the development and house in Raleigh that we liked from the magazine.

We decided to find a realtor to buy it- even though we already decided on that home. The agent never had to show us anything, just deal with the buying and closing of the partially built home. We met, she lived close to that development, but she kept wanting us to look at this other development- which we had already seen on our own and didn't like. She always pushed it, we always said no.

Anyway, we bought the house and moved in. The 100 item punch list scared us, we did not want to close on it until more things were fixed - the agent was not worried- she would make sure everything got done, she assured us that this was normal for NC. Met some neighbors, they all paid about 10% off the asking price, my agent never mentioned that you could do that in NC, so we never did negotiate, just paid the full asking price.

Well, end of story was that

1. if we bought in the development we did not like-she would have made more money as she was the selling agent as well.

2. promises she made to assist us on the punch list lasted about a week after the sale, then she said there was nothing more she can do, sorry.

3. eventually I sued the builder and won in court years later.

So, I understand you very well when you say that not all realtors are wonderful. Best of luck in your search for a new home.

Uh.... Yikes. And, bleah...

Originally Posted by RedZin

...


The builder paid her, not you.

Without her, you would have had to deal with the closing and punch list by yourself anyway.

Without her, you still would have paid what you paid unless you opted to negotiate and were successful.

Without her you would have still wound up in court.

If you'd bought in the neighborhood where she wanted you to buy, it is possible you would have had none of those hassles (unless paying more is a hassle).

Just some thoughts.

Of course, they paid. It was in the builder's business margin. That it may not be a line item doesn't make the expense magically disappear.
And, we can only conjecture about the outcome without representation, or with appropriate representation by someone who cared about them.
But, without the illusion that someone on the payroll was on their side, they may have been more aggressive, and surely may have had less noise in their signals.
Yes, buyers often defer a few minor items until after closing, for the sake of convenience.
But, over 100 items on a punch list? That house was not nearly ready to own.

Originally Posted by ferro28

We got along fine- she just put her interests before ours

...

I did not care that I "didn't pay"'. ....

So it would seem.

...

Good. Because, of course, you did pay. And then some with the additional stress and hassle.

Originally Posted by BoBromhal

I think ferro got a bad Realtor - poor representation and putting their own interests above the client - and I'm sorry that's the case.

Yep.

No agent can guarantee a "perfect" outcome. Buyers (and Sellers) don't always get everything they want. But, they should have some confidence that the agent is at least on their side and trying to support them.

[RedZin]

Originally Posted by ferro28

Part of the reason we hired her was because we did not know if the builder was good or bad- the internet was not what it is today. She told us he had an excellent reputation- it was only a few years later when I hired a lawyer to sue the builder that we found out it was his father that had the good rep, not him.

It really was harder before the internet to figure out who was good and who was not. I feel for you there. I must've missed this being over 20 years ago.

I love the way you can come to places like C-D, read online reviews, etc now.

I have had a lousy realtor before. He didn't last very long in the business.

[VickiR]

Originally Posted by RedZin

It really was harder before the internet to figure out who was good and who was not. I feel for you there. I must've missed this being over 20 years ago.

I love the way you can come to places like C-D, read online reviews, etc now.

I have had a lousy realtor before. He didn't last very long in the business.

I also had a lousy Realtor years ago and that is why I got my real estate license!

In retrospect, I realized that some of the things that Agent did was the way she "had" to do it and some were just because she was somewhat lazy. Knowing the "inside" scoop as I do now, I realize that she could have done better. So...like I always say...if you want it done RIGHT, do it yourself!

[ferro28]

Originally Posted by RedZin

It really was harder before the internet to figure out who was good and who was not. I feel for you there. I must've missed this being over 20 years ago.

I love the way you can come to places like C-D, read online reviews, etc now.

I have had a lousy realtor before. He didn't last very long in the business.

My builder went bankrupt after I got my check.