Living Tigard - Your guide to everything Tigard

Six and a half months ago I had a couple that was looking for their first house together. Though we had some hits and misses, we thought we finally found the perfect one for their situation. It had a mother-in-law quarters for, hey wouldn’t you know it… A mother-in-law.

Well, we did the inspection and found that despite what the listing said and what the agent said, it just wasn’t true. The seller had the famous Louisiana Pacific (LP) Siding on the house when it was built, and like most LP siding in the pacific northwest, it started to grow mushrooms and warp as the moisture penetrated it.

The problem came when the agent was telling my buyers that the south side of the house had all the siding removed and had been replaced with Hardiplank siding 7 years ago. Well, this agent didn’t know what Hardiplank or LP siding looked like and the fact is it was it was replaced with just more LP siding and it was starting to repeat the process of what had happened 7 years before.

After calling the agent and informing them of a leak in the ceiling of the garage, caused by the siding and the mushrooms on the side of the house and the fact that the whole house was still LP siding, she told us that we were liars and would have her own independent inspector check it out. (Can you guess what he inspector found?)

Finally, after all this she tells me that the house is priced right and that there is no way that she will tell her friends to make those repairs that totaled $15,000. The price of that home at that time… $282,000! At that time, I told that agent that it wasn’t her decision to make she needed to present the repair addendum to her seller. The time line passed and there was no signature. (We never did get one rejecting or accepting repair addendum.)

So, three days later we issued a termination agreement and we were walking and the other agent said that was fine, she would have a full price offer within days at that price and she guaranteed the repairs wouldn’t need to be done! I told her that I hope your client doesn’t find out what you did and my clients will see you in court about their inspection money because you put on the disclosure that the house had been redone in Hardiplank when it actually hadn’t!

Now six and a half months later I saw that there was a siding truck out in front of the listing and the property is now for sale for $240,000 and has expired with this agent twice! How does this agent live with themselves knowing that she has cost her client $40,000 because she thought she was right?

So, if you hire a friend, make sure they are doing what is best for you and letting you decide. They have a fiduciary responsibility to you and they also have to let you make the decisions not them. Sometimes it is better to keep a friend a friend rather than lose them over one of the biggest transactions of your life.

Todd Clark - Broker / Sales Coach
Palazzo Realty Group
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739

Tigard Oregon Homes for Sale, Tigard OR homes for sale, homes for sale in zip code, 97223,97224, Tigard Oregon Realtor, Tigard OR Realtor, Tigard Oregon MLS Search, Tigard OR MLS Search, 1st time home buying expert, short sale expert, avoiding foreclosure in Tigard, helping families home, LivingBeaverton, Townhomes for sale, home for sale, house for sale, Bull Mountain North, Bull Mountain South, King City, Mountainview, Greenburg, Summer Lake Neighborhood, Summerfield neighborhood, Tigard neighborhood, Walnut Grove Neighborhood. Tigard Oregon Real Estate, Tigard OR real estate, Todd Clark, (503)524-9494, WWW.LivingTigard.com, www.IFoundYourNewHome.com, www.SavingyouFromForeclosure.com

©2009 Todd Clark - When your agent gives you bad advice, even if they are friends, it may be time to say NEXT!