I recently had a closing where I was the Buyer's Agent. What had started off as a very smooth, friendly transaction with the 86 year old seller turned out to be very messy, to the point that my buyers refused to sit with the seller at the closing table and both parties had to be in separate rooms.
While I was out of state, attending a funeral, my clients decided to take a weekend drive and check out neighborhoods as they had recently relocated here from another state. They saw a home for sale and called the Listing Agent from the For-Sale sign to get more information. Fast forward and giving the Reader's Digest condensed story, I show them the home and the seller happened to be home and told us upfront that the septic system had overflowed and backed up into the house a few days earlier. She said that she had it pumped and the company would come back out to re-inspect and she would do whatever was necessary to make it right.
We ratify a contract, contingent on home inspections and that septic system is re-inspected. Inspection finds some issues and we have to negotiate and finally come to an agreement that all electrical issues will be repaired. Septic company comes back out and says drain lines need to be replaced which upsets seller. Seller's children insist nothing is wrong and "that many people walked the drain fields and they were fine". After asking multiple times for the original invoice since I know that there is an area for the servicemen to write down if any issues were found, I am finally given a receipt where both boxes, "drain lines working" and "drain lines not working" are checked off. Listing Agent tells me that because the "drain fields working" box is checked off, the seller will not make any repairs.
It seemed very strange to me that a company would be careless and check off both boxes so I called the company and they told me that both boxes were not checked off so I asked for a copy and sure enough, only one box, "drain lines not working" is checked off. I immediately called the listing agent, asking to please explain why an invoice had been altered.
Fast forward to the electrical repairs which the addendum was signed, seller agreeing to use a licensed electrician. I was told by Listing Agent that son was doing the repairs and was a licensed electrician in another state. I told my clients and they said as long as he provides an invoice with his license #, that would be fine with them. When the repairs were done, I asked for the invoice and was then told that the son was an electrical technician, not a licensed electrician and, therefore, there was no invoice with license number. Because of what happened with the septic, I immediately contacted the home inspector to come back out and please re-inspect the repairs and, sure enough, only 1 item on the list was taken care of. Needless to say, the seller had to hire a local electrician a few days before closing to make sure the repairs were done.
Up until a few hours before the scheduled closing, I did not know if we were going to close and when we did finally get to the lawyer's office, my clients asked to not be in the same room because they did not want to have to say what they were feeling at that moment to the seller. Remind you, the initial "relationship" with the seller and buyers was very amicable and my buyers had said, in the beginning, how they wanted to stay in touch with her since they knew it was hard for someone to leave a family home.
After all was said and done, I told them that this was an excellent example of why home buyers need to be represented by their own Agent and not call the Listing Agent. A Listing Agent is hired to represent the seller - he or she is hired to sell the home for the most money and as little as possible out-of-pocket expenses for the seller. A Listing Agent cannot effectively represent a buyer and a seller, especially under conditions as I just explained. Does Dual Agency (Listing Agent represents both sides) happen? Sure and some transactions go smoothly. But, it also must be agreed upon and signed off on by both parties in the state of South Carolina.
Why You Should Hire A Buyer's Agent
A Buyer's Agent is hired to find you a home for the best price and receive the best concessions such as repairs, closing costs and/or home warranty. Not every transaction happens like this - believe me, this was a first for me. But, when starting to look for homes, make sure you have a Realtor who will watch out for your best interests.
If asked to sign a Buyers Agency Agreement, this is to protect both you and your Agent. Without an Agency Agreement, an Agent is only obligated to you, a "customer" 1) present your offer in a timely manner; 2) account for any money or property received on your behalf; 3) provide an explanation of the scope of services to be offered and 4) disclose "adverse material facts" about the property or transaction that are within the licensee's knowledge.
As a "client", you will receive many more services than as a customer. If dealing with a Listing Agent, you cannot be their "client" as they already have a "client", the seller. As a "client", you can expect the Broker and your Agent to provide the following client-level services:
- Obedience
- Loyalty
- Disclosure
- Confidentiality
- Accounting
- Reasonable Care and Skills
- Advice and assistance in negotiations
Hiring the right Agent for your home search is important. Call me today to discuss more how to protect your best interests in one of the most important decisions you will ever make - buying a home.
