All Forum Posts by: Donna Smolinski

I have to admit, that was pretty funny J Scott :)

Ok, on a serious note... one last comment about this "off topic" subject.
There are ALOT of GOOD agents that are BP members. Most share alot of valuable info. Newbies depend and value alot of the input shared here. It concerns me that someone with minimal experience might pick up this tactic, thinking that it's normal or clever. It's not normal, and I personally do not consider it very clever. I'm all in favor of doing what it takes to protect my client, but sometimes that client may be a buyer. If an agent tries to switch EMD money to "option money" to "attempt" to make deposits non-refundable, then it would be very challenging to protect a buyer. Of course, a seasoned agent would just counter that the option money would be refundable during a reasonable inspection period. Contracts were designed by regulators to try to protect all parties, not just a seller. If agents try to take away a fair playing field, it could have a negative impact on our overall market.

I am not a Saint (as Brian suggested that I try to be), but I like to be able to sleep when I lay my head down. Sometimes I've gotten burned on my peronal transactions, because I go out of my way to be extra fair to the other party. But more often than not, the fairness plays out to benefit both, buyer & myself. That's what I call a "win, win" and EVERYONE is happy. I have many agents asking me to email them as soon as I get a new listing. If I used Brian's technique, they would probably blackball me (he said he's made alot of agents crazy). I hope you re-evaluate your comments Brian and listen to what a few of us have said here. I truly mean no malice, and I am sure you've been a great agent for many years. But sometimes good agents can get caught up in the craziness like we're seeing in our current market, and find themselves conducting business in ways that they never needed to in the past, and I mean in harmful ways. I hope you don't take that road.

[b]

David... Mark is giving pretty good advice here. But as a precaution, I'd check with the city/county to be sure it's legally zoned for multi-family before writing. Sometimes multi-units are bootlegged in on larger SFR parcels, which would make the land value far less valuable. As far as your question regarding oil tank inspection goes, it sounds like this might be something not unusual in your area. If that's the case, I would certainly insist on that inspection. If the land is contaminated, you may never be able to get your money out without the EXCESSIVE clean-up costs. This is not common where I live, so I can't say too much about it.

I'm still curious why the listing agent is using his own contract. Are you sure it's not just an Addendum that will be accompanying the state contract?

Good luck, keep us posted on how it goes.

that was funny Will (LMAO).
I've never posted a pic on a post, so can't help much, but maybe it needs to be "pdf" or "jpg" ? ? ?

thank you for chiming in Bill.
That's why I was so upset. He said he drove ALOT of buyers/brokers crazy.

@Brian P
I'm not on a high horse here. I've just seen too many shady agents trying to take advantage and/or beat the system. If you've been around for 48 yrs, then I'm sure you've seen it too. Yes, there are certainly hustlers out there that we need to protect ourselves & sellers against, but you came across sounding just like one of them. While I respect your respnsibilities to protect yourself against hustlers, I can't say I agree with your tactic in this situation. If you've listed a property for sale, rather than an "option" to purchase, why switch the terms, just for the sake of making the buyers EMD non-refundable? If you think you are working with a hustler, give them 24-48 hrs for inspection and increase the EMD, then make the EMD non-refundable. It just might scare off the hustler. No sense in penalizing a legit buyer or scaring the legit buyer away. In the long run, your seller might lose, by scaring off the legit buyer. Your first post didn't say that you were doing this if/when you suspected a hustler was in the deal. It came across like it might be kinda customary for you.
QUOTE: "If your selling and want to keep the money, make the deposit option money. The buyer can back out, and you can keep the money for the time you kept it off the market, etc. i drove a lot of agents or buyers crazy with that one".

If you want to vote me for "Sainthood", as you called it, my bus practices are also impecable. Licesned since 1976 and never a blemish, lawsuit or ethics violation. I wanna keep it that way!

wow! A very true and accurate observation Dale. I wonder what the next generation is going to bring???

@J Scott
Right on J.... that's the way to do it. If you don't truly have the cash, then it isn't a cash offer! You found a good way to go about it LEGIT!

I won't write a cash offer either, if I don't have the funds in the bank. What I don't understand is.... how are the guys that are getting their funds from HML getting their offers accepted if writing it as cash? Sellers want to see bank stmts to verify cash to close? ? ?

I guess I need to add, that these kind of tactics is what give agents a bad name Brian.... it just pisses me off! I've been in the biz a LONG time. It's just not what it use to be. Integrity has diminished way too much. Sad to say.

BRIAN,
Well, I guess I operate from old school. I would never consider keeping a buyer's deposit without giving them a couple days for inspection. I don't care how strong this seller market is. People still need to have a conscious and do the right thing. Your tactic may be clever with calling it "option" money, but if the buyer truly discovered a serious defect, would you really keep the depisit?? If so, you aren't exactly the kind of agent I would want to do business with Brian :( If this is how you operate, I simply would never show or look at a listing you have. Fortunately, I don't do business in your state, so I won't have to worry about that. LOL

Yes, it may be similar to HUD Jon, but HUD is from another world too, lol! Don't you agree?

David also said the Realtor is using his own contract, rather than a state contract. That won't hold up in some states. Unfortunately, HUD can pretty much do whatever they want, but this isn't a HUD property. That listing agent is opening himself and the seller up to alot of liability if they make the EMD non-refundable without giving the buyer opportunity for inspection. If this property seems to be such a good buy, there is probably something that the seller is hiding. If it's not such a good buy, it's doubtful that any buyer will agree to those terms. If you REALLY want the property that bad, ask for the seller and agent disclosures up front, before acceptance. It might not be worth the paper that it's written on, but better than nothing. Also, if there aren't multiple offers, you might want to do inspections prior to acceptance of counter. I smell a rat here. Good luck.