Posted by phil fernandez on October 27, 2000 at 18:57:44:
nt.
Dumb Seller Quote of the Day! - Posted by Carmen_FL
Posted by Carmen_FL on October 27, 2000 at 08:25:39:
I’m a realtor, and a retail buyer came in to buy a small condo (about $30K). It was a FSBO, so I contacted the seller and told them that I had a buyer, but only if they gave me a commission. They agreed.
Here’s the kicker. They send me their contract, which has all kind of weasel clauses (… property sold as is … no proration of taxes … seller does not have to provide clear title … WAIT A MINUTE!)
I call him back, and say that my client will only use the approved Realtor contract. He says “I’m a broker, and I know what those contracts say, and I won’t sign it”. I ask, what do you mean? He says “Those contracts say that I have to give you clear title - and I won’t sign that!”
Turns out he’s been fighting the city for years on some liens (which add up to a few thousand), and now the city has a lien on 4 of his properties, of which this is one! This guy’s trying to dump this property on anyone and at above retail! Good thing my buyers came to us, instead of dealing with him directly - but some unsuspecting innocent person is going to get burned. This is in low-income area, and most likely the person buying it will have no knowledge of real estate, and end up losing money if they put down any deposits and sign their contract - and if they ever get closed, also losing the properties later!
Caveat emptor!
Re: Dumb Seller Quote of the Day! - Posted by Ray
Posted by Ray on October 28, 2000 at 11:43:16:
Isn’t there some law or requirment of whatever licensing agency oversees RE Brokers activities, that this guy is breaking? Couldn’t he lose his license for dealing this way?
Yes, but… - Posted by HR
Posted by HR on October 27, 2000 at 18:04:59:
Carmen,
I believe a good realtor is an invaluable asset. I’m thinking of one realtor in particular that has made me over 30k in the last six months…and I’ve put a good bit of change in his pocket, too.
Nonetheless, it doesn’t necessarily take a good realtor alone to catch these problems. A good closing agent will also spot them quickly. Those liens will appear on a title search, and if the buyer checks title immediately after getting the property under contract (as is recommended), there will be no surprises the last week about bad title issues. Ample time leaves ample room for more negotiations.
Hence, the moral of the story is realtors are replacable, right? Not in my book. I want as many good, specialized pros on my team as possible, and good realtors and closing attorneys are invaluable to my team.
Cheers,
HR
Not if he owns the properties… - Posted by Carmen_FL
Posted by Carmen_FL on October 28, 2000 at 14:46:49:
There’s no law saying you can’t sell a house with a lien on it. This broker owns the property.
What would happen if a buyer signed, gave his deposit, couldn’t get financed due to the liens, but the contract stated that the deposit was non-refundable (which it did)? The poor buyer would lose his deposit, and chances are he wouldn’t be able to afford to sue to get it back. Since the broker is dealing as an owner, although he has to disclose this, the licensing agencies may not even get involved - especially if the buyer doesn’t know enough to pursue it this way. I thought about getting involved, but I’ve learned my lesson about being “nice” (see my other posts) and, since I’m licensed also, I don’t feel like getting embroiled in this mess and jeopardize my license. This guy seems like a real you-know-what.
Unless and until he does something wrong, there’s nothing I can do anyway. I wish there was.
Re: Yes, but… - Posted by Carmen_FL
Posted by Carmen_FL on October 27, 2000 at 18:15:36:
Despite the fact that there are a lot of not-so-great realtors out there, for someone totally uninitiated into the perils of real estate (a retail buyer, who will only buy or sell one or two properties in their lifetime) it is definitely in their best interest to at least go to a Realtor and/or attorney once. Sadly, many don’t and get burned, bad - I’ve dealt with some of these folks, and their stories aren’t pretty. Of course, then I hear the “Realtor” stories … but at least you have some recourse against a realtor who does you wrong.
As investors, we should know more than the Realtors - and most of us do. Sadly, most other realtors I deal with when trying to do the investor-type deals are sad excuses for professionals. They don’t seem to want to know anything about real estate except what’s in their little office manual. Oh, well.
Re: Not if he owns the properties… - Posted by Ray
Posted by Ray on October 28, 2000 at 16:44:22:
WOW, this jerk is really piling up the bad karma, I really hope somebody does unto him before he does unto somebody else