I have been working with a very nice young man, who is a first time home buyer from out of state.  He was looking for a townhouse within a 45 minute commuting distance from his job.  He came out most every weekend to see different townhouses in different areas.  He finally settled on a new construction.  The interior was roughed in and was to be completed in about 2 months.  It was perfect.  He was able to make some minor changes to the floor plan.

We went into the office with the builder's representative to complete the paperwork for purchasing this particular unit.  The rep filled them out and went over them with the buyer.  I sat alongside the buyer in case he needed any assistance.  Everything seemed to be going OK, until the rep had to fill out the estimated closing cost sheet.  She didn't have much of an idea about what numbers to put in.  She asked me for some of the numbers for the closing costs.  She had no idea how much of the taxes the buyer had to pay at closing, what some of the fees were, etc.  And she used to be a real estate agent years ago.  At least that is what she told me.  Her total closing costs came out much too low.  (I did give my buyer the estimated closing costs after the meeting and I also had one of my lenders I work with send him a good faith estimate.)

Next, the representative asked the buyer what Title Company he was going to use.  He didn't know at the time.  So, the rep said: "Why don't we just put our company down for now.  They are offering xx% discount if you use them."  A discount??  I thought all Title Companies had a standard rate.  Doesn't sound right.  Well, the buyer agreed and said he would change it when he decided on a Title Company.

Afterwards, I spoke to the buyer privately.  I suggested a couple of Title Companies he could use.  A few days later he decided to go with one of the ones I suggested.  I e-mailed the builder's representative and I sent her an addendum, signed by the buyer, to change the Title Company on the agreement of sale.  A week went by and I hadn't heard anything from the builder or the rep in reference to the addendum.  I called the rep to see what was the hold up.  She told me that they did not need anything in writing to change the Title Company on the agreement.  Did I hear that right?  Don't need anything in writing?  Not in this day and age.  I insisted that even though the builder might not need the addendum signed, I DID!!  She told me she'd get back to me about it.  About 30 minutes later, she called and said she was mistaken and would return the signed addendum in that day's mail.

I am happy to say that we are going to closing on December 7th with the Title Company of my buyer's choice.  A couple of weeks back, the buyer did a walk through of the townhouse and he informed me that some minor things needed to be taken care of.  Even though the builder will have him take a walk through a few days before closing, he and I will take one final walk through just before closing to make sure everything is in order.  Better to be safe, than sorry.

Moral of this story:

Don't let anybody snowball you.  Do what you feel is right and stand up for yourself and your client.  That's what your job is all about.