We Have A Contract! Or Do We? | Strong Armed by Corporate Relocations

A lot of Atlanta real estate deals are not so much creative as they are deceptive.  It is easy to get caught up in the emotion of the contract, and quite another thing not to understand all the details of what you thought you had agreed to. It is like someone all of a sudden holding a gun to your head.  A very common complaint among Atlanta real estate friends of mine is to enter into a contract, and when feel it is totally negotiated - the other agent advises you that the homeowners with whom you just negotiated the deal cannot sign the deal!  Why? Because this is a corporate relocation (Or foreclosure, short sale, or needs some type of 3rd party approval!) We just did not want to tell you!  Sound familiar?  It should, it's fraud, but wait it gets better you are then informed - the only way we can do this deal... is on our own corporate relocation contracts, or with our special 50 page addendum that must be added!  This would be humorous if it wasn't so much a part of everyday Atlanta real estate life.  I view it a different way.  It could be viewed as fraud, manipulation, unethical, and deceptive.  It is sad, but many Atlanta Georgia Relocations are done like this everyday!

Unless we have the signature of all parties on one agreed contract, we must ask...do we even have an offer?  When one party knowingly withholds relevant and material facts from one another that can be illegal.  Alos, the substitution of a totally new contract is not binding unless all parties agree to it in writing.  In fact it is really novation - which is the substitution of a totally new contract. Buyers should know on the front side of a deal before they enter into, whom they are dealing with. It cannot be a unilateral decision that preys upon the unsuspecting.  At this point we all must ask some tough questions.  Would the purchaser have agreed to  this offer if they knew the property they were purchasing was a corporate contract, and could have negotiated a substantially better deal? Would they have agreed to a corporate relocation if they knew the parties they were dealing with were really a committee five states away that only meets once a week to handle details?

I would suggest to most states that this is could be a form of organized crime where no disclosure up front it placed in front of the buyer until after the contract is finished.  The listing agent tries to tell the buyers agent we are "Under Contract" in an interim period while no finalized contracts are even signed off.  Agents that participate in this behavior should be brought up on charges with local Realtor boards, and brokers need to stop looking the other way and start filing complaints about companies that act in this way.

Before an offer is made - Buyers and their agents have a right to know:

• Full disclosure that this is a corporate owned home
• Full disclosure that the parties you are negotiating with are the party to a relocation.
• Full disclosure of forms, addenda, and disclosures that will accompany this sale.
• Full disclosure of all properties that will be sold "AS IS"
• Disclosure as a buyer that you have a right to close with the Attorney / Title Co. of your choosing.
• Buyers should have the ability to use board approved contracts - as opposed to Relo Contracts.
• Relocation procedures and contracts - do not supersede State law.
• Above all - Do not sign anything you do not understand. Hire an attorney!