Real Estate Isn’t Sold Until It’s Closed
If one had to picture the world’s worst real estate agent it wouldn’t be one of those “slick Willy”, hustler types. Trust me, I am, in fact, a real estate agent and I have worked with enough bad real estate agents to know that the slick one’s want, at the very least, to get the real estate sold. The worst real estate agents in the world are the lazy ones. The one’s who are too lazy to read a contract, too lazy to do their job, to lazy to protect the consumers and too lazy to make sure real estate gets closed.
As I write this, miffed no doubt, I am in the process of trying to get real estate closed with a lazy, combative, argumentative real estate agent at the helm of a home for sale.
Trust me when I say to you that I am a real estate agent who is self sufficient and easy to deal with. I am not lazy and I do want to get real estate sold. I’ve done this well over a decade, actually I’ve been a licensed real estate agent in the SWFL area for over twelve years.
In those years I’ve managed to acquire quite a stable of reputable, reliable trades people who help make real estate transactions go smoothly. They want to get real estate sold, too - home inspectors, handymen, licensed contractors, repair persons, title companies and mortgage brokers.
Enter a lazy real estate agent, the listing real estate agent, to the game and it’s worse than bad dental work. From the contract negotiation to the close of sale this one has been like carrying rocks up hill, barefoot, while walking on Legos and broken glass.
My buyers are well qualified, live in the neighborhood already and they’ve actually done exactly what a buyer is supposed to do … use the trusted resources I recommended to get this transaction closed. There will be no worry about the mortgage because he’s a pro that I’ve used over a decade. Everything regarding this transaction was handled by me, deadlines, addendums, inspections, estimates and repairs.
I was prepared to do the work the minute this lazy real estate agent tried to explain to me that the roof leak wasn’t a defect because only the trusses got wet, not the drywall. Go ahead and read the stupidity in that last sentence one more time.
That argument went on for days. Literally, it took more effort for the email arguments and excuses than it did for me to pick up the phone and call Jim Keller – Keller Roofing for an estimate and meet him out there to look at the roof. All of this is the listing real estate agent’s job, by the way, not my job but I want to get the deal closed.
There were arguments about a hole in the yard where soil had washed out into the lake. Clearly a homeowner association issue but the agent refused to call the HOA but spent days in email arguments instead of just doing the work … the hard work of picking up the phone and just letting the HOA know about it. It’s not as though she would have to actually shovel the hole in herself.
In addition, on the home inspection report it was noted that trees hitting the screen enclosure were the cause of the damage to the screens. Another HOA issue that the real estate agent refused to call the HOA about. Why? I don’t know. She wouldn’t even have the homeowner call the HOA for it and it was to protect the home that they still owned.
Like I said, more energy was made making excuses than just doing the work. So here we are trying to set up the final walk through prior to purchase. The agent sends me an email:
Good morning, Chris. I will leave house keys, mailbox key, and garage door opener on kitchen counter. I will leave one key for buyers with closing agent. Not sure why a walk-thru is needed. The buyers accepted the $XXXX in lieu of repairs. Please coordinate walk-thru with me to gain entry.
It’s a vacant home. Is it really that difficult to leave the supra box on the home so that the buyers can do the walk through … despite the credit the buyers have a right to make sure the appliances are still there, the storm shutters are still there, the vacant home didn’t flood, the home wasn’t vandalized, the windows weren’t busted out. Besides, had our darling listing real estate agent read the contract she’d just follow the direction of the contract. It’s really that simple.
Why does it matter? If she was your listing real estate agent and there wasn’t someone like me on the other end of this real estate transaction the deal would have probably fallen apart long ago. Mr. Home Seller, you picked a crappy real estate agent and I had to pick up her slack. She could have behaved differently but she didn’t
Heck, I could have been a crappy buyers agent and she could have been a champion and problem solved the mess out of that transaction, built trust with the buyers and they may have even called *her* the next time they had real estate to buy or sell … but that isn’t going to happen. I can tell you from experience that this can happen because I’ve had both buyers and sellers call me (instead of the agent they used) from past transactions and use me because of my skill, professionalism and dedication.
So, now I wait to see if there is some way for me to get my buyers the final walk through without involving brokers and attorneys. Clearly a last resort, but an ugly necessity in order to protect the real estate buyer and enforce their rights under the FAR/BAR contract.
In closing, I recommend that home sellers interview their listing real estate agent a little bit better. Clearly this agent had no experience with this contract or she wouldn’t be disputing every little thing.
There is a possibility that this vacant home may well have even sold sooner, for all I know. This agent might have been too combative or lazy for anyone else who tried to place an offer to get the offer presented and accepted. That could explain why it was on the market for over nine months … vacant, costing the home owner mortgage, taxes, HOA fees and more.