Help with real estate dilemma please

[Saddlebum]

Nephew hired a friend who is a realtor who works for her mother, the broker. He's looking for a house to buy. (They are not friends any longer.)

They found one, placed an offer. He has found himself on the bad side of his realtor and her mother both. He's a first time home buyer.

Problems:
they put in the offer on his behalf without it being contingent on an Appraisal.
Nephew hired an inspector, inspection done Tues of this week. Mold in the attic, water main has lead pipes. Inspector told him if it had the tinest leak, he would have to have it replaced. Nephew called around for quotes on how much cost would be to have the water main replaced, mold removed, and he also added more requests - he wants a radon test done, paint in the house is peeling and he wanted it tested for lead.

The people he contacted said they really couldn't give him quotes without coming out to view the problems, mold in the attic etc.

Here is the body of the e-mail his realtor sent him and I'm wondering if they are doing right by him. Are they not responsible for representing him and his best interests? They have given him 48 hours to get the quotes and that is unreasonable. They also have literally yelled at him for asking for the buyer to pay for closing costs and these additional tests. They yelled saying of course the paint in the house is going to have lead in it etc. He's trying his best to cover all the bases but his realtor is hindering him. They fought him on asking for the tests saying the buyer won't agree but does it hurt to ask????

Here is the body of the e-mail they sent to him today:

"We will do everything in our power to either come to terms or release you from this. You will need to get your own quotes. We will give you Saturday morning at noon.

Either get your quotes or don't- you have 48 hours to decide we will not extend this contract nor will the seller.

Have a good day we have worked hard enough on this you are not serious and the seller needs to be released, and stop wasting their time and ours so that they can sell their house to someone that wants it. It sounds like you don't want the house and you are not negotiating in good faith but stalling.

We need to move on, I need a buyer that understands Real Estate not what he's read on the internet. This is a sellers market you have been told over and over the seller can put the house on the market tomorrow and sell it. Contrary to what you think they are not desperate.

I am tired of your accusatory tone with us we are professionals and request the same from you. I don't work well with people like you!

You need to move on and so do we, we have tied up enough of our time!"


He is very serious about buying a house. I cannot believe the tone of this e-mail. Are they breaking any laws? Since they have an agreement with my nephew, aren't they responsible for acting in his 'best interest'? This e-mail does not appear to be in his best interest at all. The offer they submitted on his behalf did not have an expiration date. In my experience, my realtor always put 'this offer expires 30 days from receipt' or some such thing. Then as we were counter offering, it because 10 days and once was even 5 days on a counter offer.

Also, they mention his accusatory tone of voice. I believe he was trying to stand his ground at the time and not being accusatory but firm in his need to have his interests looked after. The inspection was done Tuesday and he has not been able to schedule people to go out to the house to give him quotes in such a short amount of time. Because of his realtor fighting on these quotes, he submitted a final offer today with what he hopes will cover the costs of mold removal etc.

Opinions, ideas on what his rights are here? The sellers are moving tomorrow, 3/18.

Thank You!

[WheresMyWhite]

[Dapple Field]

If it were me, I'd run far and fast. The house has too many expensive problems and the people he is working with obviously are not looking out for him.

[M&M]

I would definitely report them to the Board of Realtors.

[Saddlebum]

I wholeheartedly agree!

[Code3]

Ooh boy, good thing he's fighting for himself because his realtors are not fighting for him. Agree with the advice you've been given.

[Sunshine2Me]

He should get another realtor and broker. Depending on the type of loan he is trying to get (especially being a first time home buyer) he may not be approved for this property because of the issues it has. Also, some types of loans require inspections. Keep us updated!

[Saddlebum]

He's going to get out of this agreement with the realtor as soon as this offer is concluded, yea or nae. I'm wondering about his loan also. He feels really good about the final offer covering the cost of replacing the water main, getting rid of the mold, feels like he did his research. I don't know myself.

I mentioned to him to contact the appraiser and inform them of the issues as the a. is not done yet. He said he would do that first thing this am. My friend thinks the sellers will accept his offer knowing about the mold and water main now even if it's really low.

Will post back.

[Tarlo Farm]

Run far and fast. For many reasons. There is a better house and better people to work with. Yelling? Really? What professional does that????

[PaulaO]

Two issues are deal breakers: 1. The house has mold. I don't care how nice the house it, tell your nephew to run away from the house. 2. The realtor is a b!tch. Tell your nephew to run away. Just like there are any number of horses to buy, there are any number of houses to buy, and there are any number of realtors that want to help. Tell your nephew to tell the R.E. agent that he agrees with her--he needs to move on.

Why would be he possibly want to go through with this??????

[LeoApp]

The realtor typically works for the seller, not the buyer. They try to get the best price for the seller.
He should totally walk away from this house and the realtor. Bad news all around.

[Suzon]

The realtor typically works for the seller, not the buyer. They try to get the best price for the seller.
He should totally walk away from this house and the realtor. Bad news all around.

This is why you never use the seller's agent. ALWAYS get your own agent to represent you. Around here it's considered unethical for the listing agent to also represent a buyer. It's not forbidden, but it's definitely frowned upon.

[Saddlebum]

He did not use the seller's agent. He used a close acquaintence he thought was a friend actually. It went sour really fast. He wanted tests done and they did not want to be bothered. He wanted to things put in his offer that his realtor actually said "oh no!, they'll never go for that". I always thought it wouldn't hurt to ask but in this case, yes it did.

The seller's accepted his final offer today contingent upon a radon test. That's the final thing. I'm going to encourage him to report his realtor and broker to the real estate association and include a copy of the e-mail they sent him.

It's a real cute house and I hope his estimates to fix the mold etc. are high. Time will tell. I think he was emotionally attached to this house and that's why he couldn't let it go. Ce la vie...

[WheresMyWhite]

REAs don't always work for the seller. They work for whomever engaged them.

I would personally *never* buy a house that had mold in it - that would be a major deal breaker for me...

[Tuffytown]

Sorry to sidetrack but all houses have mold. Anywhere moisture collected there will be mold. Newer houses are actually worse than old houses cause they don't breathe. I am on my 3rd adventure with a client or friend having to have toxic mold abatement done on houses less than 20 years old. If you are looking at builder-developer houses in mass housing developments or by economy builders then there is likely to be water damage at the windows (poorly flashed and improper paper laps) and where upper walls meet roofs (again, improper flashing) and shower enclosures that used greenboard. Easy to say one would never buy a house with mold but hard to do.

[Saddlebum]

I saw the pics of this house on-line and it looks like they kept it up. May have waited too long on replacing the roof, hence mold in the attic, but it does have a newer roof so who knows.

I think it will serve his needs. Am happy for him, first house, mid 20's, good job. Don't know what the rest of this experience will be like between him and the realtor but hoping all will calm down and it goes easy for him.

Thanks all!

[myleetlepony]

Is he going FHA or first-time program for financing? If so, it's very likely they won't approve with those issues. That may be his final out.

I hope he gives this realtor bad reviews online, too!

[TeresaA]

I would run away from any business person who sent me an email like this. It wouldn't matter what they were doing for me (or for the seller, I got a bit confused).

[Suzon]

Yup I agree, not a good professional no matter who the agent is representing. Here there are some agents who will pay for the home inspection. Or if the home inspector calls for a pest inspection or engineer or roofer/plumber/electrician to come in and assess, they will pay for that. Full disclosure means fewer law suits. Good agents get it.

[Suzon]

Also, something to pass on to your nephew if he's buying the house. Don't mold test. Just figure out where the moisture is coming from, correct the problem and get the mold remediated. Once a house has a mold test, that information stays with the house for every sale. If he plans on selling the house someday down the road, people will see the mold test and run the other way.

[galopp]

I am not even sure if any good realtor would write a contact (for a first time buyer) that "they put in the offer on his behalf without it being contingent on an Appraisal." A bank would not lend money w/o an appraisal unless it is all cash. They sound like whack jobs....and there are always more houses. And unless the sellers will fix all the stuff, runnnn away.

[Saddlebum]

I Agree! My dad was a realtor and before the melt down, if a buyer placed an offer on a house, the appraiser would consider its worth at least as much as the offer simply because someone was willing to buy it for that amount, meant it was worth that amount. He was a realtor for over 30 years. He told me that when I wanted to sell my first house and was disappointed with what the two realtors who gave me their opinions on what it was worth came in exceptionally low, low, as in very low. I was really looking to refinance and because the realtors priced it so low, I decided to sell instead. Boy, was I mad.

I sold it for nearly twice what the realtors (both experienced, long time in the area) priced its worth at. And, I sold it in less than a month after putting a 'For Sale by Owner' sign in my front yard.

BUT, since the recession, appraisers are under scrutiny and must adhere to much more stringent rules.

Today, imo, no good realtor would submit an offer on behalf of a client without it being contingent upon the Appraisal. I do not believe it matters anymore in this instance because my nephews' offer has been accepted.

It's a really nice, sweet house in a nice neighborhood with easy access to freeway.

[LoisBatiste]

I agree with this.

[chantal]

I wouldn't deal with people like this. Is the house really worth it? If they are this difficult at the beginning of the deal, what's coming down the pipe? No way, no how.

And I think it will be a money pit. Many times mold doesn't go away. I think they are looking for a quick deal and a sucker. But that's just my opinion.

[Chisamba]

Unless the house is a really good deal financially, i would suggest he walk away, and engage a realtor who has his best interest. JMHO

[Saddlebum]

He walked away and ended up getting his deposit back after all was said and done. Thank You Everyone as his decision to walk away was largely based upon what he read here.

[Rockabilly]

I had a hard time reading the realtor's message because the grammar was so bad. I'm glad to hear he is done with them.

[bits]

There are good realtors out there. Lots of bad ones. I'd interview them as if they were going to work for you - which they are. Tell them upfront you are a first time buyer and you will ask a lot of questions and you expect someone to -at least- send you referrals if a quote is necessary. If they want you to buy, they will need to help you get to the buying stage. If they have no time for you then they are not the realtor for you.,

Passing appraisal and passing insoection are two things that must be in all contracts. We actually had a realtor that had that in there the first time, it rained, the basement filled up with water, insoection failed. We walked. The next house the realtor took the must pass appraisal part out if the contract filled it in with "house just be broom clean", (tried to sneak one out and the other in) we refused to sign the contract and walked away from that house AND those realtors.

[Saddlebum]

bits, I copied your post and sent it to my nephew as it illustrates how one can be taken in and then how integrity does not hold up through time. Good insight on how realtors are ultimately an employee of yours and not you of them.

Thanks!