I'm not sure if its my administrative background, or merely that I am a very detailed oriented person, so I always try to dot my "i's" and cross my "t's" in the event I may need to refer back to the file sometime down the road in the event of a dispute, or worse, a legal action.
These notes ( and my memory of exact details) never came in more useful than when, a few years ago I was contacted by a buyer from out of town looking to purchase something in a very specific area of town. I met with her and she provided me with her specific needs in terms of area, ther budget and the type of home she was looking to buy. I set her up on an auto email system with the criteria she gave me and the emails started appearing. After receiving numerous listsings on auto emails, none of which apparentlhy suited her, she contacted me and asked me to show her a property that was completely out of the area she specified (all buyers are liars scenario!).
We viewed the property and she and her husband loved it. We went back for a second look and spent more than an hour there. We talked outside afterwards and they wanted to submit an offer. I reviewed offer procedure, and which clauses should be included in the offer, and other components of the offer. I spoke to them at length about the house and its visual apperance and we discussed how well it had apparently been maintained. I gave them the option of having a house inspection or having the Seller complete a Property Information Statement. Due to the exemplary condition of the house, they opted for the Seller Property Information Statement,which is a disclosue questionnaire completed by the Seller with respect to their home. I have since stopped using this, and in general most agents no longer use this disclosure statement.
I negotiated the offer which was accepted and a few months later they moved in. A few months after that I receive a letter from their attorney asking me for compensation because they found deficincies in the home after they moved in, and they told their lawyer that I recommended they not have an inspection. This was absolutely NOT the case!
Because they opted for the SPIS (Seller Property Information Sheet rather than the house inspection, I made detailed notes in their file of everything that transpired during the offer phase... i.e. where we met for coffee, what day and time, what was said in the driveway, where I was standing, where they were standing.. when I faxed the offer, etc. etc. So glad I took those notes because they saved me... I never heard back from the lawyer again...
But from that point forward, I now always insert the House Inspection Condition and Financing Condidtion into all offers, and if the Buyer elects not to have a house inspection performed, or a financing condition I stroke through the conditions removing it (them) from the offer, and have the the Buyer initial the change(s). There is also a form called Condition(s) in Offer: Acknowledgement which I now also have clients sign if they choose not to insert any conditions in their offer. It covers you that you made the recommendtion of having the condition(s) in the offer, but the Buyer chose not to include it.
I strongly recommend you keep detailed notes, especially about conversations you may be having with your clients with respect to submitting an offer, where, when, time.. etc. It could be your lifeline in the future if any issues arise after closing and save you from a legal dispute.
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