Please Refund My Money For The Appraisal Since My Loan Was Denied!

I just had to fast forward to the end to say How can you expect someone to do a job (an appraisal, home inspection, etc) and not get paid?  Of course the buyer was shady.  COuld the agents involved explained things better?  Should the loan officer have told the buyer not to put an offer on two properties?  C'mon, now.  Why was the buyer in such a hurry that they couldn't wait for the binder to come back from the other contract?  DId they want thier money back for the other cancelled contract?

THe buyer is an idiot and should be prohibited by law from reproducing.  Sometimes we do our best and we still lose  because we are involved with others who have no ethics or sense of personal responsibility.  What a shame. Part of being an agent I guess.  Bottom line:  what is the lesson to be learned here?

Sorry that it worked out that way, but in NC (if not everywhere, we are required by law to explain "working with real estate agents" and explain agency. But still, many, many times when one of my agents goes thru it, they are told by the client that they have already signede about 10 of these around town and some other peice of paper, too (meaning the right to represent the buyer). We then have the job of explaining that they could be liable to a lawsuit and advise them to work it out with the other 10 agents they are "working" with. Woody

I do agree with Lenn that there should have been better communication all the way around.

Definitely a tangled web indeed! Just goes to show how deceitful buyers can be when they are trying to go after something they really want.  Doesn't matter how much you 'communicate', if a person is intent on being deceitful, they will TRY to find a way to get what they want.

I guess the agents who are saying the agents involved in this deal didn't explain the homebuying process, have never had a client who was told to do or not to do something, then went and did the opposite. 

I agree with the general tenor of the comments I'm reading - what is the lesson to be learned here?  It sounds like buyers motivated by greed and fueled by stupidity.  What can you say?

Part of the problem is the timing of everything.  The buyer was asked for her bank statements to prove the earnest money cleared, per guidelines.  Was she educated at that time that any large, non-payroll deposits would be questioned and would need to be documented.  If there were any that weren't explained, she would not be qualified for that loan.  If this was clearly told to the buyer UPFRONT and the buyer didn't step up with the facts to her story, then she's truly at fault. You stated you disclosed "gifts" weren't allowed - was she told non-secured funds weren't either?

If, however, this WASN'T CLEARLY spelled out to the buyer, then I believe she would ethically be due the refund of the appraisal cost.  It's EVERYONE'S responsibility to clarify all terms and disclose all information.  If the buyer wasn't given the information, she couldn't know that using unsecured funds would disqualify her for the loan.  Yes, she didn't disclose she was involved with another home, but did later "ratify" the contract, she may have thought she would get an IMMEDIATE refund of the initial earnest money and not realized it wasn't going to happen in 15 minutes.  So, to secure the purchase on the new home, she accessed funds with the intent of paying back the unsecured portion with the refund of the original transaction.  That IS ALLOWED as long as the buyer could produce the original check, the original contract, the negated contract, proof the earnest money was returned and proof the unsecured loan was paid in full.  A lot more paperwork, but ALLOWED.

Sounds to me like quite a few people here dropped the proverbial ball.

Agent/Client communication is important as long as everybody is on the same page and is being transparent. I question whether the agents involved knew about each other, in other words did the buyer inform them who she is working with & disclosed contact numbers for them to talk? I always ask my buyers/sellers if they are working with another agent & to what degree (any agreements/contracts signed & with whom?); some will be honest and disclose & some will work both against the middle (better commission rate/kick backs = low ball wins). It seems that since she was working across state lines that common sense dictates using an agent that can sell in both states; unless she didn't want the agents to know her intentions by keeping them separate & "ignorant" about the deal she was working. Also was there another LO involved on the first contract?

All LOs I've worked with have always told the buyer what is to be paid, by whom & conditions that a refund, if any, is awarded along with time line. In those cases that an EM is refunded I tell the buyer: after the agent signs off, after the seller signs off; after my BIC signs off then a check is cut & figure for this to take 5-10 business days on average. IMO, I think she playing fast & loose and got caught.

I have to wonder if the second agent even knew about the first agent and the first contract. Or if the first agent knew about the second. This sounds like the kind of buyer who would not be honest with anyone.

I think Lenn makes a lot of good points about agent communication with buyer. However, sometimes buyers don't provide enough information even with questions asked.

Man bad agent and bad client.  If she would of been as forceful in getting the check back as she was in trying to get the appraisal money back she might not of had this problem.

I can't help but wonder if the buyer thought she was being clever by purchasing homes in two different states... that she would never be discovered and could have her cake and eat it, too... or if she was ill-informed by her agents. Either way, nobody enjoyed this situation. Sorry you had to go through this, Markita.

It should be explained to the buyer that there are some risks involved in buying a home and some of those risks are these.....I am firm believer in explaining risks and benefits to the client so they can make their own decisions.

Sounds to me like the buyer was playing games and got caught.  You owe them nothing.  People do not realize how hard it is to slide something by these days.

I have buyers who have lost two deals due to issues that came up with appraisal findings and they lost the money on the appraisals both times.  Their situation is a little more complex as far as financing and I feel bad that this keeps happening, but losing an appraisal fee is better than finding out the house has issues later that cost you a lot more.  Same for inspection costs. 

I agree that there was a communication breakdown, whether it be the fault of the agent or the buyer I don't think we can tell completely.  But, buyers aren't always willing to disclose all of their "business" with you and it's hard to react or monitor what you don't know.

Tough one!

This would be why I avoid 1st time homebuyers...as well as low price ranges.  Always too many headaches.