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“You must lie for me; You represent me.” - Where is Kansas City Real Estate Heading?

“You must lie for me; You represent me.”

A series of events this week brought me back to a real estate transaction that I handled nearly 2 1/2 years ago.

The real estate transaction was in its 11th hour and we were 2 days before closing. I was getting accustomed to the 4 phone calls a day from my buyer client. Heck, it had become a habit after 45 days.

My buyers were getting a screaming deal. Nearly $60,000 off of comps in the neighborhood and the home was in good shape. The inspections came out rosy and there were no major issues.

The financing even was going smooth.

My buyer clients had conducted their walk-through and the home smelled like new. The sellers had really taken great care in moving out and the sellers really had the home shining. The home had that “New Car Smell”. Things seemed to be going smooth.

Then I got that phone call 2 days before closing. The buyer said,” My wife and I found a home down the street. It is a better deal. We want to pull out this home and buy it.”

I reminded the buyer of where we are in the transaction and that we have passed all of our contingencies. I even reminded them that we will lose our earnest deposit and the seller will probably take them to court.

The buyer didn’t care. They wanted out. The buyer told me that due to financing they were not able to buy the home. I informed the buyer that I had already sent loan commitment to the listing agent. They said they didn’t care. The buyer told me to tell the seller that things have changed. Next my buyer client told me, “You must lie for me. You represent me.”

The negotiations between the buyer and seller escalated into name calling. The seller was furious.

The seller started calling me from Virginia, the state they had relocated to after they abandoned their purchase.

My integrity and honesty was at stake with the other agent, the seller and the public so I first recommended an attorney to my buyer client. After my buyer hired and attorney and I saw the direction the attorney was going, so I fired my buyer client.

Now that brings me to today. The same buyer who I fired called me this week. Yes they got into the home down the street. The home that they thought was a screaming deal is ending up to be a money pit. Their attorney, who assured them that he could get them out of the contract very easily, according to the Buyer “Sucked their savings account dry” wants more money.

It is now 2 1/2 years later and my former Buyer is now just starting litigation. Their attorney just informed them that the seller will entertain an offer of settlement for around $22,000 plus their attorney cost. My Buyer wanted to know why they need to compensate the seller for their losses.

Apparently the seller sold the home for less money than the Buyer’s offer.

This week I was just talking to a group of REALTORS. We discussed that we’re hearing stories about buyers making decisions like my former buyer quite frequently. Many people are forgetting about their integrity and honesty.

Do you think that sellers who lose to dishonest buyers should take them to court?

RE/MAX sells more homes than anyone in the country. For a reason.

Should we talk?


Let us know what you think or add to our blog by writing a comment.

Blog post written by the Dowell Taggart Team of RE/MAX Best Associates


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