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We recently bought a new home. We had been dealing with a REALTOR®, but we had been checking out one of the “for sale by owner” websites and saw something on there we liked. We contacted our REALTOR® who in turn contacted the people selling the house to see if they would like to be represented by him. They refused and they let it be known that they would not be open to having any dealings with a REALTOR®. Bill, our REALTOR®, let us know about the conversation he had with the people selling their house, but we decided to have a look at it anyways. The house had clearly been renovated and look exactly what we were looking for. We called Bill and he told us that he could not help us in the purchase of the house but he did give us advice on some things to ask about. Bill told us to make sure that a home inspection be done by a qualified home inspector that we use a lawyer to make sure that there are no liens against the property, and have the heating and cooling systems checked by a qualified plumber if they are old. He also gave us a comparison of what properties sold for in the area in the past few months that were equivalent too the house we were looking at. Armed with this information we went to see the seller, who promptly informed us he had quite a lot of interest in the house and he would not waste his time with all our conditions. We were very disappointed and after a sleepless night we called the next day and told him we would make an offer with no extra conditions. We based our offer on the information supplied to us by Bill, but the seller came back with a price $8000.00 more than our offer and was adamant that was the price. We were again reminded that others were also interested in the house, and it met so many of our requirements that we agreed to pay the asking price. The guy selling the house also told us he was not paying a lawyer to transfer the title as we could both go to land titles and do that our selves, which we did. We moved into the house about 20 days after the agreement and our problems began immediately. We received a notice from the City letting us know that our taxes were in arrears and we owed half the balance of the previous year plus this year, and the water bill had not been paid for over twelve months and they were debiting our tax account for the total amount. Of course the guy selling the house was now long gone and we were stuck for an additional bill for over $4000.00 we were not anticipating. We paid off the debts to the City, and yet we were still happy with our purchase. In the spring of this year my wife called me at work to tell me there was over a foot of water in the basement. That night while vacuuming water up the head of the shop vac. banged into the wall and went right through the gyproc which was soaked with moisture. I began pulling at the drywall and it came off the wall in wet soggy chunks. The cement wall underneath was crisscrossed with cracks and water was oozing between them. The repair for the wall and the redoing of the basement (all without insurance as seepage is not covered) cost us another $11,000.00. So now we have bought a home that has cost us an additional $23,000.00 more than what Bill had told us we should pay for it. ($8000.00 more than comparable, $4000.00 in debts owed the City and $11,000.000 for fixing the basement). Will we ever buy another house without a REALTOR®? What do you think? Lana & Brent T.
Answer: Thank you for your letter. I am at a loss to give you any advice as I think your letter speaks volumes. Thank you for sharing your experience so candidly as well. We have always supported the use of a professional in the purchase of real estate, and your story can show what can go wrong when you do not. I do hope that your bad experiences are now over.
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