All Forum Posts by: Katherine Du Plessis

Are there any good advice, books, posts, or podcasts out there to teach us about the relationship between buyers, sellers and realtors and their roles and obligations to make transactions run smoothly?

Currently I am in the process of buying a property, but the further I progress into this transaction, the more I realize I do not know the rules. I have the cash and I'm ready to close but, the agent and seller seem to be dragging their feet, while I want to get this done as soon as possible. What are my rights and obligations, and also those of the agent and seller?

I have been drinking the koolaid here at BP: reading the forum posts and listening to the podcasts (and I love it!), but I have not come across anything that goes over the basics of this relationship.

If you look at my previous post, you will get a sense of the hassle I have been dealing with at the moment. I really just need to learn about the rules of the game.

@Mark Gallagher

 You make some very good points, thanks for the feedback.

In the contract, I believe it says that the realtor needs to be present for the inspection (my legal-ease needs a bit of work I must admit). In any case, he said that he would be there and he said that the utilities would be turned on (dewinterized) but he did not come through on his promises. If he had explained to me that he did not need to be there (I explicitly asked him he was going to be there) or that it was not possible to get the utilities turned on or that he could not make the appointment, it might have helped a little. I suppose communication / advice would gone a long way to make this situation better. 

I have told the realtor that if we can not get the closing paperwork or an agreement with the seller that we will close by the original close date of May 29th (they changed the close date after they took two weeks to sign the purchase addendum) by this Thursday that I am going to speak to a lawyer about my options for either speeding up this process or getting out of this property. I need this property for a renter in June. Do you think I am being to firm here? From the start, I made the mistake of not knowing my rights. I should have had it written into the contract that things happen by a certain date or no deal. I am definitely being held subject to deadlines, but personally I would feel better if I knew more about the rules. Are there any good books out there to teach us about the relationship between buyers, sellers and realtors and their roles and obligations to make transactions run smoothly?

- Do you have any advice about switching realtors mid-transaction? 

- Do you know if I can get out of an offer if the realtor does not come through on an inspection that was requested as a contingency of the purchase agreement? 

I appreciate the responses because they are teaching me about the process and the norms.

@Mark Gallagher Thanks for your advice. Sorry for this somewhat messy message (I am still learning this site) Please see my comments above and let me know if you have any advice.

Update: So it turns out that the utilities were not turned on and the realtor did not even show up for the inspection, but as our inspector is also a contractor in the area, he was able to conduct the inspection. For $80 (because the water was not turned on) he was able to tell us that overall the property was very good. He said we might need to replace the plumbing but that would not cost so much as there is very little plumbing. As this is our first property we figured it would be good to at least have a bit of reassurance (or advice against) purchasing this property.

After I spoke with the contractor, I called the realtor and told him that I was the type of person to stand up for myself and that I was not interested in playing games any longer. I told him that I needed him to get back to me promptly, and that I would like to close as soon as possible. He said he would make it happen, and I hope this is true, but if he doesn't come through on his recent commitment, I am going to call his agency and see if I cannot get a different realtor on the case. I feel like I have the right to drop him immediately for not coming through on the inspection when I completed all of the paperwork to have the utilities turned on with reasonable notice as described in the "Utilities Activation Form". If he could not meet the expectation, he should have behaved professionally and at least communicated that he would be unable to make the commitment. The fact that he did neither is unacceptable.

- Has anyone ever attempted to switch agents mid-transaction? Do you have any reasons that I should not attempt to do this? 

- Does anyone know if I can get out of an offer if the realtor does not come through on an inspection that was requested as a contingency of the purchase agreement? If I new more about my legal rights, I might have considered walking away from this deal all together. 

Thanks George, I agree with you that face to face interactions are better. The problem is that I am in Alaska at the moment and I am purchasing the house in Wisconsin. Can you change agents midway through a transaction? Or am I stuck?

Thanks Mark, I learned a big lesson with having a dual agent (I will try to avoid this in future). Doesn't the dual agent also want to get paid asap? And because one of the contingencies was that we have an inspection (I just want to know what to expect if I get into this property), can they avoid an inspection or would this be a breach of contract? I will see what I can do to get the utilities on. The agent said it wouldn't be a problem,  but I don't know if the inspector is going to be able to get into the house.

Thanks for the information Wayne.

Thanks for you feedback BP!

I am brand new to realty and just had an offer accepted on my first cash purchase ($25,000 I know its not much) of a single family house. This house is a reverse mortgage / HUD / Foreclosure (it is still not clear exactly what it is, but I am purchasing it as an investor directly from the bank).

There seems to be something slowing this transaction down. I am not sure if it is the realtor (who is a dual agent) or the seller, but it is taking much longer than I expected. 

The original close date was set for May 29, but as the contract stated that the close would happen 30 days from when the seller signed, the new date has been set to June 11th. You can see the timeline below and my question afterwards.

Contract / Paperwork Timeline 

- April 29th - Submitted original documentation

- May 4th - Received request from seller for revisions (submitted the corrections on the same day)

- May 11th - Received the seller signed addendum (submitted paperwork for the inspection for Friday, May 15th)

I never got a response from the realtor to say that he has received documentation or emails and he has not confirmed the inspection date or even let me know that he has received my request. 

- Considering the money involved, is it normal not to hear from your realtor and for things to take so long?

- Is there anything I can do get the realtor to quickly respond and say he has received documents? 

*Is there any way that I can get this transaction closed as soon as possible (once the inspection is complete)? 

- Do you have any other advice or insight?

Thanks for any help or advice.