Buying and selling Real Estate in Pinellas county, being a Realtor, listing agent or selling agent. Here is another good one.
Got an offer on a waterfront condo. The offer was straight forward and looked good, except the "property is in a flood zone" addendum was missing. No big deal, we all make little mistakes once in a while. So, I called the buyer's agent and asked her to just send it over so I could present a whole package to my seller. Her answer was "No, I can not do this, if I have my buyer sign this she will freaked out and we might loose the deal" I was silent for a little while than I asked her "Your buyer has seen the unit right" Oh yes, she is in love with it because of the beautiful water views" Now I was silent again. You do not need to be the best Real Estate agent in the world to figure out that "when you can see the water or walk to the water you absolutely WILL need flood insurance" and, what is the big deal? The association has a master policy and the price is included in the monthly maintenance fee. All we need is a signature from the buyer acknowledging that fact that the condo is in a flood zone. I could not make her understand that. Long story short, I had to get her broker involved, who wasn't really on the same page either, but when I finally said, my seller will not accept the offer if we do not get this addendum, it worked. The next day I got the paperwork from her along with a phone call saying she, her broker and her buyer think that I, the listing agent, have NO clue what I am doing, but they will play along because they want the condo and do not want to make a drama out of it.
I took a deep breath and decided to save myself some time and energy
And simply said WHATEVER, let's just go to closing.
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Buying and selling Real Estate in Pinellas county, being a Realtor, listing agent or selling agent
Wow...an agent and their broker will "play along" because you want to be technically correct with a disclosure and be ethical? That's kooky! Good for you to stand your ground...I mean really what's your other option...we can't make up real estate law. sheesh
Good for you...we specialize on Anna Maria Island and EVERYTHING is in a flood zone. Sounds like their broker is going to learn a really tough life lesson at some point. Great work getting another one off the market!
Wow! People amaze me. You must always give your buyer or seller all the paperwork. Again, people just amaze me.
Nice job, question, the lenders do not require a doc concerning flood plain? We never deal with that situation...
Frank& Jodi
Yes, the lender requires it, but they get it from the condo association along with proof of insurance.
Anne, what if it is a free standing home??
It is fun to read (sorry) about situations like yours because we have all had to deal with other agents and brokers like this. It really is amazing the way people behave. It sounds like you handled yourself like a true professional, way to hang in there and stand your ground. We have flood areas around here as well and sometimes agents do forget to mention that when listing a property or bringing buyers out to look at the homes. They definitely can be deal breakers of agents don't inform their clients!
Frank & Jodi
free standing home, the buyer has to get a survey and an elevation certificate along with proof of flood insurance that they have to buy.
'play along' ? is this just a game to them, sheesh.
Anne, Keep "not having a clue", because you did the right thing for your seller, you know the first time flooding becomes and issue for the new owner you would have been the one in trouble without a signed disclosure. Steve
Terrie, I am writing these post to get some good feedback and to make people, buyers, sellers and new agents understand, being a Realtor and working as a Realtor is not "a walk in the park" there are so many things we do that nobody realizes and so many little obstacles that we have to deal with. I love my job and I look at all this as Yet another callenge, but I try to make people understand that it is not as easy as it looks.
Tnanks Anne, you may want to write a blog about elevation certificates for those of use much above sea level!
Anne,
The buyer is going to sign it sooner or later and if it's a deal breaker better to find out now.
Steve
Yeah nice job I bet it was difficult trying to maintain your composure working with this kind of craziness.
To all of you
I keep saying
If I yell at them, we will not close, If I do NOT yell at them, we won't close either.
So my biggest challenge is to stay calm and explain and explain again . . . .
Disclosures need to be presented before the offer period. Not signing it is not an option for me. Its a matter of disclosing the right information.
It's amazing to me to think about the thought process of some agents, their brokers, and even their clients. Why would this agent, and her broker want to take the time to negotiate an offer if there was a possibility that their client would object to the disclosure? Maybe Carl Sagan can answer that one.