“Who represented you in this transaction?” I asked a disgruntled purchaser who was upset that they had spent inspection money on a property and now wanted out of the transaction. Now that the buyer had spent money on an inspection, they found that the property was not what they expected. It was more run down than they could tell from an advertisement they had seen, and they also now realized that the well was low producing and the septic was nothing more than a cesspool.
The dejected buyer explained the circumstances and insisted that the listing agent from my company compensate them for their loss. “Who is your agent?” I asked again. “Did your agent reveal any of the available Listing data and did they show you the disclosure statement that talks about the well production and the dismal state of the septic system?” The buyer ignored my questions and continued his tirade by reading the flowery verbiage of the newspaper advertisement that had enticed him into writing an offer on the property. “The house isn’t anything like what your agent described!” He exclaimed. “It isn’t habitable at all! In fact, it needs a bulldozer!” He continued disappointedly.
As I continued to probe for information, I soon realized that this buyer had not even seen the property prior to writing their offer. They had hired a home inspector to verify what would have been obvious if he had just seen it with his own eyes. When it didn’t meet his expectations, the first call he thought of to make a request for relief of his financial loss was to the listing agent who had not represented his interests.
Who was it that really may have some responsibility for his loss? Himself, first and foremost! But why didn’t he realize that his agent should have given him better advice?
I continued my line of questioning to the disappointed buyer. “Didn’t your Buyer Broker have a responsibility to view the property prior to writing an offer, ordering the home inspection and risking your money? Didn’t your agent have a responsibility to advise you to view the property yourself prior to spending your money on a home inspection? Did your agent give you all of the available Multiple Listing data that showed most of these deficiencies in photos and remarks?”
As I respectfully asked the buyer these additional questions, the light started to come on and his attitude soon changed. “Who represents who? I get it now!” he exclaimed.