All Forum Posts by: Cindy McHugh

Thanks for the continued input. There aren't a lot of houses for sale in this neighborhood and most listings are out of Mom's price range. She did call about a conventional sale last Thursday and the realtor (LA) was supposed to arrange a viewing for today, but she called her this morning and said there was a communication problem with the owner (who's living in the home) and she wouldn't be able to see it today, but she could show her another, more expensive home. This one (the conventional sale) was already just out of her price range (but close enough that they may be able to negotiate), so the more expensive one probably isn't an option.

I agree that it appears the other house was already sold when it hit MLS. But it seems like if the bank requires that as part of the process, it must be for a reason (presumably to get FMV) and not accepting offers or doing 'highest and best' is circumventing the intent. (If, in fact, that is the intent.) There's always a chance the bank won't accept the offer and I wrote to the owners this morning to let them know we're interested and willing to pay more than the list price, along with 'seller assistance' to them.

I just wish the LA had the courtesy to give us a heads up. In one message, I even asked that he send us a quick update if he was not accepting offers for some reason. I find his behavior unprofessional and disrespectful, though apparently, not that uncommon.

We'll keep looking and again, I thank everyone who has shared their thoughts and opinions.

AAARRRRGGGGHH!!!!!

Over the past 6 days, we've emailed, called, and texted the LA 11 times with no response, so my mother made arrangements with another realtor to show her the house today. The other realtor just called her and said it's now listed as being under contract.

My mother called the listing agent within an hour of it going on the market and told him we'd make a full price cash offer. I've reiterated this several times via email and voicemail. Even if someone else did call before her (unlikely), wouldn't you think he would have done 'highest and best' or at least communicated in some way?

It appears that this is his only listing, so it's not like he's busy with other properties. I hate to sound cynical, but I think there's something fishy going on.

Thank you all for taking the time to make suggestions. You've offered some great ideas that I think will be helpful if this is a legitimate sale. If everything is not "above board" and this is an inside deal or he wants the house himself, I'm not sure there's anything that can help.

I've invested in real estate for the past few years in NC and while I've seen my share of unfair practices, since they were all investment properties, it wasn't terribly disappointing and I was successful with enough offers to keep me busy.

But unfortunately, my Mom really wants a house in this zip code (in demand) and I'm shocked at how disrespectful, dishonest, and downright rude realtors have been. She's had two not show up to appointments; both called at the time they were supposed to meet (after she drove 40 minutes and was sitting in the driveway); one eventually got back with her and the other never did. She had another realtor refuse to write her offer, saying she was "wasting his time" with an offer that low ($10k under asking price, less than 10% reduction) and she checked the tax records after the sale and it sold for less than her offer. She was preapproved, so that wasn't the issue. And before she was savvy on short sales, she flew from Raleigh to Orlando to look at one house, told them she'd make a full price offer and the realtor (on the spot) told her the bank would never accept that price and wanted $10k more; when she agreed, the figure jumped to $15k more and she told the realtor to forget it (after buying a plane ticket, paying for a hotel, and renting a car).

And now, it's been 6 days since we both started calling and emailing this listing agent (a total of 10 times since Saturday). Another agent is supposed to show her the house today, so we'll see if he responds to her or if it suddenly goes under contract.

What do you all think of me contacting the owner directly? (I have their current address and phone number; I tried to call yesterday, but got her sister, who didn't speak English very well.) We'd be willing to offer over asking price (cash). And do you know how much seller assistance the banks will approve in a short sale? I want to make the offer as attractive as possible to the seller without jeopardizing our chances of bank approval. I offered $500 in sellers closing costs, but would offer more if the bank won't object.

Thanks again.

I wanted to include an excerpt from this LA's website: "(name), Accredited Buyers Representative (ABR), will represent you with your best interests in mind at all times and will work to negotiate the best deal possible for you. He specializes in listening to his clients with the intent of truly finding their Orlando dream home."

This is my mother's dream home, but not exactly a "dream home" (big $$$). Perhaps that's the reason for he lack of attention???

In my email to him, I stated that I understood and accepted that he'd be working as a dual agent. In subsequent calls and emails, I stated that if there was a reason he was not showing the house or accepting a contract, I asked that he just give us a quick call to let us know.

What's really confusing is that his "about me" page concludes with: "(name) looks to build lasting business relationships with his clients and always represents their best interest. The City of Orlando is still somewhat small, but the luxury home market is big and complicated. Use an expert; call or email (name) today and make your Real Estate dreams become a reality!"

Maybe it's just not enough of a commission for him to be bothered?

Thanks for the fast reply! It's actually a short sale and from what I've been able to discern, it's the agent's only listing. He's a "one man show" according to his web site and on the site, most links, including "Listings" are disabled. I've been searching by his name and his company's name trying to see if he has any other listings. Thus far, I've found nothing.

My Mom has been trying to buy a home in Orlando FL for some time without success. She had a buyer's agent, but kept missing out to "in-house" offers. I've purchased several homes elsewhere and always had better luck when dealing with the LA, so when she excitedly called me about a house that had just gone on the market in her preferred neighborhood and in her price range, I suggested she contact the LA this time.

The house went on the market July 14 and she had already left the LA a voicemail by 9am. She also followed up with an email, stating that she was pre-approved by Wells Fargo for the asking price and she wanted to make a full-price offer. She said she would meet the LA at the house at his convenience or would even sign the contract sight unseen as long as it contained a standard inspection clause. When she hadn't heard anything by that afternoon, she called again.

I also sent him an email on Saturday, explaining that I was contacting him on my mother's behalf and I was willing to make a full cash offer + $500 in closing cost assistance to the seller. I told him I would gladly provide POF and an Earnest Deposit.

When neither of us heard back by Monday, Mom called him again (twice). I also called him and emailed again on Tuesday and texted and emailed him Wednesday morning. Still, no reply.

My mother called another agent to show her the house tomorrow, but our past recent experience using an outside agent has been horrendous. Most recently, we were confirmed to have had a backup contract on a home and were notified when the contract in first position fell through. The Realtor said our offer was the same as the original, so we would be moved to the first position. Our agent called and emailed the LA for a week with no response and he finally told her that another buyer came along 'at the last minute" with a higher offer, so they took his over ours without ever communicating with us. I later found out that it was an in-house offer that beat ours by several hundred dollars. We had a similar experience several months ago.

So, we'd like to use the LA, but what do you do when you've called 5 times and emailed 4 times over 5 days with no response whatsoever? Does anyone govern Realtors who cares?

Thanks for your time.