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A Television, A Refrigerator & No Sellers Disclosure. Who Knew?

By
Real Estate Agent with Broker, Friends & Neighbors Real Estate and Elkhart County Subdivisions, LLC RB14037276

A Television and a Refrigerator

with No Sellers Disclosure!

Who Knew?  The Seller Did!

I remember long before I entered the Real Estate profession, I found a home For Sale listed in the newspaper. (Remember those?)  I found that, the owner had passed away and left the home to the three adult children, who were living in the home at the time of the sale.

I called for an appointment after work in the evening.  They said "Come on over and take a look." (Big mistake).  The sun was going down, they were watching television and had a couple of the lights on throughout the house.........  They were eager to sell, so they could split the money.

I saw the potential in the home, so we made an offer, (Full Price), which was accepted. It didn't take long to close and we moved in. We were so excited!  Then we discovered a problem.There were only two outlets in the home.  One in the kitchen and the other in the living room.  Little did we know, there were extension cords under rugs, all over the house for the lights. The one in the kitchen was used for the refrigerator and the one in the living room was for their television. 

 


 

What was done wrong?

I should have been represented by a Real Estate Agent, who knew what I needed to know!

1. I was lucky, because I did not get pre-approved before looking for a home.

2. I did not get a Real Estate Agent to guide and represent me.

3. It's not a good idea to see a home when it is almost dark. View the home in daylight

4. I didn't know that I didn't have to offer the full asking price. I could have negotiated the offer.

5. I didn't get a home inspection.

6. In Indiana, a Seller is required to have a Sellers Disclosure and Lead Base Paint disclosure, which would reveal many of the surprises that may be found later.


 

I have found since being a Real Estate Agent, that this was not an isolated incident.

It's not always about 2 plugs, but First Time Home Buyers need to contact a Real Estate Agent, when looking for a home to buy.  In Indiana the Buyers do not have to pay anything to be represented, so why go it alone?  The Seller pays the Buying Agents commission.*

 

*In the case of a For Sale by Owner, if the Seller refuses to pay the commission, the buyer has the option to either not offer on the house, or pay the Buyer's Agent's commission.

 

 HOME BUYERS!

 

Call me and I will do the talking for you.

 

If you don't know what a Disclosure Statement is,

 

give me a call.

------------------------------------

If you know someone who wants to Buy or Sell a Home in

Elkhart, St Joseph, LaGrange and Kosciusko Counties, in Indiana

Call me:  Larry Johnston, 574-304-7577

 

"We have agents to serve you with your Real Estate needs"

Friends & Neighbors Real Estate

and Elkhart County Subdivisions, LLC, Elkhart, Indiana,

or email larry@larry-johnston.com 

Comments (41)

Sham Reddy CRS
Howard Hanna RE Services, Dayton, OH - Dayton, OH
CRS

Seller's disclosure is not always a thing to depend on.  Inspections would have discovered all those defects.

Aug 16, 2016 09:51 PM
Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

What a way to learn a lesson.. the hard way!

Thanks for sharing. Wow, two outlets!

Aug 16, 2016 10:02 PM
Lise Howe
Keller Williams Capital Properties - Washington, DC
Assoc. Broker in DC, MD, VA and attorney in DC

No wonder the two of you got into real estate - You had already had your trial by fire! and you knew now how important a good real estate agent is to the transaction and the buyer! 

Aug 16, 2016 10:33 PM
Chris Lima
Turtle Reef Realty - Port St Lucie, FL
Local or Global-Allow me to open doors for you.

Good Morning Larry.  Great information here and what a tough way to learn a lesson. Thanks for sharing and Congrats on the recognition!

Aug 16, 2016 10:38 PM
Harry F. D'Elia III
WEDO Real Estate and Beyond, LLC - Phoenix, AZ
Investor , Mentor, GRI, Radio, CIPS, REOs, ABR

Many buyers still think that they have to pay an agent when purchasing a home.

Aug 16, 2016 11:28 PM
Sheri Sperry - MCNE®
Coldwell Banker Realty - Sedona, AZ
(928) 274-7355 ~ YOUR Solutions REALTOR®

Hi Larry Johnston - A wonderful anecdote to explain how important having representation is!  Thanks for sharing it. I have bought 4 new homes over the years, all before I was a Realtor. I never thought of using a buyer agent.  I thought buying a new home was like buying a new car. WRONG! 

I will be reblogging this at a later date!

Aug 17, 2016 02:14 AM
Beth Atalay
Cam Realty and Property Management - Clermont, FL
Cam Realty of Clermont FL

Larry, home buying process is a complex one regardless of what buyers think. It's more than falling in love with the structure, using a Realtor is a MUST. This was a valuable lesson for you.

Aug 17, 2016 03:19 AM
Robert Bob Gilbert
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Anderson Properties - Katy, TX
Your Katy TX ( West of Houston) Real Estate Expert

Larry, excellent post and Congrats on the feature. All of us have had to learn about Real estate at some point in time during our lives. 

Aug 17, 2016 06:03 AM
Debbie Laity
Cedaredge Land Company - Cedaredge, CO
Your Real Estate Resource for Delta County, CO

Hi, Larry...A LB paint disclosure is required in CO, but the seller's property disclosure isn't required. Great story. It's amazing how much we learn from time and the school of hard knocks. 

Aug 17, 2016 09:08 AM
Debbie Reynolds, C21 Platinum Properties
Platinum Properties- (931)771-9070 - Clarksville, TN
The Dedicated Clarksville TN Realtor-(931)320-6730

TN law requires a seller disclosure unless the seller hasn't lived there in the last 3 years. I had a seller switch a refrigerator and tried to pass an old one off as the one that had been in the kitchen. We had photos showing it wasn't.

Aug 17, 2016 11:20 AM
Lou Ludwig
Ludwig & Associates - Boca Raton, FL
Designations Earned CRB, CRS, CIPS, GRI, SRES, TRC

Larry

The home inspections is a crucial element of a successful real estate transaction.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

Aug 17, 2016 12:22 PM
Lou Ludwig
Ludwig & Associates - Boca Raton, FL
Designations Earned CRB, CRS, CIPS, GRI, SRES, TRC

Larry

Congratulations on being awarded a feature.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

Aug 17, 2016 12:24 PM
Richie Alan Naggar
people first...then business Ran Right Realty - Riverside, CA
agent & author

I remember my expert Real Estate boss looked at my potential first home and said NO, do not buy this. I would have bought it in a heartbeat. Years later, when I acquired my bosses eyes & ears, I saw that home for what it was: Disaster

Aug 17, 2016 11:17 PM
Jim Crawford
Long & Foster - Fredericksburg, VA
Jim Crawford Broker Associate Fredericksburg VA

Great post Larry Johnston 'Caveat emptor!"  

Aug 18, 2016 12:00 AM
Debe Maxwell, CRS
Savvy + Company (704) 491-3310 - Charlotte, NC
The RIGHT CHARLOTTE REALTOR!

Boy, you did learn the hard way, didn't you?!  I hear that all the time with buyers, well after the fact - "I didn't know ___"  The money that they thought they were saving by not having an agent was a drop in the bucket to what they wound up spending to have their house re-wired (knob & tube), their structure supported, their roof replaced... The list goes on and on!

Aug 18, 2016 12:45 AM
Gary L. Waters Broker Associate, Bucci Realty
Bucci Realty, Inc. - Melbourne, FL
Eighteen Years Experience in Brevard County

Experience is one heck of a teacher although some lessons are less expensive when guided by an experienced person.

Aug 18, 2016 01:38 AM
Jeff Dowler, CRS
eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Carlsbad, CA
The Southern California Relocation Dude

Larry

Well I really liked this post as I didn't know quite where it was leading from your tilte, but there were some excellent lessons learned here. I didn;t expect them to be yours!

No doubt there are plenty of others who have made mistakes in their home-buying, and this just points out clearly the many ways things could go wrong and why it's so important for buyers to have representation.

Jeff

Aug 18, 2016 05:20 AM
Dorie Dillard Austin TX
Coldwell Banker Realty ~ 512.750.6899 - Austin, TX
NW Austin ~ Canyon Creek and Spicewood/Balcones

Good morning Larry Johnston,

What a great post! Unfortunately there are many consumers who have done and are doing the same thing right now. Guidance by an experienced in buying or selling a home as you have clearly illustrated in your post! Congrats on the well deserved featured post!

Aug 18, 2016 09:22 PM
Karen Feltman
Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, IA KW Legacy Group - Cedar Rapids, IA
Relocation Specialist in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Oh my!  I could not imagine a home with just two outlets!  This is a great story to illustrate the importance of having a real estate agent to show you what you don't know about the process of buying a home.  Well deserved feature.

Aug 19, 2016 02:13 AM
Robert Vegas Bob Swetz
Las Vegas, NV

Hello Larry

Great post and congrats on the Gold Star ...

Aug 19, 2016 12:33 PM