The seller and disclosures

As a listing agent, we have the opportunity to provide to the public, on the sellers behalf, honest and truthful disclosures about the house that is for sale.  Items like structural issues, leaky roofs, or flooding inside the home.  We, as agents, have to rely on our own abilities to recognize things but mostly rely on the seller for the information that is represented.

We had a closing a couple of weeks ago that went great; listing, fast activity, contract, and close....just the way everyone wants.  Seller is happy, buyer is happy, agents happy and everyone in between.  2 days after the closing, the buyer finds out that there is a water line break from the meter to the house!!!!  Of course, the buyer chose not to have an inspection since he was getting the house at a good price.  That's fair of course.  Did the seller know it was broken?  Don't know!  They had not lived there for some time and the utilities were turned off.  Maybe they did, maybe they didn't. 

Here's the thing.  As a seller, if you know there are issues with a house and you disclose the condition....disclose everything.  You have the right to NOT disclose anything.  It's an all or nothing thing.  If you choose to not disclose anything, you have to be ready to not get top dollar for your house.  Buyers will believe there is a reason you are not disclosing anything and suspect there are some issues they may have to deal with.  Nothing wrong with that at all but, the sellers have to be prepared for that.

It's fantastic when transactions work because most of the time, everyone is happy.  It's important for agents to do everything possible to make the transactions a fun and pleasant experience.  These are big deals for everyone.  Many times, the owners largest single asset they own.  Agents have to take that very seriously. 

Hope everyone has a terrific week and outstanding upcoming weekend.  Make real estate fun and it will be profitable for everyone involved.

Closings should be fun for EVERYONE

Had a closing today on a listing it took only 4 days to sell!!!  Those are the best when you can put the buyer and seller together quickly and everyone wins.  One thing about closings; along with the whole process, is that it should be fun for both buyer and seller.  Agents need to work hard to make this process stress free as possible working for their clients so the closings go smoothly.  We are responsible for a ton of paperwork and I'll admit, I'm not the greatest when it comes to crossing all the 'T's and dotting the 'I's' but, the major stuff is definately covered. 

There was a closing ahead of mine today where the buyers and sellers were visiting prior to signing.  They were really getting along and having fun.  The buyers were learning all the little 'quirks' about taking care of the pool etc.  The title company personnel were getting all their details together and the agents were visiting.  That's the way business should be conducted ALL the time.  As agents, we make good money and have a lot of responsibility and definately earn our keep but, to the buyer/seller, they don't see that but, you can bet if they have a bad experience, they'll remember it in a negative way! 

We need to take care of those clients cause they take care of US!  Have fun with our jobs and enjoy the ride!!!  Have a great weekend.