It never fails, when I decide to chat on the Zillow or Trulia advice section of their sites and acknowledge that I am one of “those” Realtor people I am generally reminded more times than not from the DIY’s that they don’t need ‘us.’ We Realtors are not worth the money, we are ‘sales hoe’s’ and are therefore useless to humanity.
Since I have been in a sales related job all my life (since I was age 4 trying to sell my Mom into buying that Hershey’s bar at the store at checkout), I don’t let things like this bother me. Got to have a tough skin in my line of work. I have to admit though that there are some nights I go back over the volumes of testimonials and “we love you” notes from clients at www.AthensGaHomesForSale.com (shameless plug) on days when I do feel especially teary eyed (reader note; this is a whitticism as I have four sons between 4-13 and would be overwhelmed by their collective might if ever I let my guard down).
In all seriousness, I had a dear Buyer client in my office today. He is a lifelong friend of mine. He told me on the phone before we got together that he wanted to gain permission from the Seller to paint some interior rooms of the home he is buying prior to closing. No big deal. Can do. I have the plan for that one! I deftly put together an Amendment to allow him to do this and had it beautifully typed up and ready for his execution. When we met he mentioned that he “also wanted to put up some molding” as well in the larger living space, and his “contractor indicated” that they would need to do some of the major overall planned on the home before paint as not to mess up the new paint job.
All my instincts were to slam the breaks on as soon as possible as I felt like I was in a steam locomotive about to hit a herd of buffalo, deer, or something! For his protection I indicated that any one of the items he was looking at were no big deal in and of themselves. What “hurt me for him” was the idea that if the closing didn’t happen for any reason, he would have been headed down a road where he would not only paint and add molding and other costly upgrades to this house, but in addition “pay” the seller non-refundable earnest money at the tune of about $5k all the while the home is not his yet.
Today there are too many situations where from an appraisal that doesn’t meet contract to other issues such as a lender going out of business that can kill a transaction. In my innocence I learn things every day. I learned or was reminded rather that even someone who I admire and trust immensely still needed my advice not to get himself in over his head even if the lender said there was no problems and the contractor says that it is okay to go forward with a job.
There are a lot of things out there in a real estate contract that can cost an unknowledgeable party money. Do yourself a favor, hire a good Realtor to help you. Normally, as in this situation, the Seller is paying the Buyer’s agent. The Buyer is getting advice and help for free!
Don’t take chances with things that can cost you thousands of dollars. Use a professional. Use someone who has been down this road many times before. I have been down it about ten times in the past couple of months as a matter of fact! Call, email, text, or tweet me! I want to be your resource for Athens real estate! By the way, I got that Hershey’s Bar more times than not!
Athens Market Snapshots at www.AthensHomeTrends.com.
