bad experience with Hubzu

[David Mirza]

I had a bad experience with Hubzu and just wanted to write about it for anybody else wondering how this site works. I had my backup offer approved for a property listed on hubzu on 11/12. I then went to the property and fo und that there were problems with the house like a missing AC unit and Roof that needed replacing, so I sent in a Buyer Repair Request to get the price reduced from 217,00. They came back to me on 11/24 with an offer of 210,000, I countered with 200,000 and they accepted it on 12/10. I immediately have my inspector try to enter the property to inspect it, but the lock box had been removed. I then emailed the listing agent and he said the seller will work on getting a lock box installed but I had to sen the 11k EMD immediately or the sale would be cancelled. He obviously didn't know anything about the transaction since I still hadn't received a signed purchase agreement from the seller (I signed the docs they sent but we were waiting for seller to sign) and escrow had not opened yet.

I also called customer service to ask that a lock box be installed and explained my situation.  Their customer service is offshore and they are completely incompetent.  The guy I first talked to gave me a customer service ticket.  I called later on that day to see if there was any progress made and they had closed the ticket off without doing anything!!  I had them re-open the ticket.  Next day I called and they said somebody is working on it but nothing had been done yet.  

Finally on day 4 of this ordeal I go down to the property to see if I could enter without a lock box through the window.  I drive 1 1/2 hours to the property to see that the backyard window was open and squatters were living there.  I called the police (it took them 45 min to get there, but thats another story) and had the people removed.  After doing that, I inspect the house and see that there is a leak in the roof.  Before I left the house, I installed new locks, a lock box, secured the house and emailed hubzu to see if they wanted the code for the new lockbox I installed.  Here is the email I send them:

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Hi James,

I went by the house today and found there were people who broke in and were living there. They broke the locks and removed the lock box. I called the police and had the people removed. According to the neighbors, this is the third time this happened. One of the times a bunch of the neighbors went in the house, one had a gun, and they removed the people. I installed new locks and put a lock box on the door. Let me know if you need the access code for the lock box. ,

I also found that there is a major leak in the roof, damaging the hardwood flooring. I'm fine with doing a loan and closing on the 29th as the contract states, but if the seller want's to move the process forward faster to minimize damage and potential problems from the house being vacant, I can pay cash and close on the house this Friday in exchange for a $2,000 price reduction. Please ask the seller and let me know what they think.  

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And here is their response:

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Hello David,

Please be advised that the seller is not willing to provide any credit / reduce the price.

And seller has cancelled this deal, let me know if you any questions.

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WTF!!!! I watched this property for months, spend a few more months waiting for them to respond to my price reduction requests, finally agree on a price, spend countless hours on the road driving to the property, pay $500 for an inspection, spend $100 securing the property, file a police report and get squatters out and they don't even have the decency to explain to me why the seller is cancelling!!!!  Beware when dealing with this company, it can be more trouble than its worth.

[Christopher Brainard]

@David Mirza

While it definitely sounds like their customer service is sub-par (which I don't find very surprising), I think you may have hurt yourself where closing this deal is concerned. If I understand what you wrote, you agreed to a purchase price of $217,000, then after looking at the property you were able to negotiate down to $200,000 for the required repairs. I think that figure needed to include any additional costs reductions you needed - When you went back to the well again for another $2,000 - I'm not surprised that the seller decided to back out. Moving the process forward faster is in your favor, as the damage to the home is ultimately going to be your responsibility after the deal closes - I don't think the seller should be penalized for helping you out. Removal of the squatters and changing the locks may also have been a red flag for them, as these activities should only be performed by the legal owner of the property. 

I just think you were trying to do too much and get too much in return. If this were my deal and I wanted to close on it, I think i would have suggested we move up the close date but without any price reduction. After closing, I would have dealt with securing the property and removing the squatters.

-Christopher