Pulling Rank

I did something this week, I never want to have done, or have done to me. I contacted the other agent's broker.

You see, in addition to the crazy demands in the inspection notice, the agent wrote on the very first line: "This Buyer's Notice and inspection attached and now made part of the purchase contract."

Oh. Hell. No.

We aren't making anything "part of the purchase contract." Ever. The purchase contract is already set. Terms are agreed. We aren't putting requests for rain gutters, a demand for a new dishwasher and a seller paying an HVAC guy for an inspection as part of the terms and conditions to buy this house.

And then, when through text messages and e-mails to the agent I explained this would not be happening, I was getting nowhere. The more I explained my clients would not allow these requested repairs to become legally and binding the more she dug her heels in.

To be fair, I think she saw that language somewhere else and thought she could add it into the notice and it would sound fancy and flowery.

In the end, I sent everything to her and her broker. I said I needed a signed addendum immediately scratching this from the inspection notice. If not, I was going to have to advise my clients what she wrote (which I did anyway, but my folks didn't seem to get the enormity of the situation).

Getting the broker involved is a huge insult. I've had a few issues with this agent already (not personal issues, more of her not understanding the terms of the purchase contract), and did not want to escalate another one but I couldn't let this sit. I'm hoping this won't cause more problems in this sale for her clients or mine. I did what was best. It is what I am paid to do. My conscience is clear. But it still felt icky.

On a related note, the director of the real estate school which hired me is working on a curriculum for the buyer's inspection notice. Once this transaction is over, I promised to forward her this particular document (with the names and address redacted, of course) so that she can share with others what not to do. There is a lot of material here.

Contract Nerdiness

They say when the real estate market is good, everyone with a pulse gets their license. I am starting to believe there is a truth to this. I have a listing. It is my second listing in the past few weeks where the agent is asking for odd things for their client.

This agent has been licensed for a couple of years. She has sold a considerable amount of homes, given she has only been practicing since 2016. I give her credit for her hustle.

When I got the list of repairs her client wants though, I raised an eyebrow. There is a disconnect here.

The contract states the buyer has 10 days to perform all inspections necessary to make sure this is the home they want. If they find some sort of latent defect or something they "disapprove" of, they can ask for this to be remedied. I equate it to buying a used car from a person off the street. The terms and conditions are negotiated. But then the buyer takes the car out for a test drive and finds out there is a soft tire. The condition of the tire is discussed, not a new price. The car buyer can't go back and ask for custom rims or other accessories that weren't on the car to begin with. Plus, if the buyer doesn't find anything wrong, they can't ask the seller to take it to a mechanic at the seller's expense to see if the buyer missed something.

So, back to the house sale. This buyer's agent is asking for a few items that blow me away. First, they want rain gutters installed. The house doesn't come with rain gutters. The buyers knew this when they put the offer in. But now they want rain gutters. DO THEY NOT KNOW THIS IS ARIZONA? By the way, the sellers will not install rain gutters, a swimming pool or an East wing.

Next, the buyer wants the seller to have a HVAC technician evaluate the AC unit to see if anything is wrong. If something is found, they want the seller to fix it. They don't want to have their own HVAC company look at the unit. Nope, they want the seller to perform the inspection. Why on earth did the buyer's agent let this happen? Never mind.

Finally, the buyers had a roofer go to the house. However, the roofer did not provide an inspection report and when they buyers turned in their list of demands, they didn't include an inspection report. However, they want the sellers to hire their own roofer to evaluate the roof and then have the sellers do whatever their roofer says needs to be done.

All of this is can be addressed. In fact, it will be addressed. But there is no easy way to write the seller's response without making the buyer's agent look like a clown. To cover my seller's I need to say something along the lines of, "Because the buyers did not provide the sellers with a roof inspection, the sellers have nothing to fix."

Of course the back conversation goes like this to my sellers: "Hey, if there is something wrong with the roof, you might want to fix it, because if you don't do it for this buyer, you are doing it for the next one." But I am not telling the buyer's agent that. 

Why Indeed

Polly said, "This has to be a blog post. Mom! Why??? Why would someone do this?"

Here is a home in Bradenton Florida--one of the areas that wanted to hire Marty. Gee, we could have lived here.

You will need to scroll through the pictures on Realtor.com (link attached HERE) to find out what Polly is talking about.


If you can't get the link to work above (click on the word "here") try this long way.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1431-Thistledown-Dr_Brandon_FL_33510_M68475-95207?cid=soc_shares_ldp_fb&fbclid=IwAR3fvIQOnkp354XV1mRAELK_HBoNfprwGj1cdflKV1BJ_wd67dhj6g1fXe0#photo5

I promise it is fun.

If Life Had Taken A Different Turn

If Marty hadn't delined the job in Fort Myers, I would be on the road right now driving to the swamp to start a new life. It is sort of mind-blowing.

We will eventually move. But that wasn't the right opportunity.

Borrowing Trouble

Here's the scenario: Mary and Tom live back east. They have a home in Gilbert they rented to a family friend a few years ago. Family friend pays less than market rent, has bruised credit, lives on disability and has been ill for a few years. She is now somewhat fully recovered, still doesn't work and has done nothing to better herself, her credit or her circumstances.

Mary and Tom told this person more than a year ago that they would be selling the home next spring and she would need to find a new place to live. But no worries! She had "time."

Now then, for those graduates of my Landlord 101 course, don't spoil it for the rest of the class. Besides, you and I know you are busy snorting the cold beverage of your choice out your nose right now.

Mary and Tom called me today to ask my opinion of how cooperative I thought Family Friend was going to be (Breathe Graduates, BREATHE!!!!). By the way, Mary and Tom have not taken my Landlord 101 course and were slightly appalled at my position on their entire scenario.

Here's how I see it playing out if Family Friend doesn't move out. After all, she has no reason to be cooperative.

First, Family Friend will not be cooperative about having the house shown. She can refuse to allow for a lock box. She can refuse to allow reasonable entry. Yes, the Arizona Landlord Tenant act does say access can be granted to a rental property with a two day notice, but if there is no lockbox, and a passive aggressive tenant paying less than market rent who has nowhere to go, what are the odds, a buyer is going to get into the house to view it? In addition, Family Friend does not have to keep the home in pristine condition. She can also follow the prospective buyer around pointing out potential defects and problems (such as saying to a potential buyer, "Next door is a sex offender. Did you know that?" Even if it isnt' true).

Given there is a shortage of rental homes and Family Friend has no money (and did not pay a security deposit) to move, I doubt this will go well. Unfortunately, Tom and Mary are of the mind everything will be peachy keen. When I asked when was the last time they actually spoke to the Family Friend, Mary hesitated and said they hadn't spoken in person since she gave her tenant notice she would have to move--like a year ago. Since then, the family friend refuses to take Mary's calls, won't respond to texts or e-mails. So, Mary tends to contact Family Friend's adult son--who lives out of state--and asks him to please have Family Friend respond. That's the only way this tenant will get back with her. Mary didn't really see this as the least bit dysfunctional until I asked about it.

I am hoping this will work out for the best, but I'm always hoping that is the case. In the mean-time, I recommended they look at speaking with an attorney and checking on their legal rights. I might be borrowing trouble, but then again, I might also have graduated with honors from the School of Hard Knocks.

Sleeping It Off

I am on the cusp of getting really ill. I know this because Buckaroo was really ill this week and I have the same symptoms. In fact, there was an incident in Jane's truck. It was gross. It confirmed what I already knew: he was sick. And now I am on the before-Jane's-truck-incident level of ill.

And I am a true delight.

Part of my annoyance is that as a real estate agent, I can't have personal problems in peace. Clients don't care one jolly darn what we might have going. If it doesn't affect them, it it irrelavant.

In the past two years I have been in urgent care for stitches with my phone ringing off the hook from folks who really could have waited a day or so for me to get back with them. I have done walk-throughs with strep throat. And I even dealt with a contract during the days after Bonus Mom passed.

I once had heat exhaustion* from showing homes and was ready to pass out. My folks wanted to see three more properties. And.... it was a buyer's market, so we had time. But no. It had to be then.

Early in my career, I once had a buyer call me at 5:30 a.m. demanding I get dressed and show them a property, right then and there. My kids were little. It had been a tough night at the Sunshine house. Sadly, I was awake, only because I hadn't gone to bed. I lost that client (who did not buy that house anyway) because every reasonable plea of, "let me call you back during business hours" made him more annoyed.

Right now I am in the early stages of what I know is to come and my clients are going to expect me to negotiate tonight. I know this. It comes with the territory. If I whine I am unprofessional. If I suggest I am ill to them, I am less credible. But I am also trying to work in their best interests. Sometimes their best interests is letting me sleep off an illness.

*I also once had heat exhaustion after I showed homes. Those folks were super-wonderful about it--so there are good folks too.

Introvert Hell

I was invited to the Association's Leadership happy hour this past week. Which brings up a few interesting questions:

1. Why are my dues paying for a bartender?
2. What is the Association Leadership?

The answer to the first question I will let just hang. I sell houses. I deal with unreasonable people. I think I have earned a glass of wine once in a while. The answer to the second is a bit more ambigious.

So there is a "Leadership Class" at the local association. I am not sure exactly what they do. The classes are for 12 weeks once a year. You can only get into this class if you are nominated, fill out a crap ton of paperwork and then sit in front of a selection committee. If you pass muster with the selection committee you get an engraved invitation (or something) to join.

One can only be nominated by a Leadership Alumni, which is why I was there. I have been nominated.

This happy hour was the precursor to the remainder of the process, where I got to mingle with the members of the selection committee. Think Rush Week with more adult baggage and less Greek letters.

Anyway I was nominated. When this was brought to my attention I was being nominated, I was in the throes of possibly, maybe, probably moving to Fort Myers and I didn't readily commit. I wasn't against the idea of joining the 2020 Leadership Class, but I just could not think past the middle of September. When things settled down and Marty declined the job and then decided to stop job hunting, I revisited this gracious invitation. However I had no idea it required a happy hour and small talk.