Bad Agent Horror Stories - Tell me yours

Hi Guy,

I have never had a lawsuit or even had anything go to mediation in my 15 year career (half the length of YOUR career!) but I had one that came nerve-wrackingly close.

In that horror story, I was working with the buyers on a high-end home in Los Gatos (high end meaning about 1.5 mil around 10 years ago). The sellers disclosed a particular problem but they under-disclosed it and gave a false impression of the seriousness of the issue. There was a leaky deck that went over a living area in that home. They disclosed that it had leaked and was repaired; but they did not disclose that it had leaked many, many years....

Eventually, the buyers and sellers worked something out. But initially, the listing agent (a well known person in these parts) basically said, "the seller disclosed it - it is your clients' problem". Bad, bad, bad attitude - and wrong too.

The minimal solution was going to cost $30,000 and the 300 pound gorilla solution was twice that much. The buyers, now the owners, said they'd agree to the foolproof solution if the former owners would pay half. All agreed - "calm heads prevailed".

What made it a horror is that the sellers underdisclosed the problem and the agent seemed to think that being sneaky was an ok thing to do. Once the sellers were clear that they'd blown it, everyone moved ahead ok.