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OT - Anyone realtors or mortgage lenders on the board?

bomber89

Assistant Head Coach
Oct 12, 2004
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So I have been transferred to a different state. Housing market is nuts in this state. We saw a home online and liked it; Realtor did a video chat with us as he went through the home. Its a nice home, nothing wrong with it. I asked him about the neighboorhood and he said its a good neigborhood , the crime rate is middle ground. We put a bid on it and won the house and then put $2K down as earnest money. I flew to the state to start work tomorrow and decided to drive by our new home. House looks like advertised but the neighboorhood is awful. Not anywhere close to what I would call acceptable. So here is my question. Am I screwed and have to purchase this home in a bad neighborhood or can I back out and let them keep the 2K? The realtor had 5 star reviews but I feel lied too. Whats my options?
 
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Neither of the above, but you can back out any time and lose the earnest money.

Might be able to get the earnest money back if you explain your difference of opinion on the neighborhood - but that's likely gone.
 
So I have been transferred to a different state. Housing market is nuts in this state. We saw a home online and liked it; Realtor did a video chat with us as he went through the home. Its a nice home, nothing wrong with it. I asked him about the neighboorhood and he said its a good neigborhood , the crime rate is middle ground. We put a bid on it and won the house and then put $2K down as earnest money. I flew to the state to start work tomorrow and decided to drive by our new home. House looks like advertised but the neighboorhood is awful. Not anywhere close to what I would call acceptable. So here is my question. Am I screwed and have to purchase this home in a bad neighborhood or can I back out and let them keep the 2K? The realtor had 5 star reviews but I feel lied too. Whats my options?
You can forfeit the earnest money, or a cheaper way would be to go ahead and order your inspection for about 500 bucks and when it comes back, you can rescind your offer based on that. Better to lose $500 than $2000. You don't have to really give any reasons. Just say that you're not comfortable with the condition of the house. You say there's nothing wrong with it but the inspector will find issues. It's their job. Plus, your realtor cannot technically say it is a good neighborhood. That is subjective and can run afoul of the fair housing act as a form of discrimination. He should have dodged that question
 
You can forfeit the earnest money, or a cheaper way would be to go ahead and order your inspection for about 500 bucks and when it comes back, you can rescind your offer based on that. Better to lose $500 than $2000. You don't have to really give any reasons. Just say that you're not comfortable with the condition of the house. You say there's nothing wrong with it but the inspector will find issues. It's their job. Plus, your realtor cannot technically say it is a good neighborhood. That is subjective and can run afoul of the fair housing act as a form of discrimination. He should have dodged that question

You can usually back out at anytime during inspection period without forfeiting your Ernest money.
 
Realtor shouldn't have said anything opinion based about neighborhood and you absolutely don't have to purchase.

I’ve always despised the stupid legal red tape of realtors. What in the hell would be the point of a realtor if this person “should not” give him an accurate description of what he’s trying to buy remotely? That is literally their only job. Realtors are completely useless in my opinion, especially in 2021.

Get on Zillow, look at all houses in a neighborhood, in all price ranges. Get on Google street view if it’s available (it probably is). Rely on the mooching blood sucking realtors as little as possible. Rant over.
 
Agree with most said above. You DEFINITELY don't have to buy the house. Earnest$$ may very from state to state.

How long ago did you do this. Alot of them will let you completely back out with no forfeiture if done within a reasonable amount of time AND based upon financing approval. IF crime is that bad bank may not finance.

IF crime was a big deal to you, " middle of the road" would have been a red flag for me.

I would talk to your realtor and explain. As mentioned, please let us know how this turns out for you.
 
So I have been transferred to a different state. Housing market is nuts in this state. We saw a home online and liked it; Realtor did a video chat with us as he went through the home. Its a nice home, nothing wrong with it. I asked him about the neighboorhood and he said its a good neigborhood , the crime rate is middle ground. We put a bid on it and won the house and then put $2K down as earnest money. I flew to the state to start work tomorrow and decided to drive by our new home. House looks like advertised but the neighboorhood is awful. Not anywhere close to what I would call acceptable. So here is my question. Am I screwed and have to purchase this home in a bad neighborhood or can I back out and let them keep the 2K? The realtor had 5 star reviews but I feel lied too. Whats my options?
Was it Wisconsin?

This happened to a Co-workers son & his wife. He helped his son move to a house in Wisconsin and everything looked great from the description & pics online. Realtor said it was a Gem!

They got there & it was a Fing nightmare. They left the furniture in the U-haul, cleaned for three days, then painted, replaced carpet, couple new appliances next 4 days.

Luckily there was 3 of them total, they stayed in a Hotel cause it was Nasty! They moved up there and had jobs lined up so they stayed. They joked, they should get into flipping houses but they don't have the Gag reflex for it.

Good luck getting out of it.
 
I’ve always despised the stupid legal red tape of realtors. What in the hell would be the point of a realtor if this person “should not” give him an accurate description of what he’s trying to buy remotely? That is literally their only job. Realtors are completely useless in my opinion, especially in 2021.

Get on Zillow, look at all houses in a neighborhood, in all price ranges. Get on Google street view if it’s available (it probably is). Rely on the mooching blood sucking realtors as little as possible. Rant over.
Is there a job that has been changed more by the internet than real estate agent?

They used to find the houses, line up 4-5 to show you, drive you around, take you to lunch, shit like that.

Now, you find the house, send them the link, they show up to open the door and want 3-6% commission.

I guess it is not really their fault, it is the industry, but it is so stupid.
 
Is there a job that has been changed more by the internet than real estate agent?

They used to find the houses, line up 4-5 to show you, drive you around, take you to lunch, shit like that.

Now, you find the house, send them the link, they show up to open the door and want 3-6% commission.

I guess it is not really their fault, it is the industry, but it is so stupid.

You just described a lot of industries, and the answer to your first sentence is yes. ...lots of industries have been turned on their head.
 
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Is there a job that has been changed more by the internet than real estate agent?

They used to find the houses, line up 4-5 to show you, drive you around, take you to lunch, shit like that.

Now, you find the house, send them the link, they show up to open the door and want 3-6% commission.

I guess it is not really their fault, it is the industry, but it is so stupid.
We sold our house a couple years ago in California. Our realtor charged 2% and put the house on MLS with a note that I would pay the buyer agent only 2.5%. So when I sold it I was out 4.5%. But for what houses sell for in California, that was still a chunk of change. They had three open houses and it ended up selling to people whose agent was known to my agent (good ole boy). The thing is a home sale in California is very complicated (I had to pay to have a signed form notarized informing they buyers there are earthquakes in California-duh). Plus we were selling somewhat "as-is" where we would make only repairs for safety because the roof was starting to lose shingles.

i probably could have saved a lot of money selling it myself, but in my case using a realtor made us more comfortable as far as finding a buyer and handling the reams of legal stuff. My realtor unfortunately never bought me lunch.
 
I laugh at all of the for sale by owners out there. If you're not on the MLS your house is not technically on the market and you won't get s*** for exposure. Without exposure, you won't get multiple interested parties and offers at the highest price. The real work doesn't even begin until the house goes into escrow
 
We sold our house a couple years ago in California. Our realtor charged 2% and put the house on MLS with a note that I would pay the buyer agent only 2.5%. So when I sold it I was out 4.5%. But for what houses sell for in California, that was still a chunk of change. They had three open houses and it ended up selling to people whose agent was known to my agent (good ole boy). The thing is a home sale in California is very complicated (I had to pay to have a signed form notarized informing they buyers there are earthquakes in California-duh). Plus we were selling somewhat "as-is" where we would make only repairs for safety because the roof was starting to lose shingles.

i probably could have saved a lot of money selling it myself, but in my case using a realtor made us more comfortable as far as finding a buyer and handling the reams of legal stuff. My realtor unfortunately never bought me lunch.
Dude, they all do the good ole boy thing.
 
Is there a job that has been changed more by the internet than real estate agent?

They used to find the houses, line up 4-5 to show you, drive you around, take you to lunch, shit like that.

Now, you find the house, send them the link, they show up to open the door and want 3-6% commission.

I guess it is not really their fault, it is the industry, but it is so stupid.
down in florida, many offer 0.5-1% commission, but then it's crazy competitive too.. but I agree.. I always felt they didn't earn that 5-6%
 
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was able to get out of it and all it cost me was my earnest money. well worth it.
Glad you're glad. I knew you could get out but under the circumstances I thought you had a better than 50/50 getting your Ernest money back.

They would more than likely say you should have done your own crime research.

Hope you find something you like better. Cheers
 
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So I have been transferred to a different state. Housing market is nuts in this state. We saw a home online and liked it; Realtor did a video chat with us as he went through the home. Its a nice home, nothing wrong with it. I asked him about the neighboorhood and he said its a good neigborhood , the crime rate is middle ground. We put a bid on it and won the house and then put $2K down as earnest money. I flew to the state to start work tomorrow and decided to drive by our new home. House looks like advertised but the neighboorhood is awful. Not anywhere close to what I would call acceptable. So here is my question. Am I screwed and have to purchase this home in a bad neighborhood or can I back out and let them keep the 2K? The realtor had 5 star reviews but I feel lied too. Whats my options?

You can get out any time based on dates in the Contract. I’m a Mortgage guy. Loom for the Poan Terms deadline. Loan type? Conventional, FHA or VA?
 
So I have been transferred to a different state. Housing market is nuts in this state. We saw a home online and liked it; Realtor did a video chat with us as he went through the home. Its a nice home, nothing wrong with it. I asked him about the neighboorhood and he said its a good neigborhood , the crime rate is middle ground. We put a bid on it and won the house and then put $2K down as earnest money. I flew to the state to start work tomorrow and decided to drive by our new home. House looks like advertised but the neighboorhood is awful. Not anywhere close to what I would call acceptable. So here is my question. Am I screwed and have to purchase this home in a bad neighborhood or can I back out and let them keep the 2K? The realtor had 5 star reviews but I feel lied too. Whats my options?
I am surprised the realtor gave you his own assessment of the neighborhood. I always refer a client to the local police department when they ask about crime. ( I am not a cop nor am I an educator. Schools. Never advise anything you are not 100% sure of.). In the state you are buying the house is there a property disclosure form provided by the Seller? Here in Washington it is required even by houses sold by the owner without a realtor. In some cases you can get out of the contract based on that form. Did you include any addendums to the Purchase and Sale Agreement that you can use? I like to throw in a Title Report addendum. Often the listing realtor doesn’t pay attention to it, but I have used it to get out of a contract. Someone already mentioned getting out of the contract based on the home inspection. Lastly I would gladly forfeit $2000 before I would buy a house I am not comfortable living in.

You might want to call his managing broker as well if your realtor has no answers. I would definitely hire another realtor as well if this isn’t fixed. Do better research. This one is counting his dollars before the deal is done.

PS This type of thing is only going to become more common. With electronic signings and virtual home showings people are buying properties all over the country without meeting their agent or seeing the property in person.
 
I am surprised the realtor gave you his own assessment of the neighborhood. I always refer a client to the local police department when they ask about crime. ( I am not a cop nor am I an educator. Schools. Never advise anything you are not 100% sure of.). In the state you are buying the house is there a property disclosure form provided by the Seller? Here in Washington it is required even by houses sold by the owner without a realtor. In some cases you can get out of the contract based on that form. Did you include any addendums to the Purchase and Sale Agreement that you can use? I like to throw in a Title Report addendum. Often the listing realtor doesn’t pay attention to it, but I have used it to get out of a contract. Someone already mentioned getting out of the contract based on the home inspection. Lastly I would gladly forfeit $2000 before I would buy a house I am not comfortable living in.

You might want to call his managing broker as well if your realtor has no answers. I would definitely hire another realtor as well if this isn’t fixed. Do better research. This one is counting his dollars before the deal is done.

PS This type of thing is only going to become more common. With electronic signings and virtual home showings people are buying properties all over the country without meeting their agent or seeing the property in person.
We found our dream home online, but wouldn't pull the trigger until we flew out to see it. Boy, are we glad we did because we hated the house in person. The listing agent's photographer was a master at making a bedroom the size of a closet look like it was 20 X 20, hats off to him. I have a friend who bought a house online and was disappointed when he and his wife saw it the first time. I don't understand how people can buy a primary residence without walking through it, but maybe it is the way of the future and I'm an old foggey.
 
We found our dream home online, but wouldn't pull the trigger until we flew out to see it. Boy, are we glad we did because we hated the house in person. The listing agent's photographer was a master at making a bedroom the size of a closet look like it was 20 X 20, hats off to him. I have a friend who bought a house online and was disappointed when he and his wife saw it the first time. I don't understand how people can buy a primary residence without walking through it, but maybe it is the way of the future and I'm an old foggey.
I must be a fogey too because I'm with you 100%. I think it's mainly a function of the white-hot seller's market. Things always swing back eventually and hopefully sanity will return to home prices and the buying process.
 
I also agree that before buying a house you must at least once see it with your own eyes. My wife and I bought our house after we got married in 2019. It was my first purchase, the home where I will live with my family, where I will spend half my life. Because of this, I wanted everything to be perfect. I turned to a company known as maplemortgage.ca, many of my acquaintances recommended it to me. They show me all the offers, and my wife and I chose the house of our dreams, which we can afford. But I decided I wouldn't pay anything until I saw the house, and I was with my wife and saw our future house. Everything was perfect, and I was delighted with the services of our realtor.
 
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I have some friends who were in the same situation as you. They had two daughters made them decide to leave the realtor even though he couldn't give them the money back. Now it's up to you what's more important, a safe neighborhood or your 2000 dollars. The situation is very unpleasant, but at least you know now that you have to verify something before giving the money. Of course, you can take a Mortgage Advisor Manchester or someone online that could help you, but I am not sure they will do much.
 
If your Realtor did offer opinions on neighborhood or crime that could be a violation of the Fair Housing Act and that is not looked upon lightly. Confront your Realtor and then contact the managing Broker…someone other than you might end up losing $2,000.00

This ^^^

Realtors cannot offer or give opinions about neighborhoods, what the neighbors are like, etc. They can point you in the direction to do your own research- that's about it.

That makes it really tough to buy without seeing a home/neighborhood/area first.
 
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Technically a realtor may not be able to legally tell you the neighborhood you are considering is a shithole, but luckily, I deal with people that know I won't tattle on them, and I want to hear that if it is indeed, a shit hole. PLEASE tell me.
Yeah I agree. I get why they have the rules, but I also want to know a few things about my neighborhood. On our most recent move, we asked about if there were a lot of kids in the neighborhood because she was just down the road. Couldn't even answer that question, but changed realtors and got a lot more toeing the line which I appreciated. We had specific needs and kid friendly neighborhood was very high on that list. If I am spending that much money, I better be able to get some answers.
 
You can forfeit the earnest money, or a cheaper way would be to go ahead and order your inspection for about 500 bucks and when it comes back, you can rescind your offer based on that. Better to lose $500 than $2000. You don't have to really give any reasons. Just say that you're not comfortable with the condition of the house. You say there's nothing wrong with it but the inspector will find issues. It's their job. Plus, your realtor cannot technically say it is a good neighborhood. That is subjective and can run afoul of the fair housing act as a form of discrimination. He should have dodged that question
Yes, your realtor should not have said good or bad about the neighborhood. I ask people when they say good or bad what to they mean? Crime, I have a website I can send them where they can research crime. Is it schools? I have school review websites I send them. I also drive the neighborhood and video a few blocks in every direction.

Every state probably has different rules about cancelling and getting your deposit back. In Nevada you can usually get out during your initial inspection period. If you are past that you can cancel and the seller can keep your deposit. But there should be a section of your agreement that says exactly what your rights are and the sellers as far as the deposit.
 
Technically a realtor may not be able to legally tell you the neighborhood you are considering is a shithole, but luckily, I deal with people that know I won't tattle on them, and I want to hear that if it is indeed, a shit hole. PLEASE tell me.
That's we roll. The buyer asks yes/no questions and we just nod affirmative or negative, just in case Siri or Alexa are listening (which they are). 😀
 
Yeah I agree. I get why they have the rules, but I also want to know a few things about my neighborhood. On our most recent move, we asked about if there were a lot of kids in the neighborhood because she was just down the road. Couldn't even answer that question, but changed realtors and got a lot more toeing the line which I appreciated. We had specific needs and kid friendly neighborhood was very high on that list. If I am spending that much money, I better be able to get some answers.
I worked for 17 years as a realtor after retiring from a large corporation. Our association lawyer pounded this at us constantly, make your clients do their own due diligence. If you don't it just opens up a realtor to trouble. Here is an actual example used. Buyer wants to buy a lot to build a house. A parcel of land is found. Realtor instead of having his client talk to the county planning department he does and finds out that the land meets the basic requirements necessary to build a single family home. Buyer purchases the land. When the builder goes out to the land he discovers a nest of Bald eagles. Builder contacts the county. County revokes the building permit. Buyer sues the realtor and wins. The realtor would have not been liable if he only had his clients go to the courthouse. Another thing. I don't have kids so anything about schools or kids was an easy answer for me. "I don't have children. Here is the phone number for the local school district". (My neighborhood has hardly any kids. Mostly retired people from the Seattle area, but more and more we are getting people from all over.) 22 inches of snow overnight. That should cool those on the fence about moving here.
 
I worked for 17 years as a realtor after retiring from a large corporation. Our association lawyer pounded this at us constantly, make your clients do their own due diligence. If you don't it just opens up a realtor to trouble. Here is an actual example used. Buyer wants to buy a lot to build a house. A parcel of land is found. Realtor instead of having his client talk to the county planning department he does and finds out that the land meets the basic requirements necessary to build a single family home. Buyer purchases the land. When the builder goes out to the land he discovers a nest of Bald eagles. Builder contacts the county. County revokes the building permit. Buyer sues the realtor and wins. The realtor would have not been liable if he only had his clients go to the courthouse. Another thing. I don't have kids so anything about schools or kids was an easy answer for me. "I don't have children. Here is the phone number for the local school district". (My neighborhood has hardly any kids. Mostly retired people from the Seattle area, but more and more we are getting people from all over.) 22 inches of snow overnight. That should cool those on the fence about moving here.
I lived in Vancouver WA and in Hood River OR for about 4 years. Beautiful part of the country but would never go back. Hopefully you get dug out of the storm!
 
I lived in Vancouver WA and in Hood River OR for about 4 years. Beautiful part of the country but would never go back. Hopefully you get dug out of the storm!
What did you not like about Vancouver and Hood River? Lots of people want to move to HR. It's pretty windy, but there is a lot of outdoor activities there. I wanted to live in Bend for a long time, but it has gotten too big. Our recent storm was a mess. No way to get to the westside of the Cascades for about 4-5 days. All passes closed. Even I-84 between Hood River and Portland was closed for a few days. Got 3 1/2 feet plus snow off my patio. Surrounded on three sides by the house and garage. Worried it would flood the house if it melted too fast. I broke down the snow a little at a time with a shovel and then blew it off with my single stage Honda snow blower. Had to dig out the front steps too.
 
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When buying a home, I advise you to hire a licensed firm like this one http://ajmechanicalservices.co.uk, not some 5 stars rated realtor from LinkedIn. A lot of people lie to get what they want. This is why you should hire somebody who's serious and actually cares about their clients. I once got scammed too. Here's the story: the realtor showed me a really nice apartment (through the phone because I wasn't in the country) but didn't show me the building, but by sending a picture. When I got to the place, the address was on a different building that looked like a scary hospital, and got disappointed. Please take my advice next time.
 
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Is there a job that has been changed more by the internet than real estate agent?

They used to find the houses, line up 4-5 to show you, drive you around, take you to lunch, shit like that.

Now, you find the house, send them the link, they show up to open the door and want 3-6% commission.

I guess it is not really their fault, it is the industry, but it is so stupid.
You should go be a realtor. I'm sure it will be just as easy as you think it is.
 
Now, you find the house, send them the link, they show up to open the door and want 3-6% commission.

I guess it is not really their fault, it is the industry, but it is so stupid.

You think realtors pretty much do the same amount of work as a car dealer selling a vehicle? 🤣🤣🤣

(no offense to car dealers, as that is a lot more work as well)
 
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