March to a Solution but, First, Speak with the Judge!
A special thank you to Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP and Kathleen Daniels, Probate & Trust Specialist, for hosting March's AR challenge - March to a Solution. If you haven't participated, there's still time!
Here's my #1 and boy, is it ever a doozie!
Everyone who knows me knows that I am VERY by-the-books! I've never even gotten a speeding ticket - in my LIFE! - I am very respectful of 'the law' - not sometimes but, ALWAYS!
I had a great listing that I spent considerable time helping the sellers prep and ultimately got it ready for the market (decluttering, staging painting and pre-sale maintenance). I had done a good amount of pre-prep for my marketing as well and when we were ready to go live, everything was ready - including me!
Fast forward to the listing - sure enough, I got it sold very quickly and my sellers were thrilled with the expediency of which it sold as well as the price they got for the home. The buyers' agent was a bit hands-off though and I later found out because he had another full time job.
I didn't really resent taking care of both sides because my job was to get my sellers to the Closing table. So, I attended the inspections with the buyers (at his request) and was able to report everything immediately to my sellers following the inspections.
It was a blessing for them - they were thrilled to not have to worry about anything unforeseen on the report. I also let the appraiser in the house as he did not have access via Supra and the buyers' agent was not available to accommodate him. Again, no problem at all for me to do it; it gave me the opportunity to share my comps with the appraiser and the rest is history!
One of the things I am a big believer in is doing a final walk-through with the sellers prior to the buyer doing theirs. It typically takes 15 minutes or less but, heads off dreaded walk-through calls where buyers have found issues and sometimes even demanding delayed Closings.
On this particular sale, I met with the sellers the morning before the evening that the buyers were doing their final walk-through - with me. The sellers had left the place in perfect condition and were staying at the husband's family's home that night.
While I was there, I reviewed the HUD-1 (yes, that was before ALTAs and CDs!) with the Sellers in its entirety. Another thing that I always do - after I review it, I review it with the sellers. Again, my mantra - "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!"
All was well and we said our good-byes, anxious to see each other in less than 24 hours for their much anticipated Closing!
We arrived at Closing - smiles and laughter on both sides of the table - and suddenly, when the attorney began reviewing the HUD-1, the wife (my seller) told the attorney to "STOP - You have the commission wrong." Remember, we had ALREADY reviewed the HUD-1 - AND IN PERSON, at their home the morning before!
We all did our calculations and the attorney said that the commission amount was correct. She said that they were going to refuse to pay me because it took me "no time" to sell their home! The attorney, did what he should have done - asked for the Listing Agreement, (which, thankfully I had with me) and reviewed it with the sellers. The wife continued to stand by her original statement - "We're not paying her! It didn't take her long enough to get our house sold!"
NO KIDDING!
So, we all agreed that the attorney would hold the check until we could come to terms and he proceeded to wrap up the Closing. The buyers' agent was squirming in his seat, afraid that if he made a single remark, she would take his commission away from him as well! Remember his lack of involvement? The sellers were WELL aware of that! Anyway, I digress...
Even though the seller couldn't take away his commission either, I'm SO surprised that she didn't attempt to because she was fully aware that the only thing he did for the transaction was show the house once, prepare the Offer and the repair request and that's it! He didn't even do a walk-through with his clients before Closing.
SO, WHAT'S NEXT?
The seller wasted no time reporting me to the Real Estate Commission. The Commission found in my favor, agreeing that she and her husband, as Sellers, did have a binding Contract with me; that the Sellers owed me (my firm) the commission as stated on the HUD-1.
BUT, WAIT! THERE'S MORE!
Well, that wasn't good enough for her so, she decided to take me to COURT! I had never stepped foot in a courtroom before in my LIFE. I was an absolute NERVOUS wreck! After listening to her reasoning for "not owing [me] a DIME" and reviewing the Listing Agreement, the judge asked me for every single business card I had in my purse.
OMG, WHAT?
To this day, I believe that everyone in the courtroom could hear my knees knocking as I walked up to hand my cards to the judge! Even after hearing her testimony, I couldn't imagine that he would rule in her favor but, I was fearful that he was going to take my cards away and say that I could no longer practice real estate!!!
Instead, he very loudly proclaimed, "I'm giving your card to everyone I know who has a house to sell - you do exactly what a seller wants - YOU GET IT SOLD!"
He also demanded that the seller pay all court costs AND attorney fees (both sides). As he announced that, he shook my stack of cards at her, as if to be pointing his finger at her! Of course, he demanded that she pay my full commission too.
As a side note - she also reported the attorney to the Bar for refusing to adjust the HUD-1 at the Closing table, instead holding the check until this was resolved. Of course, there were no punitive damages on his side either.
What made me crazy was that she was allowed to waste all of our time - and the time of the Court, the Real Estate Commission - and the NC Bar, dealing with this situation which was totally unwarranted from the very beginning.
From that moment, I began a new marketing campaign, using what the judge had said - "I sell homes faster and for more money - exactly what every seller wants!" And, yes, it was my hope that the former client would & continues to see these ads over and over again!
One final note - These sellers were buyer clients I was representing as well. I fired them the minute we walked out of the Closing!
© Debe Maxwell | The Maxwell House Group | Savvy + CO | SavvyBroker@me.com | March to a Solution but, First, Speak with the Judge!
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