Monday, April 14, 2008 You get MORE THAN JUST ME on a New HomeI received a 'panic-call' from a frenzied mother the other day. Her adult child had wandered into a new home community and signed a contract to purchase a home. A phone conversation was completed with the builder's lender at which a conditional loan approval was given to the potential buyer based on income from a job she was most likely going to get when she finished her schooling in the next 6 weeks.
The adult daughter/buyer has since learned she is expecting. She will have childcare expenses she was not expecting and does not believe she can afford the house payment. She wants out of the home. Mom wants me to give her advise on how to get her daughter out of this contract.
What most people don't understand is that when REALTORS write a purchase offer on a resale home, we are using a approved, standardized contract that has been been through a 2 year arduous review process that includes input from some of the best and brightest minds represented in all aspecs of a real estate transaction (escrow, mortgage, real estate attorneys, REALTORS, consumers, policy makers, etc...) Our resale contract protects the buyer AND seller in a purchase. In my opinion if it is weighted to favor one party more than the other, I believe it favors the buyer. I do not believe this to be the case when purchasing a new home. Every builder uses their own contract. Guess who that contract is going to favor? For example, some of the provisions I have found in new home contracts in the last 7 years in the state of Arizona go something like this...."If buyer is late closing, buyer will pay builder $100/day for every day they are late" (However, this same contract allows for no remedy to the buyer if the builder is late in closing which happens quite often.) "The builder may change any provision in this contract at their sole discretion. The buyer agrees to provide sole discretion to builder and will not contest any items changed by builder" (don't think that would hold up in court - but who wants to find out???) "Builder negates any warranties implied or stated by builder or manufacturer of any products used in the building of home or installed within the property unless specifically mandated by law." I could go on and on...let it suffice to say that every single new-home contract I see heavily favors the builder.
Back to our scenario.... I am not a lawyer and wasn't consulted before this buyer decided to go looking at homes. My advise to this Panicked mother was to contact a real estate attorney. However, had this been my client - I would have had one of the best Real Estate attorneys in the state of Arizona to consult with as my broker has this lawyer on retainer. As my client, this first time buyer would have had an expert on her side to help her navigate and understand this contract. She most likely would have much less stress than she is in now enduring and will continue to endure.
There is more to my value then just driving people to new home developments. You get me, you get my broker, my vast network of professionals (inspectors, lenders, other REALTORS, etc... that I can consult with on your behalf, and you get my brokers legal attorneys. It's a pretty good deal considering that I don't charge a retainer fee and the seller pays my comission. (translation - it cost you nothing)
Consider it. Thanks for reading. Commentsblog comments powered by Disqus |
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