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Akron Ohio Home has Fleas

By
Real Estate Agent with Howard Hanna Real Estate Services

I have this short sale home that is vacant. We have had many showings with no problems. In fact, we had 3 showings the day before this lady Realtor had her problem. She first called our office, not me, and stated her problem with a flea infestation. I immediately had the home fumigated and showings continued with no problems. She then sends a fax to the office demanding payment of $125 for her damaged clothes.. I was a little confused that she expected me to pay for her clothes simply because I was the listing agent. I took it to my manager, my friends and the company attorney. They all concurred that it was not my obligation to pay for her clothes. (I once tore my pants on a nail in a home and never once thought of calling the listing agent to pay for my pants. I had some fleas jump on me once, also, and never called the listing agent for damages, so I thought I was right on this.) But, she then calls our local Board and wants to file an ethics complaint against me! The board CEO told her that she was most definitely wrong on this, that as a listing agent we are not liable for these sort of problems. I apologized to her and thanked her for calling to notify the office so I could call an exterminator. As it states on her fax, and she meant it, she would not take an apology! Isn't our work hard enough these days than to have to go through days like this???

 

Comments(12)

Susan Neal
RE/MAX Gold, Fair Oaks - Fair Oaks, CA
Fair Oaks CA & Sacramento Area Real Estate Broker

That's a strange one, all right!  Thank goodness it isn't a common occurrence, although I think we all have one strange story to tell.  Not all clients are in good mental health!  She should be grateful that you took care of her problem so quickly.

Jun 21, 2008 05:53 AM
Linda Coen-Cushman
Coen-Cushman Real Estate, LLC. - Fort Bragg, NC

I do believe she has some personal problems.  Don't take this one personally.  Keep bloggin.........

Jun 21, 2008 05:57 AM
Jean Simmons
Dominion Real Estate Referral Company - Blacksburg, VA

If an occupant of a property owns a pet and they move out, some of the fleas stay.  I don't know too much about flea sex life, but it takes about 2 weeks to produce a lot of fleas in that house.  At that time all you can do is call the exterminator, which you did right away.  In my opinion it is hard to see how a bunch of fleas could cause that much clothing damage.

Good luck to you.

Jun 21, 2008 06:06 AM
Lorrie Semler, REALTOR® in the Dallas area. Call/text 972-416-3417
HomeSmart Stars - Addison, TX
Real Service. Real Results. Real Estate

If there weren't fleas there before, makes me wonder if they came in with her.

Jun 21, 2008 06:07 AM
Bill C. Merrell
Merrell Institute ~ Appraisal Education Network - Bohemia, NY
Ph.D. - Merrell Institue

I think her actions are less than professional. Next she will want you to pay for the bites she incurred. If there really was a flea problem, which was that excessive, she could have had her clothese drycleaned which would have eliminated the problem- 10-20 - not trying to have you pay for her next dinner event

Jun 21, 2008 06:19 AM
Vanessa Krempa
Princeton, NJ

Maybe she was reading the recent news articles on bedbugs in hotel rooms....  Glad you are able to move forward and put her demand in the proper perspective!

Jun 21, 2008 07:07 AM
David M. Childress
Howard Hanna Real Estate Services - Akron, OH
I would love to be your Realtor® in Akron Ohio!

Thank you all.

Susan- That's what I thought. We had it cleaned in an hour.

Linda- That's what I heard afterward. Never happy!

Jean- I thought she overreacted also.

Lorrie- That is funny, one of my good friends said the same thing!

Bill- I wondered why she did not just have them dry cleaned, she threw her clothes in the trash!

Vanessa- Thank you for your good advice!

 

Jun 21, 2008 07:50 AM
Katerina Gasset
The Gasset Group & Get It Done For Me Virtual Services - Provo, UT
Amplify Your Real Estate & Life Dreams!

David- How funny is that! Never heard of such a thing, an ethics complaint? Who is she kidding? Well, she is certainly focused on lack and therefore will only attract more lack, that is why she needs the $125 do badly. I feel sorry for her. She needs to watch The Secret.

Jun 21, 2008 08:11 AM
David M. Childress
Howard Hanna Real Estate Services - Akron, OH
I would love to be your Realtor® in Akron Ohio!

Katerina- You are too nice. I too feel bad for her. It is funny how some people think only for themselves and see bad everywhere. I thought that was kinda mean sprited to call the board on a fellow realtor without checking all the facts. I guess she did not ask for any advice on this. I did.

Jun 21, 2008 12:52 PM
Missy Caulk
Missy Caulk TEAM - Ann Arbor, MI
Savvy Realtor - Ann Arbor Real Estate

David, that is unbelievable, glad your board stood behind you, I showed a home once, it had been vacant for years. There was a dead cat in the corner, and I had fleas all over me. Never thought about asking. Next time I sold it, but I warned the new buyers it was flea infested.

The home was being sold by a church she had left it too, and had been non occupied for many years.

Jun 21, 2008 11:49 PM
Maureen McCabe
HER Realtors - Columbus, OH
Columbus Ohio Real Estate

I sold a house with a dead racoon in the fireplace?  or probably the chimney... the house was flea infested.  We kept going for appointments (owned by the listing agent, he flipped it, so he was doing the remodeling after contract, before cloings) I'd get there and they'd all be out on the front lawn picking fleas off one another when I got there.   They kept fumigating but you gotta remove the dead racoon...

I should have sued.

Jun 30, 2008 03:13 AM
David M. Childress
Howard Hanna Real Estate Services - Akron, OH
I would love to be your Realtor® in Akron Ohio!

Missy- Thank you, I did not think of blaming the listing agent either, which is why I thought I may be right...

Maureen- I am sure a lawyer would assist you!!!! ; )

Jun 30, 2008 12:12 PM