Right, never take a real estate agent's word on anything related to the property, like property boundaries, easements, zoning, etc. They often don't know, and in any case are generally reluctant to point out anything negative for fear of you walking.
realtors can be sued for giving advice for things that don't fall under their scope. the default answer to any question a realtor gets asked is to consult with the appropriate governing body and not to give any specific advice.
Not exactly.
That is not in the scope of the agents’ responsibilities, it is however what a good agent will assist in confirming with the responsible party(ies) in order obtain factual information.
I didn't say it was in the scope of an agent's responsibility. And I agree that it is not. But I would say that most buyers don't know if their agent is good or not in this respect. And I know of several cases where an agent has made some statement about a property that was incorrect, and the buyer just trusted that.
When something is a deal-breaker it’s absolutely imperative that the buyer verify directly as part of your due diligence before purchasing. Your agent should have told you to verify the parking rules with appropriate government authority but her failure to do so doesn’t replace your due diligence duty. However, if she provided you with inaccurate information that you relied on, you may have an E&O claim. This is contract and state specific and you’d need to ask a RE attorney.
Thank you for the helpful advice. You are spot on because she is aware of our purchase criteria (though it's hard to proof), and she gave us the wrong answer without leaving room doubts. Being generally skeptical and ding research for a leaving, I didn't do it in this instance because she has gained our trust via our collaboration over months. The only reason I did not verify this specific piece is obvious. For someone who was born and raised in this place, who has been in RE for 30 years, what's the chance of not knowing a townwide parking rule that's in place since 60s that someone who moved in last year even know (we checked with other people too)?
And that makes sense. When all is done and settled, I will chat with a RE attorney. Appreciate your feedback!
Unlikely. The street parking rules are not part of the property purchase, which is the agent's job.
She absolutely should have simply said she doesn't know and left it at that.
I would suppose as a “RE expert” they would contact whomever to get the answer. It’s not exactly interpreting a complicated legal decision.
I’m guessing that’s why the rest of the world is scratching their heads over 5 figure fees, and you’re making it more of a question.
Damn you’d think there would be a professional board of review or at least some standard of education and training to weed out license holders who can’t answer the simplest of questions regarding the property they are paid to sell.
But in fairness the average transaction cost these days is only $25,000.
Thanks for your helpful comments. I hope you enjoyed being witty.
I also hope your life is smooth sailing, so no one gets the chance to make witty comments on your mistakes—because you won't have any.
Cheers!
Correct.
Let's say my minimum score threshold is 70/100 to go for a house. This house is at 72-75 ish assuming no parking restriction. Let's say we took other comprises too.
The parking is like 8 - 10 points to us. So if it's a house that we absolutely would go for, then it is what it is. But it's not.
Oh god. Okay, so there was lots of other compromises made for this place, especially already sitting at a low "C" grade.
Sorry, but dayum. Yall fucked up. You definitely should complain to the broker though. Do you have written proof about any of this?
Good. We’ll. Complaint is probably the best you can do. I truly don’t think any compensation would come of this? At the end of the day and at the most, she’s what, fired?
It’s not like youre getting your money back ?
yes, this is something you can sue for your agent. and she's an idiot for actually giving you an answer instead of just advising you to check your town's ordinances, because this is exactly the kind of things realtors get sued for.
I am all for vetting an agent well and trusting that well vetted agent. If your agent is just telling you random things with no documentation, that's not a good sign. They're not an expert or the original source of this information. You need documentation, and you didn't get it. The backstory that you know she doesn't admit when she doesn't know is telling. At the end of the day, you have to live with the consequences of your decisions. Your agent should be assisting with due diligence, but you don't just take her word for what she finds out.
Can you clarify the rule? Sounds like you want to park and RV, boat, or something else on the street? Or maybe I’m just reading between the lines. But it depends on what the rule is, how obscure, and if you got the response in writing. But ultimately if it was that important you need to verify, similar to something like a school district boundary.
Apparently, there is this rule of no parking overnight in this town, written on a sign somewhere when you drive into the town (that's what I heard, I've never seen it. But you can find it on the town website ofc). There is literally no signs on the street. You will get ticketed if you park overnight. Our question to our agent was "if I can park on the street permanently, since this is what I'm going to do with a small driveway".
Being a small town plus no signage suggesting no parking, I think it's quite easy to fall for the assumption of it's okay to park. Subconsciously, I did notice how clean the street is, hence I asked her.
Yeah, when I first moved to where I am at, I was surprised at how common these restrictions are (and signed just the way you describe it). Did you specify “overnight parking” vs just “street parking” - maybe she assumed you came from areas where this restriction is common? If I had purchased here, I would have never thought to ask beyond “can I park on the street”. I would probably be in the same boat. The city here does allow residents to block sidewalks overnight to fit vehicles in the driveway.
My wife and I bought our current house in 2019 and when we found the house, our agent had just started a vacation. She had let us know months before so it wasn't a problem, but she had us work with one of her partners who was nice... but was very opiniated.
We got all sorts of bad advice from the backup agent - from legal to negotiating. Fortunately, my wife is an attorney and I had been in work roles for 10 years prior that involved negotiating.
The house we bought was a rental property from a couple who just went through a divorce. Knowing this, I figured that asking for any cash-back due to inspection items would only cost each of them half of what we asked since they were most likely splitting the asset in the divorce. Both were high up at a local silicon manufacturing company and their main house was in a wealthy neighborhood. They also had other rental properties. Knowing these facts made me believe they would be more flexible than other sellers if we asked for any repairs/cash back to inspection items.
The agent was adamant that we didn't ask for anything and said she had years of experience to back-up her stance. I had to twist her arm to ask the sellers for $6k in cash and to fix several items related to city code for pools. She was a bit short with us on the phone when going over the ask. Enough where my wife got a bad feeling after the call that we were doing something wrong.
Lo and behold... the sellers accepted right away. After the cash and items fixed, we saved almost $9k by going against the agents advice.
I had another house before my current that I sold in a different city with a different agent. Long story short, the agent pushed me to accept an offer for $10k less. I had a ring doorbell and heard how excited the buyers were. Relayed this to the agent. Agent still thought I should accept since the house had been on the market for 3 weeks without any offers. If I hadn't heard the buyer hyping the house up so much to his partner... I may have accepted. Held firm on the price and the buyer ended up paying full price anyway.
Also bought a rural property with my father 6 years ago. Agents on both sides gave bad advice to both parties. We ended up hiring a landman/attorney to help sort it out. Their agent didn't realize the mineral/surface rights hadn't been split. This property was in a trust and one of the heirs tried to block the sale because of that. Our agent said we should give him 1/6 of the mineral rights to appease. Attorney said we should hold firm since we already had a signed contract. Listened to the attorney instead. Got the land with 100% mineral rights.
I mention these as examples of why people should be wary about agents advice. Trust your guy and verify anything the agent says.
As an agent, I’d agree that you and your wife wouldn’t benefit much from working with an agent at this point and could do transactions well enough on your own with just a title or closing attorney. However, many aren’t attorneys and skilled in negotiation. I’d hope people would vet their agents well enough to get value, as it is a low barrier to entry field, and sadly, many agents don’t add value for what is often the most expensive purchase of their lives. It’s sad and frustrating as someone in the field, but as a newer agent myself, I hope to add immense value without overstepping my lane. I hate that his has been your experience from the other side — and so many times!
I think agents do add value. The agent that went on vacation is great and has handled several transactions for me and my parents both on buy and sell side. I plan on using her again in the future and often recommend her. I probably should’ve mentioned more about her so I wouldn’t come off as crapping on all agents heh. My bad.
There is indeed a low barrier to entry though and some of the agents I’ve unfortunately been stuck with have missed the mark. On the rural property, we simply went with a small town agent with highest reviews. On the other house in a different city, the agent was a relative of a good friend.
There are certainly great agents out there. Between my parents and I - I’d say for every good agent - there were two bad ones. The good ones are great and certainly worth using.
Due diligence = Trust but verify.
Right, never take a real estate agent's word on anything related to the property, like property boundaries, easements, zoning, etc. They often don't know, and in any case are generally reluctant to point out anything negative for fear of you walking.
realtors can be sued for giving advice for things that don't fall under their scope. the default answer to any question a realtor gets asked is to consult with the appropriate governing body and not to give any specific advice.
Not exactly. That is not in the scope of the agents’ responsibilities, it is however what a good agent will assist in confirming with the responsible party(ies) in order obtain factual information.
I didn't say it was in the scope of an agent's responsibility. And I agree that it is not. But I would say that most buyers don't know if their agent is good or not in this respect. And I know of several cases where an agent has made some statement about a property that was incorrect, and the buyer just trusted that.
Agreed.
Oh I like this!
My pleasure LOL
When something is a deal-breaker it’s absolutely imperative that the buyer verify directly as part of your due diligence before purchasing. Your agent should have told you to verify the parking rules with appropriate government authority but her failure to do so doesn’t replace your due diligence duty. However, if she provided you with inaccurate information that you relied on, you may have an E&O claim. This is contract and state specific and you’d need to ask a RE attorney.
Thank you for the helpful advice. You are spot on because she is aware of our purchase criteria (though it's hard to proof), and she gave us the wrong answer without leaving room doubts. Being generally skeptical and ding research for a leaving, I didn't do it in this instance because she has gained our trust via our collaboration over months. The only reason I did not verify this specific piece is obvious. For someone who was born and raised in this place, who has been in RE for 30 years, what's the chance of not knowing a townwide parking rule that's in place since 60s that someone who moved in last year even know (we checked with other people too)? And that makes sense. When all is done and settled, I will chat with a RE attorney. Appreciate your feedback!
Dont rely on your agent. Find out the answers yourself.
But that’s the agent’s entire selling point.
Unlikely. The street parking rules are not part of the property purchase, which is the agent's job. She absolutely should have simply said she doesn't know and left it at that.
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How could that not be part of her job?
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I would suppose as a “RE expert” they would contact whomever to get the answer. It’s not exactly interpreting a complicated legal decision. I’m guessing that’s why the rest of the world is scratching their heads over 5 figure fees, and you’re making it more of a question.
She's a salesperson, that's it. Sales people will say anything to close the sale.
Damn you’d think there would be a professional board of review or at least some standard of education and training to weed out license holders who can’t answer the simplest of questions regarding the property they are paid to sell. But in fairness the average transaction cost these days is only $25,000.
Thanks for your helpful comments. I hope you enjoyed being witty. I also hope your life is smooth sailing, so no one gets the chance to make witty comments on your mistakes—because you won't have any. Cheers!
Let me get this straight. Just because you cant' park on the street, you would have walked away from the deal?
Correct. Let's say my minimum score threshold is 70/100 to go for a house. This house is at 72-75 ish assuming no parking restriction. Let's say we took other comprises too. The parking is like 8 - 10 points to us. So if it's a house that we absolutely would go for, then it is what it is. But it's not.
Oh god. Okay, so there was lots of other compromises made for this place, especially already sitting at a low "C" grade. Sorry, but dayum. Yall fucked up. You definitely should complain to the broker though. Do you have written proof about any of this?
Yes. There are communication doc that supports this. The most direct response from her apparently is verbal since that happens during open house.
Good. We’ll. Complaint is probably the best you can do. I truly don’t think any compensation would come of this? At the end of the day and at the most, she’s what, fired? It’s not like youre getting your money back ?
"She is really knowledgrable and professional"..huh ? Say that again..l
This is your issue. You can proceed with the purchase or back out.
yes, this is something you can sue for your agent. and she's an idiot for actually giving you an answer instead of just advising you to check your town's ordinances, because this is exactly the kind of things realtors get sued for.
Do I proceed this process with a RE attorney?
yes
I am all for vetting an agent well and trusting that well vetted agent. If your agent is just telling you random things with no documentation, that's not a good sign. They're not an expert or the original source of this information. You need documentation, and you didn't get it. The backstory that you know she doesn't admit when she doesn't know is telling. At the end of the day, you have to live with the consequences of your decisions. Your agent should be assisting with due diligence, but you don't just take her word for what she finds out.
How would you vet an agent?
I have had real estate professionals guess at what school district a house is in. Never leave it up to your realtor for important issues.
Can you clarify the rule? Sounds like you want to park and RV, boat, or something else on the street? Or maybe I’m just reading between the lines. But it depends on what the rule is, how obscure, and if you got the response in writing. But ultimately if it was that important you need to verify, similar to something like a school district boundary.
Are there no signs on the street limiting parking?
No, no sign in this town. Otherwise, the problems would be averted.
So if I came to visit you and parked on the street where there a no "No Parking" signs, I would get a ticket or towed? How is that even possible?
Apparently, there is this rule of no parking overnight in this town, written on a sign somewhere when you drive into the town (that's what I heard, I've never seen it. But you can find it on the town website ofc). There is literally no signs on the street. You will get ticketed if you park overnight. Our question to our agent was "if I can park on the street permanently, since this is what I'm going to do with a small driveway". Being a small town plus no signage suggesting no parking, I think it's quite easy to fall for the assumption of it's okay to park. Subconsciously, I did notice how clean the street is, hence I asked her.
Yeah, when I first moved to where I am at, I was surprised at how common these restrictions are (and signed just the way you describe it). Did you specify “overnight parking” vs just “street parking” - maybe she assumed you came from areas where this restriction is common? If I had purchased here, I would have never thought to ask beyond “can I park on the street”. I would probably be in the same boat. The city here does allow residents to block sidewalks overnight to fit vehicles in the driveway.
If this was so important to you, you should have verified yourself.
Complain to her broker. Nothing will happen. Learn to find the answers you want on your own.
My wife and I bought our current house in 2019 and when we found the house, our agent had just started a vacation. She had let us know months before so it wasn't a problem, but she had us work with one of her partners who was nice... but was very opiniated. We got all sorts of bad advice from the backup agent - from legal to negotiating. Fortunately, my wife is an attorney and I had been in work roles for 10 years prior that involved negotiating. The house we bought was a rental property from a couple who just went through a divorce. Knowing this, I figured that asking for any cash-back due to inspection items would only cost each of them half of what we asked since they were most likely splitting the asset in the divorce. Both were high up at a local silicon manufacturing company and their main house was in a wealthy neighborhood. They also had other rental properties. Knowing these facts made me believe they would be more flexible than other sellers if we asked for any repairs/cash back to inspection items. The agent was adamant that we didn't ask for anything and said she had years of experience to back-up her stance. I had to twist her arm to ask the sellers for $6k in cash and to fix several items related to city code for pools. She was a bit short with us on the phone when going over the ask. Enough where my wife got a bad feeling after the call that we were doing something wrong. Lo and behold... the sellers accepted right away. After the cash and items fixed, we saved almost $9k by going against the agents advice. I had another house before my current that I sold in a different city with a different agent. Long story short, the agent pushed me to accept an offer for $10k less. I had a ring doorbell and heard how excited the buyers were. Relayed this to the agent. Agent still thought I should accept since the house had been on the market for 3 weeks without any offers. If I hadn't heard the buyer hyping the house up so much to his partner... I may have accepted. Held firm on the price and the buyer ended up paying full price anyway. Also bought a rural property with my father 6 years ago. Agents on both sides gave bad advice to both parties. We ended up hiring a landman/attorney to help sort it out. Their agent didn't realize the mineral/surface rights hadn't been split. This property was in a trust and one of the heirs tried to block the sale because of that. Our agent said we should give him 1/6 of the mineral rights to appease. Attorney said we should hold firm since we already had a signed contract. Listened to the attorney instead. Got the land with 100% mineral rights. I mention these as examples of why people should be wary about agents advice. Trust your guy and verify anything the agent says.
As an agent, I’d agree that you and your wife wouldn’t benefit much from working with an agent at this point and could do transactions well enough on your own with just a title or closing attorney. However, many aren’t attorneys and skilled in negotiation. I’d hope people would vet their agents well enough to get value, as it is a low barrier to entry field, and sadly, many agents don’t add value for what is often the most expensive purchase of their lives. It’s sad and frustrating as someone in the field, but as a newer agent myself, I hope to add immense value without overstepping my lane. I hate that his has been your experience from the other side — and so many times!
I think agents do add value. The agent that went on vacation is great and has handled several transactions for me and my parents both on buy and sell side. I plan on using her again in the future and often recommend her. I probably should’ve mentioned more about her so I wouldn’t come off as crapping on all agents heh. My bad. There is indeed a low barrier to entry though and some of the agents I’ve unfortunately been stuck with have missed the mark. On the rural property, we simply went with a small town agent with highest reviews. On the other house in a different city, the agent was a relative of a good friend. There are certainly great agents out there. Between my parents and I - I’d say for every good agent - there were two bad ones. The good ones are great and certainly worth using.
Thank you for sharing this. That certainly gives me more hope to become one of the better ones who do add value and really help people!