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Back story: (me buyer)- after inspection contingencies were removed- not a small thing since it included replacement of an entire sewerline- MY agent discovered the “seller” wasn’t even the owner of record! There was an unregistered contract for deed involved, with the original owner being an LLC. Shoot- I even was able to Google that fact, in 5 seconds, for free! After this discovery, just prior to Labor Day weekend, (a real bummer) MY agent, as per usual, had to hunt to get word back to me about the next step, since he knew what it meant to me. He didn’t want to leave me hanging. He heard back at the 11th hour: After LD weekend, the deed would be recorded, which would solve everything.
After LD weekend came and went, my agent had to call and find out what was up, yet again. I won’t keep repeating that- just know it is always MY guy pursuing communication owed to us. Turns out they were going to change the buyer altogether. We would get a doc “ next week”. Yup, apparently it takes that long to fix a problem that should never have existed at all!
Well, ladies and gents, would it ONLY be 1 week. Here we are 3 weeks later, 2 weeks before closing, and NADA. Nothing! My agent repeatedly called, to discover they plan to redo all the paperwork. OK. Sure, g’ahead. I don’t care. But fix it, like in real time! Not next year! Got “professional pride, much?” (Sorry- venting). Reason why I lapse into using “they” to refer to the listing agent is because they have a team. So no excuses.
The best case scenario: ineptitude. I can’t imagine such behavior would be anything less than negligence. Worst case: fraud. At this point, my mind can’t help but imagine ulterior motives, conditions in which this makes sense. Other than Option A, all I can think of is malfeasance. Trying to tank the deal to sell to someone else for more, or.... who knows. I have a professional code of ethics and a board too, and this kind of behavior- in my professional context- would certainly fall under “not acceptable“. It would indicate a serious problem with my professional competence, at the very least.
My agent is very patient, unlike me, which is why I listened to him. I know I am inpatient and believe in addressing problems at the root, which someone else might view as being “prone to drastic measures”. He is vexed too but his version of drastic measures involves getting his lead agent to talk to the other guy’s lead agent. Apparently he has only had to resort to involving the head guy twice in his career. I keep hearing how unusual this case is. Lucky me. Well.... lead guys involved and not sure that did the trick! Meanwhile, I let him talk me down from a negative social media campaign. Somehow I think the latter would’ve gotten a response.
I am not complaining about my team: My team has been stellar! My mortgage agent is only waiting for the appraisal report, otherwise we are done. Luckily she ordered it prior to the discovery of the owner snafu or I would’ve been up the creek with no paddle. My mortgage agent said she would pick up the slack in the timeline. I can’t ask for more from her or my realtor. Or the seller! Even the sewer has been completely replaced, with new sod where it was trenched. Yet their agent doesn’t even have the contract with the right person done!
I am holding myself back from my version of “drastic measures”, e.g., contacting the supposed seller, to say,” Hey your agent is costing you the sale. Don’t look at me when I have to move wherever I can come October 1, as I won’t be moving again this year.” Moving is quite stressful. The impact for me to have to scramble st the last minute would be devastating. I cannot stress how injurious this is to me, my dog and my pig. Yes, we are an unconventional team and hard to house! Hence why I wanted to buy a place!
I feel like I’ve been pushed into a corner where any formal complaint would be ineffective at this point. I have to let it play out, to see how far it goes, and complain then. Perhaps an attorney would be more appropriate, to see if he/she can uncover something shady going on?
Has anyone here ever experienced anything similar- or have any insight?? I am in Rapid City, SD, if it matters.
Last edited by Nycrefugee2015; 09-16-2018 at 08:02 PM..
The saying goes... Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
Sounds to me like you're still working through an unexpected wrinkle in the transaction, but it's not dead yet... There's time, between now and Oct. 1.
Keep working through the problem with a goal of trying to solve it. Let your agent and team keep working through the problem. Is there a title company and/or attorneys involved? Let them keep working through the problem. You might still think, at the end of this, that the listing agent is a bad agent, but it does no good to file a complaint against him now, in fact it might poison the well and add MORE complications to an already complicated situation.
As long as you still want to buy and seller (s) still want to sell... a solution can still be found. Keep working toward that.
My two cents.
Last edited by Diana Holbrook; 09-16-2018 at 08:30 PM..
Where did your agent get the seller's name that he put on the contract when you made your first offer? Your agent should have pulled the seller's name from the tax record rather than the MLS listing. I'm guessing your agent used the owner name that the selling agent indicated on the MLS rather than going to the tax record until after the fact when he "found" the LLC.
The original seller had an unregistered contract for deed and walked into the listing agent and put the house up for sale. My agent went with that. He told me the listing agent should investigate that sort of thing before listing it. So he trusted it until he discovered the issue during a title search.
I spoke to the agent directly today. I agree- not malice. Just absurdity. Everyone is blaming the other guy. Wed is my deadline for closing to be probable, though right now, there isn’t any guarantee with how late in the game it is. I let him know that this is the face with the name that will insist on some accountability.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook
The saying goes... Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
Sounds to me like you're still working through an unexpected wrinkle in the transaction, but it's not dead yet... There's time, between now and Oct. 1.
Keep working through the problem with a goal of trying to solve it. Let your agent and team keep working through the problem. Is there a title company and/or attorneys involved? Let them keep working through the problem. You might still think, at the end of this, that the listing agent is a bad agent, but it does no good to file a complaint against him now, in fact it might poison the well and add MORE complications to an already complicated situation.
As long as you still want to buy and seller (s) still want to sell... a solution can still be found. Keep working toward that.
The original seller had an unregistered contract for deed and walked into the listing agent and put the house up for sale. My agent went with that. He told me the listing agent should investigate that sort of thing before listing it. So he trusted it until he discovered the issue during a title search.
Respectfully, the buyer's agent should be confirming the owner of record on the tax site when he's getting the full legal description for the contract, no matter what the listing says. Have you looked up the tax record of the property? I am reasonably certain the real owner's name is there. Contract for deed means it stays in the original owner's name until terms of the contract for deed have been met.
Respectfully, the buyer's agent should be confirming the owner of record on the tax site when he's getting the full legal description for the contract, no matter what the listing says. Have you looked up the tax record of the property? I am reasonably certain the real owner's name is there. Contract for deed means it stays in the original owner's name until terms of the contract for deed have been met.
But, according to the OP:
"There was an unregistered contract for deed involved, with the original owner being an LLC."
With an unrecorded Contract of Sale, how does the buyers' agent confirm?
The listing side played a game, ineptly, and that has now come to light.
Our MLS listing input fields include an opportunity to check, "Seller does not yet own this property," just to accommodate an assignment of a contract, or an unrecorded contract.
That is common with Relocation listings, but also flippers and scam investors.
Seems to me, taking the OP at face value, the listing side dropped the ball and should be accountable.
It does bring the validity of the proceedings into question, IMO.
"There was an unregistered contract for deed involved, with the original owner being an LLC."
With an unrecorded Contract of Sale, how does the buyers' agent confirm?
The listing side played a game, ineptly, and that has now come to light.
Our MLS listing input fields include an opportunity to check, "Seller does not yet own this property," just to accommodate an assignment of a contract, or an unrecorded contract.
That is common with Relocation listings, but also flippers and scam investors.
Seems to me, taking the OP at face value, the listing side dropped the ball and should be accountable.
It does bring the validity of the proceedings into question, IMO.
I agree the listing side was negligent but with a contract for deed, al least those I've been aware of in my area, the tax record remains in the name of the original owner, in this case an LLC, until the terms of the contract for deed are satisfied and title passes to the new owner. The contract should have had the LLC as seller if that's what the tax record showed.
I could be wrong but seems a cursory search of the tax record when writing the offer would have found the discrepancy between owner of record and seller as noted in the listing.
Seller can do a simultaneous closing...its done ALL the time. I get that you are inpatient...I am a perfectionist, like I's dotted, T's crossed - but most likely seller is doing a simultaneous closing and has no idea why you are worked up.
He goes in 5 minutes before you, closes on the contract for deed, and then turns around, and signs it over to you.
Your paperwork just need to be correct for what will be present at your closing. Don't worry about his...you have recourse if he defaults....its not pretty, and I would not want to risk being homeless, so you may want to take a few extra precautionary steps on your end...but legally speaking, this can be accomplished easy.
Just curious--how long between the time it was listed and your offer?
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