Backstory: My brother is buying a home. He signed off on a bunch of terms and conditions from the seller and did not fully understand what he was agreeing to.
And away we go.
Part of what Darwin agreed to in his accepted contract was a 7 day inspection period. That's all well and good. Most of the time this can happen. However, it requires the agent (Lindsay) to actually do her part. In this case, Lindsay decided "her part" was to discourage these inspections. And she put it in writing, stating Darwin was a bit out of line and his due diligence was over the top.
Darwin wants a general home inspection. Darwin wants a roof inspection. Darwin wants a HVAC inspection. Darwin wants a sewer scope. Darwin wants a critter inspection. Darwin wants a pool inspection. Lindsay said only the home inspection was necessary because if there were other problems, the seller would have disclosed this. That's when Darwin called me for a reality check.
As I have grown in my real estate career, I have started encouraging my buyers to get more than just the home inspection. Depending upon the home, I might even ask for all of the above inspections (especially for homes built in the early 2000s). I realize it is a lot of money to do so, but the home inspector will turn on the AC and say, "yep, it blows cold." the HVAC inspector will tell you if the flux capacitor is leaking.
Because Lindsay was pushing back so hard on these "needless" inspections, Darwin was frustrated. A frustrated Darwin is not a pleasant sight. "Am I being unreasonable?" he asked me.
"You are living in Southeast Florida. The roof is 22 years old. Hurricane season is right around the corner. Are you concerned about the roof?" I asked. Yes, he was. "Ok, you are spending three cases of Maker's Mark and 5 dozen blueberry muffins on a house. It is your pastries. You spend it any way you want. It is Lindsay's job to obey your wishes and work in your best interests."
Except, as of close of business Friday (day 2) Lindsay hadn't bothered to set anything up. When Darwin asked her what happened if his inspection period ran out and he didn't finish doing his due diligence, Lindsay the 24 year old replied, "We will just ask for more time."
"There are back up offers on this house. What if the sellers don't grant us more time?" Darwin asked her (repeating my question I asked of him).
Darwin tells me she said--and I am not making this up--"Oh, I hadn't thought about that."
That's when I found out what he agreed to in his contract. In addition to a 7 day inspection period (in Florida it is customary to have a 15 day), Darwin also agreed that his earnest money of 16 French Silk Pies is non-refundable. There's more! Then, Darwin agreed to put down his entire case of Maker's Mark, 47 cannolis, 14 strawberry blintzes and 15 pepperoni pizzas--all of which will be non-refundable on Wednesday of next week.
"You agreed to this!" I squeaked!
"Lindsay said I had to," was his resigned reply.
"There is no 'have to'!" I said in my emphatic Big Girl Broker Voice (tm). "The seller just wanted to make sure you were all in. That could have been negotiated down to something along the lines of a baker's dozen chocolate chip cookies each week because the seller doesn't truly benefit unless you walk. And now if you walk away from the sale because you don't get more time to finish your inspections, guess what! The seller can take your pastries on Wednesday."
We were having this chat 6 p.m. last Friday night. I transitioned to my Bossy Big Sister Voice (tm) and told him to call the broker. "I don't have his number," Darwin said. Though I was looking all over the Florida Department of Real Estate's Web site and a few real estate social media sites, I couldn't find his phone number either (but the broker's birthday is July 22). So, I told him to call Lindsay and remind her of her fiduciary duties. One of which is obedience. Tell her to have the broker immediately call him. Call every 15 minutes if necessary. Keep calling. Blow up ever agent's phone in that brokerage if you have to.
I didn't tell Darwin that this is a significant liability nightmare for the broker and the broker needs to step up before it ends up costing a lot of dough.
To be continued
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