Real Estate Agents Ethics
We are in the process of negotiating a Brownstone in Bedstuy and the process recently came to a standstill. I’m getting a really sketchy vibe because of some of the things that have happened. It should be noted that the agent is acting as a dual agent (which is our own fault i guess).. The…
We are in the process of negotiating a Brownstone in Bedstuy and the process recently came to a standstill. I’m getting a really sketchy vibe because of some of the things that have happened. It should be noted that the agent is acting as a dual agent (which is our own fault i guess).. The first thing was the fact that there were a bunch of things that showed up in the inspection that the RE Agent should have known about due to a previous inspection last year. Mainly about 80 grand in additional renovation costs. Then there were all sorts of renovation costs that he disputed, not because they weren’t valid, but because they would be able to be put off for a year or two. Examples are a 30 y.o. steam boiler that was providing both heat and hot water, plumbing, etc. Then when we put in a revised offer, he contacted our mortgage broker directly to ask him to run the loan at 10k higher, “just to show us that it would only constitute $50 more a month. The last straw was that we made an offer with a sellers concession, which he presented to the seller by tacking the concession on to our offer, making the offer about 35 grand more, despite numerous emails outlining this. Any one of these could be seen as an honest mistake, but the house has been on the market for a year and the RE agent seems a bit desperate to get it done with already. The last sticking point on the concession seems extra underhanded as it appears that he was hoping we wouldnt notice until we were in contract. Is this normal for NY real estate agents? Am I being sensitive? The kicker was that after all of this, he emails me to ask if he can send the inspection report we paid for on to another buyer. WTF?
Hello Byndcivilization..
You are doing great job man..It really seems a good program you are starting..Real Estate Home Inspection is a technical and complex field that demands a professional approach.
I appreciate your work…
http://www.Equityinspection.com
Thanks, Christopher.
Also, the sellers can require a copy of the termite report, which is part of the inspection.
Put your foot down! Be assertive. You have to because no one is representing you. The agent you mention is representing the SELLER. How could he possibly represent both sides? As they say, buyer beware.
mopar,
The house I was referring to was just off Columbia Street, not far from the docks in the Red Hook vicinity (or I think “Cobble Hill South” as realtors are now calling it 😉 )
RE people don’t work for sellers. They don’t work for buyers either. They work for themselves, and some (yours sounds like one them) will do anything to get their fee.
If you think he did something illegal or unethical, you can report him to REBNY.
I agree with many comments above: communicate only in writing and always via your lawyer. Your $850 is money spent that is potentially buying you a lot of money saved (who knows how much really the repairs would cost, in my experience inspectors have very conservative estimates) and time… which in this case can only work in your favor.
If you really like the house and want to get it, be firm on your offer and be ready to walk. Prices are moving in your favor.
BTW, we sent our inspection to the seller via the agent. Was helpful in the negotiations. It helped both the agent and seller to be more realistic. (The seller had never lived in the house, so wouldn’t know about some of the problems.) And why wouldn’t we want them to see it?
I moved from SF to here 7 years ago and also found the process here medieval (I assume Seattle is like SF with no lawyers, everything in escrow and no closing.) That said, while I had lots of stories to dine out on all the shenanigans I went through, I pretty much went with the flow (but didn’t enjoy it ;)). So as I said before, not worth sweating the small stuff and worrying about what agents and others are mouthing off. Sometimes they think they’re being helpful in telling you the worst case scenario, sometimes the other way.
I agree with serpentor — agents are loyal to the fee. It is actually surprising that the agent here would make the deal screwier than it need be, and risk it not going through, just to gain a few bucks on the sale price. Weird.
I guess that’s really the crux of this post. We have been through both sides of the process in Seattle and this is so incredibly different. Because of all the other things understanding the magnitude of difference in NYC taxes and closing costs to understanding how to navigate a non-credit union loan to realizing that there really aren’t that many buyers agents, I wasn’t sure how much of all of this trouble to chalk up to legitimate differences in the process and how much really was shadiness. As for inspections, I think you would really have to be absolutely insane to buy a house without one. When we bought our last place, we found stuff in the inspection and it helped in negotiating, but we still bought the house so it didn’t hurt so bad to do it. I know its good in the long run, but that doesn’t make an $850 with no immediate gain easier to part with. I do wonder how much of general seller’s unrealisticness is self inflicted and how much is being fueled by input from RE agents.