Buyer beware

Set the stage: the phone rings in a real estate office. Agent answers "How may I help you?" Caller "I'd like to see the house advertised in the paper. Can you show it to me on Saturday?" Agent "Yes I'd love to show that home to you on Saturday. But first, you need to know this home won't qualify for financing, so are you able to buy it with cash or builders financing?" The caller hasn't yet gotten back to me with an answer.

Then later in the day that same listing agent (who represents the ex-wife) and the attorney for the ex-husband, are speaking together, having just returned from a Rotary lunch. They discuss how the divorce judge gave custody of the home to the wife but that the mortgage holder holds the ex-husband (not the ex-wife, as her name is not on the note) financially accountable. they're speaking about how the judge ordered the wife to allow potential buyers access to the home (she'd locked the door and we couldn't get inside, so potential buyers were turned away). But because the wife wants to get back at the husband she has allowed cats to do their thing all over the home, how she's filled the home with stuff.

Then later in the day, I hear the agent on the phone with the town health inspector. The health inspector says he's ready to declare the home uninhabitable for sanitation purposes and start fining the co-owners. The agent explains the situation and the the town representative agrees to wait for 48 hours so the agent can speak to the co-owners.

Our receptionist tells me to speak with another agent who'se recently shown this home to clients. The agent says "there are environmental issues." I ask "how so?" Agent "there was an oil tank in the basement that was removed but there was a miscommunication with the oil provider and hundreds of gallons of oil was pumped into the basement with no container to contain it."

Later the listing agent told me the oil company settled the case, meaning it was their fault. Whoever's fault it is, whoever owns the property is forever liable for oil getting into the water table or other environmental clean up costs. In otherwords, buying this property could possibly include endless financial liabilities.

Lesson-learned: If the price is too low, there's a reason! If a three-bedroom Cape in in a small upscale town, with two-acres and a two-car garage, is advertised for $140,000, there's a reason. If the ad says the home needs work, it means the home is most-likely uninhabitable and won't qualify for a bank loan. These are red flags to buyers. Realtors must market a property and represent their client. to do this we write the ads as favorable to the property as possible, so the ad says "needs TLC or first time buyer's special or handyman dream" You know that if you are looking for a home that is move-in ready you shouldn't waste your time going to see that home. But if you want the most for your money, have cash to buy it (or can borrow from a non-bank source), go for it. But get the place inspected thoroughly. And I don't just mean the normal inspector process. Get the ground tested, test the water, go above and beyond in situations where the price is far lower than surrounding homes. In real estate, you do get what you pay for.

FYI: Realtors will disclose all the home issues described above regarding the issues this home has. Our ethics require disclosure of all material facts about a property.

The shocking part to me about the above story is the disclosure about the personal issues about the homeowners. Realtor ethics require that we keep all personal issues about our clients to ourselves. The only exception is if the client gives us permission to disclose this information to others. Somehow I can't believe this client gave her agent permission to disclose all her personal business with anyone within listening radius. But I don't know that for a fact, so know knows? Anything's possible.