Save the Deal or Save the Client FROM the Deal?

Save the Deal or Save the Client FROM the Deal?

Ideally we'd like to do both, but that isn't always possible nor it is always the right thing to do.  I recently became involved in a transaction where the the buyer on all accounts was getting screwed.  Primarily because of the number of non-specific "verbal" agreements that had been made.

The buyer had been looking for a home for quite sometime and while everyone may have been eager to finally get her into a home, it was unfair to everyone for the buyer to settle on a contract that was made in haste.

The contract has no clearly defined seller contribution to closing cost.  Seller requested repairs were agreed to vaguely and verbally and no one had any idea what repairs the seller was going to or was willing to make.

By the time I got involved, I had to nearly squeeze blood out of a turnip to get the seller to commit in writing what they were clearly going to contribute to the buyer's closing cost and it took me nearly 3 weeks to get them to commit, in writing, what they intended to repair.  Once I was able to get the seller to address an addendum, that meant that negotiations had opened up again and it gave the buyer an opportunity to be released from a poorly negotiated contract that was not in the best interest of the buyer.

One of the primary sources of contention was the roof (see photo) with obvious and numerous buckles in it which was the greatest concern of the buyer and which the seller had no intention of repair.  Had the requests for repairs been presented to the seller and responded to in writing, far less time could have been wasted and the buyer could likely have been in a home.

What's the lesson:  Obviously it's don't be in such a rush to get a deal done or a paycheck that you put your client in a less than desirable position.  While the seller may have been willing to address small issues, the bigger problem of a potential $3500 to $4500 expense was not among the repairs that they were considering.

Would you buy a house with the roof below?  If you're looking for an agent who will be an advocate for you, contact Charita Cadenhead at 205-527-1112 or Faye Morrow at 205-249-2756.  Your needs and your purchase will always come first.  That's our promise and we'll put that  and everything else in writing.

We didn't save the deal, but we saved the buyer from bear an expense she wasn't prepared to handle in the very near future.

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