What could possibly go wrong?

Common Real Estate mishaps, mistakes and headaches!

The glib answer is that there are too many things that can go wrong to enumerate them all.  Equally, there is scarcely ever a “worry free” real estate transaction; were that the case, there would be no need for real estate practitioners, escrow holders or attorneys.

     Look at the big picture.  In the standard purchase agreement there are over eight-hundred items for consideration: points of contract and statute law, general and specific advisories, general and specific disclosures and time frames together with financial terms and conditions.  What can go wrong?  Any one or several of these points can become problematic and it is usually the latter: several. 

     The most frequently encountered difficulties (in good markets and in bad, in times of high interest rates or low) arise in connection with the buyer’s loan.  The problems (let’s drop the psychobabble and stop calling them “challenges”) range from a property that will not appraise at the agreed selling price (hence no bank loan) to the buyer being unable to qualify for the loan sought (hence no bank loan).  A relatively new phenomenon, encountered just since the beginning of 2008, is a qualified buyer, an approved loan, signed loan documents and no funds available from the putative lending institution.

     There are of course many other matters that can come unraveled: timing (all time periods are set in the contract and can only be extended by mutual written agreement), the physical condition of the property (all one-to-four-unit dwellings are sold “as-is, as-found” with repairs or credit from seller to buyer for the making of repairs, being subject to post-contract acceptance negotiations between buyer and seller.

   If you are experiencing problems while working with a real estate agent, try diligently to define the problem: is it the “other agent”, your own agent or, is it just possibly you?   Most of the time the “problem issues” will be substantive, susceptible to analysis and correction by negotiation and, generally, the agent will have the necessary tools and experience to find a resolution

.  However, if you become convinced that your agent is part (or all) of the problem, contact his or her managing broker at once. 

    Most managing brokers hold initial discussions with clients in the absence of the agent; this keeps emotion to a minimum.  Contrary to what seems likely, the broker will be far more anxious to have you go away satisfied that to support an erring agent against your legitimate claims.  Agents are human, they have bad days; no one person is obliged to like everyone and there are the occasional “oil and water” agent-client relationships.  The broker, in such instances, will most often recommend another agent in the office and most of the time this solution works out for all concerned.

    Once you are in contract and have opened escrow there is no real opportunity to change brokerages but the managing broker will either take over from your agent or assign another agent as described above.

    The Real Estate Agency Relationship is very tightly defined by California law; individual agents and their supervising brokers have an extremely high standard of care with respect to the information, treatment and professional support that it provided to you.