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Answers (7)
- Careen Muir, "CareenMuir"
- Contributions:7
I have had several deals where I had to very nicely ask the seller's agent if I could speak directly with their client. If your representative won't, I think you should contact the seller. Mail or leave the letter at their house directly. I like your "warm hearted" approach.
Careen
- ConnieK_ppm
- Contributions:97
I have had an similar experience as an agent- I was the buyer's agent, it was a VA loan, the buyer locked in quickly but there were VA requirements that were not communciated to the seller through the agent which resulted in 3 week delay in closing and 3 extra trips for the VA apprasier to go out and verify that things were done when they were not- so this cost was passed to the buyer and the seller's agent wasn't available to return the appraiser's calls or meet them there. What got us to completion was the fact that the seller happened to come buy when I was meeting the appraiser at the house and since he intitiated contact I was able to talk with him and get everything resolved. I hate to suggest contacting the seller but it sounds like that is what you need to do. Maybe drop a letter in the US mail rather than trying for email.
as for who makes the repairs- you don't get to make an issue of that only that the repairs are done and the issues resolved. It's unfortunate that they have done repairs that weren't requested- another reason to resolve the communication problems. start with letter, request a conference call with both agents or something.
as for who makes the repairs- you don't get to make an issue of that only that the repairs are done and the issues resolved. It's unfortunate that they have done repairs that weren't requested- another reason to resolve the communication problems. start with letter, request a conference call with both agents or something.
- alohacoastie
- Contributions:3
Jeanne - the listing agent, from my understanding, owns her realty company and works only with her husband and daughter. It doesn't seem like we can go over her head. Am I wrong? We are first-time buyers. As for sending an email through our agent agent to the listing agent and asking for receipt confirmation, I think that is excellent advice. quinton - We've already had an inspection and there are a few health & safety items we are worried the VA is going to ding us on: no combustible air in the garage, active leak under the kitchen sink leading into the crawl space, missing downspout and resulting evidence of old mold in the crawl space, and two outlets in the dining room with no power (breaker box is new). Nothing major in our opinion, but possible show stoppers as far as the VA is concerned. After we had the inspection done, the seller didn't wait for us to contact her agent and instead began repairs. We sweated for nearly 10 days having no idea what she was doing and very little info/effort to find out on behalf of her agent. We were finally told that she got her son to do some repairs, and he has no professional credentials. We got another walk-through two days after that, only to find he didn't do hardly anything the seller told us he did, and the things he did do we would have preferred he left alone. It does not help things that the seller lives in NY and her home is in AK.
- Cindy Quinton, "Cindy Quinton"
- Contributions:1321
I'm not a realtor, but this seems like the kind of situation that the buyers would do everything in writing, and DEMAND that the seller's agent have the sellers sign off on EVERYTHING.
One question, did you already have an inspection and these are items that have turned up? Or are you saying, you just know that these will have to be fixed for the VA appraisal?
One question, did you already have an inspection and these are items that have turned up? Or are you saying, you just know that these will have to be fixed for the VA appraisal?
- Jeanne Feenick, "TopNJAgent"
- Contributions:149
Hi there, all agents work for a broker and so I would suggest that if the agents are having difficulty communicating that you request support at the broker/manager level. An email to provide your personal assurances that you are committed to the transaction could be helpful, but I'd suggest that it go through your agent/broker to the listing agent/broker. To provide you the comfort that it actually reaches the seller, ask for a receipt of confirmation. I do this in competitive bidding situations to be sure my offer is reaching the seller - you could do the same here.
In my experience, direct communication between buyer and seller in moments of stress in the transaction generally do not go well. And Nina raises a good point, if you have attorney support in the deal, talk to yours about this and see if he can help.
Good luck to you!
- alohacoastie
- Contributions:3
Nina, thanks for your response. The agents simply have clashing personalities, and one (ours) is much more motivated than the other. We're worried the seller's agent is going to destroy this deal for us because she isn't providing the seller adequate support and isn't telling the seller what we're asking her to. Do you think it's ok to contact the seller directly even though she's "very upset"? My husband and I don't believe that the seller's agent even asked the seller how she'd feel about it.
- Nina Harris, "NinaHarris"
- Contributions:257
Hi- I had a similar situation on one of my deals. It is a very emotional time for the seller. Why aren't the attorneys communicating? They should be working this out.
Can we contact seller directly?
Today we had our agent ask the seller's agent if it would be possible for us to speak with the seller directly to smooth over the relationship and get us all comfortable with the deal. Seller's agent quickly replied, "I don't think it would be a good idea because she [the seller] is very upset right now." We don't understand. Isn't now a perfect time to have a chat? Also, every day we wait is another day that closing gets pushed back. Our lender takes a minimum of 40 days to close from the "lock in" date!
All we'd like to do is write the seller a warm-hearted email without any demands, provide some clarity to some issues we believe have been misunderstood, and further emphasize how much we love her home and intend to buy it. Is it a good idea to do this? We are worried we are going to lose the home if we can't work things out with the seller as soon as possible. Please help!
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