Question for real estate professionals

#1
salutethehill

salutethehill

by hatchet, axe, and saw
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#1
We have a contract to sell our house. It says that the sale is contingent on an inspection, and on the upkeep of the yard until closing. The inspection passed with flying colors.

If I go out and do donuts in the back yard...does that cancel our contract?

Long story short - we were planning on purchasing a foreclosure from a bank. The bank accepted our offer on the foreclosure, and we accepted an offer to sell our house. The problem is, the foreclosure purchasing agreement has the WRONG...FREAKING...ADDRESS on it, and it turns out this could take months to correct (apparently). I'm not interested in waiting.

Now I'm not denying that a little more due diligence on my part could've helped with this (our real estate guy is a putz, and we're done with him), and a "stupid tax" is understandable - but how can I get out of the contract to sell my house, and tell the selling bank to shove it (the documents that are signed have the wrong address, which our putzy real estate dude said "that's fine, it doesn't matter" - and I'm an idiot, because it does matter, and I should've known better).

We're not freaking out. Money's not a problem. Space isn't a problem. We have plenty of options as far as short term housing.
 
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#2
#2
Not an expert but... Doing donuts could cancel the contract because the buyers should do a final walk through and could balk b/c of the condition. Passing the inspection is the hard part IMO.

Ps. I've had similar experiences with RE agents. It's insane they make such a high commission.
 
#3
#3
I'm no export, but as a buyer, can you not walk away up to the closing date and just be out the earnest money? I'd imagine that as a seller, you could walk away as well... No?
 
#4
#4
VolsNSkinsFan said:
Not an expert but... Doing donuts could cancel the contract because the buyers should do a final walk through and could balk b/c of the condition. Passing the inspection is the hard part IMO.

Ps. I've had similar experiences with RE agents. It's insane they make such a high commission.
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Agreed. Most, in my experience, are idiots.

My wife and I just went into contract on a house. We found it, we scheduled a showing (because my realtor was unreachable while he was on the golf course). The only thing he's done is show up at the showing and pop the key out of the lock and filled out the blanks in the offer sheet. I think I'm going to tell the seller to apply his portion of the commission to closing costs, and I'll simply buy him a six pack of beer for his efforts.
 
#5
#5
I can't believe there isn't more outrage over it. They are dealing with people's largest asset, they bring nothing to the table and charge huge commission
 
#6
#6
Some are really good and put in a lot of effort, but most are worthless.
 
#7
#7
It likely only cancels your contract if the buyers choose to. Items found on am inspection don't necessarily cancel it either

I also wonder if the buyers would have some kind of legal recourse if you intentionally ruined the yard to get out
 
#8
#8
utvolpj said:
It likely only cancels your contract if the buyers choose to. Items found on am inspection don't necessarily cancel it either

I also wonder if the buyers would have some kind of legal recourse if you intentionally ruined the yard to get out
Click to expand...

But it was only an accident, and the deck falling off was also an accident.
 
#9
#9
salutethehill said:
We have a contract to sell our house. It says that the sale is contingent on an inspection, and on the upkeep of the yard until closing. The inspection passed with flying colors.

If I go out and do donuts in the back yard...does that cancel our contract?

Long story short - we were planning on purchasing a foreclosure from a bank. The bank accepted our offer on the foreclosure, and we accepted an offer to sell our house. The problem is, the foreclosure purchasing agreement has the WRONG...FREAKING...ADDRESS on it, and it turns out this could take months to correct (apparently). I'm not interested in waiting.

Now I'm not denying that a little more due diligence on my part could've helped with this (our real estate guy is a putz, and we're done with him), and a "stupid tax" is understandable - but how can I get out of the contract to sell my house, and tell the selling bank to shove it (the documents that are signed have the wrong address, which our putzy real estate dude said "that's fine, it doesn't matter" - and I'm an idiot, because it does matter, and I should've known better).

We're not freaking out. Money's not a problem. Space isn't a problem. We have plenty of options as far as short term housing.
Click to expand...

Um - not to be that guy - but you have a signed contract to sell your house - the buyer has done nothing wrong that I can see. If you choose to destroy your back yard to void the contract - I am pretty confident - that is and of itself would be a breach - and they could sue you for the repair of the yard and or you would be responsible for repairing the yard. I think the best approach would be to go with your short term rental plan or housing and then find another house. These things happen - just make the best of it - without screwing the people who agreed to purchase your house.
 
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#10
#10
Fullfillmer said:
Um - not to be that guy - but you have a signed contract to sell your house - the buyer has done nothing wrong that I can see. If you choose to destroy your back yard to void the contract - I am pretty confident - that is and of itself would be a breach - and they could sue you for the repair of the yard and or you would be responsible for repairing the yard. I think the best approach would be to go with your short term rental plan or housing and then find another house. These things happen - just make the best of it - without screwing the people who agreed to purchase your house.
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Well you're no fun.
 
#11
#11
salutethehill said:
Well you're no fun.
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You have contractually agreed to maintain your yard till closing. If you tear it up - you are not going to be able to get out of your contract - you are just going to have to fix it. It's unfortunate I know - but I checked with my wife when I got home tonight - she is a broker and a realtor - so I would suggest that it is now time for you to work on Plan B :) and yes that is no fun but it is probably useful information for you to have.

Thanks,
 
#12
#12
Tearing up the yard to void a contract?. Seriously?

As hard as it is to move real estate right now, I think I'd just sell it and figure it out from there.
 
#13
#13
VolsNSkinsFan said:
I can't believe there isn't more outrage over it. They are dealing with people's largest asset, they bring nothing to the table and charge huge commission
Click to expand...

My fiancée and I just bought a house that we closed on about 2 weeks ago. We have a realtor friend that we were using to look at houses we were interested in, but he was out of town when our house went on the market. So we decided to go ahead with it on our own. Granted, it's the first house I've/we've ever purchased, but knowing now what I didn't know then. I ABSOLUTELY would've used a realtor. Simply lining up inspectors and inspections, termite letters, or just having an advocate in your corner that knows more about the process than you do. It's really hard to take care of all the things that're needed to buy a house on your own, all while working a full time job and a weekend job so you can afford it. That is their job, to take care of all that stuff. I am really lucky that my bosses were so cool about me needing to take half days constantly throughout it. Since this is my first buying experience, I cannot speak to any experience with someone bringing nothing to the table, but next time (if there is one), I'll bring someone to the table with me...schlub or no.
 
#14
#14
VolsNSkinsFan said:
Not an expert but... Doing donuts could cancel the contract because the buyers should do a final walk through and could balk b/c of the condition. Passing the inspection is the hard part IMO.

Ps. I've had similar experiences with RE agents. It's insane they make such a high commission.
Click to expand...

That's why I dont use them and try and focus on rental investments that are SBO
 
#15
#15
PeterNincompoop said:
My fiancée and I just bought a house that we closed on about 2 weeks ago. We have a realtor friend that we were using to look at houses we were interested in, but he was out of town when our house went on the market. So we decided to go ahead with it on our own. Granted, it's the first house I've/we've ever purchased, but knowing now what I didn't know then. I ABSOLUTELY would've used a realtor. Simply lining up inspectors and inspections, termite letters, or just having an advocate in your corner that knows more about the process than you do. It's really hard to take care of all the things that're needed to buy a house on your own, all while working a full time job and a weekend job so you can afford it. That is their job, to take care of all that stuff. I am really lucky that my bosses were so cool about me needing to take half days constantly throughout it. Since this is my first buying experience, I cannot speak to any experience with someone bringing nothing to the table, but next time (if there is one), I'll bring someone to the table with me...schlub or no.
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A little word of advice...don't EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER let your realtor have ANYTHING to do with ANY inspections. This cannot be stressed enough. Line it all up yourself.
 
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#16
#16
This will probably be our last experience with a realtor. Right now we are looking at 3 possible houses. I received a list of small repairs from our buyer, and I quickly told him we're fixing nothing. If he walks, fantastic. We'll chill from moving for the time being (child #4 is due in December - we'll revisit the idea after the whirlwind). If one of these houses works out, fantastic. If our buyer moves forward and none of these houses work out, we're moving in with GAVol (TIA).
 
#17
#17
salutethehill said:
A little word of advice...don't EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER let your realtor have ANYTHING to do with ANY inspections. This cannot be stressed enough. Line it all up yourself.
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Exactly. You will get a "Yes Ma'am" inspector who will not be entirely truthful because if he points out flaws and you walk because of those flaws, the realtor won't use that inspector anymore. Also they aren't advocates for you, they are advocates for your commission. They are not in your corner... At all
 
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#19
#19
People are usually willing to work with you on issues like this. The best thing to do is let the buyer (or their agent) know that an issue has come and work something out to defer the sale for a while or sell and rent from them until you find your place.

Avoiding liability and keeping a level head are most important.
 
#20
#20
salutethehill said:
This will probably be our last experience with a realtor. Right now we are looking at 3 possible houses. I received a list of small repairs from our buyer, and I quickly told him we're fixing nothing. If he walks, fantastic. We'll chill from moving for the time being (child #4 is due in December - we'll revisit the idea after the whirlwind). If one of these houses works out, fantastic. If our buyer moves forward and none of these houses work out, we're moving in with GAVol (TIA).
Click to expand...

Buying our 1st home right now actually. The repair list, is that common for the seller to just flat out say no? Mine did the same thing, so I came back with a reduction of price, which he accepted. obviously not in your case, but it seems to me like actually fixing a few things would be the cheaper route to take.
 
#21
#21
the.one.the.only said:
Buying our 1st home right now actually. The repair list, is that common for the seller to just flat out say no? Mine did the same thing, so I came back with a reduction of price, which he accepted. obviously not in your case, but it seems to me like actually fixing a few things would be the cheaper route to take.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that, if we were desperate to sell, we would've done the list. We got word last night that he agreed to buy the house without us fixing anything. We also got word that the paperwork on the foreclosure (see OP) has been corrected, so that looks like the best possibility, even though we're interested in 2 other homes.

Congrats on your first home.
 
#22
#22
the.one.the.only said:
Buying our 1st home right now actually. The repair list, is that common for the seller to just flat out say no? Mine did the same thing, so I came back with a reduction of price, which he accepted. obviously not in your case, but it seems to me like actually fixing a few things would be the cheaper route to take.
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Congrats. I did exactly as you did. Asked for small repairs, and they rejected. No problem, I'll just lower my bid and they accepted.
 
#23
#23
Damn, a few of yall busting realtors balls. Not all agents are bad. I'm a realtor and I try my best to make everything run as smooth as possible regardless if I'm the selling agent or buyers agent.

As far as the commission goes, yes some deals are easy but some are just a pain in the ass and we work for it. Inspections are the hardest especially if you are the buyers agent. As the sellers agent, I tell my client to get their house in tip top condition, anything that needs repairing or replacing, JUST DO IT NOW. Don't wait to nickel and dime about repairs.

There are a lot of agents that don't and won't do shat and that gives realtors a bad rap. I would recommend anyone wanting to sell or buy, do your homework and talk to other people and find out who would best fit your needs about real estate transactions.
 
#24
#24
salutethehill said:
Keep in mind that, if we were desperate to sell, we would've done the list. We got word last night that he agreed to buy the house without us fixing anything. We also got word that the paperwork on the foreclosure (see OP) has been corrected, so that looks like the best possibility, even though we're interested in 2 other homes.

Congrats on your first home.
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Thanks. I can imagine in your position anything to potentially sway the buyer to back out would be a plus. You're in a peculiar position. But my seller, he flat out told his agent he ran out of money. Of the initial repair request, he didn't fix one thing. But what he did fix was 1. Adding the 3rd screw to a door hinge, which I didn't even ask him to do and 2. Change out a plastic outlet cover which had cracked, which again, I didn't ask him to do. Dropped a full 1.50 on those repairs and expected me to just be ok with it. Some people just do not have negotiation skills, that's what I've learned
 
#25
#25
AirVol said:
Damn, a few of yall busting realtors balls. Not all agents are bad. I'm a realtor and I try my best to make everything run as smooth as possible regardless if I'm the selling agent or buyers agent.

As far as the commission goes, yes some deals are easy but some are just a pain in the ass and we work for it. Inspections are the hardest especially if you are the buyers agent. As the sellers agent, I tell my client to get their house in tip top condition, anything that needs repairing or replacing, JUST DO IT NOW. Don't wait to nickel and dime about repairs.

There are a lot of agents that don't and won't do shat and that gives realtors a bad rap. I would recommend anyone wanting to sell or buy, do your homework and talk to other people and find out who would best fit your needs about real estate transactions.
Click to expand...

While I'm at it, one thing that REALLY ticks me off with real estate agents... And obviously I'm generalizing here because as far as I know you're a great agent and you treat your clients with nothing but respect. But damn, some agents have got to stop being so condescending. If the client has a concern with anything, acting like it's not a big deal really pisses me off. It is to them, clearly. My agent snapped back at me when we looked at one home when I had concerns with the lot. I wanted a relatively flat lot. This damn place was like walking up the Hill on campus without the steps. I said something and she comes back 'oh it's really not that bad.' Literally, if I dropped a snow ball the size of a peanut off the back deck, it would've been the size of the house by the time it quit rolling. I get that you're trying to sell to get commission. I do. But my needs are different than yours.
 
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