Being a Realtor can be a most rewarding profession. We love it when we get to see homebuyers getting into their dream home and when we can help someone complete the sale of their home and move on to bigger and better life experiences. When a deal comes together and everyone is happy with the outcome, it is sweet. But there are times when we want to pull our hair out (all 4 of them), when things don’t go as planned, when the bomb is dropped right before closing and we want to shoot someone! Ok…so you never see that side cause we are great at the behind 
the scenes stuff and we are taught to keep a stiff upper lip, never let them see you sweat, (let’s see what other clichés I can come up with) ….but it still causes us grief!
So, if you love your Realtor, if you want to save and protect them as the rare and wonderful people they are, Don’t Do This!
1. Quit Your Job.
Big NO NO. I know that sounds like …duh…but folks do it. One of our buyers not only quit his job, but he did it 5 days before he was to close on his loan. Didn’t think it would make any difference to anyone. He had taken a job that actually paid less money, but thought he was making more because his new employer did not offer insurance, so he wasn’t getting that taken out of his check. On top of that, he told no one. His lender called for a final verification of employment the Friday before we were to close and was told he no longer worked there (lost about half a head of hair over that one). Needless to say, he did not qualify for his loan….AND lost his earnest money. He is now happily living in Kentucky…with his mother.
2. Declare Bankruptcy In The Middle Of Buying A House
Ok, we would Also think this was a big duh, but it has been known to happen. Ok, it happened to someone in our office during the height of the housing boom. I’m sure that it would never get that far in todays’ loan climate, but strange things have been known to happen. This also comes under the heading of Loan Fraud, so keep your Realtors’ hair, and yours, disclose all.
3. Spend Money You Don’t Have
Sometimes we as Realtors have to remember that We know this stuff, but our clients may not. We had clients who had a large tax refund deposited into their account….which was being used for the down payment on their new home no less, and suddenly they got the itch to spend it. Bought a refrigerator, and various things they felt would be needed in their new home, ok well they Wanted it for their new home, and saw nothing wrong with spending several thousand dollars of the money that was earmarked for their down payment. The lender called for a verification of funds from the bank, and lo and behold it was not all there! There was indeed a lot of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, but we finally managed to get everything taken back, refunded and put back into the account. There were at least 24 new worry lines on my face after that one, oh and many new thinning and graying areas on Steve’s head (I can’t take All the gray strands or the loss of hair now can I?)
4. Use A Relative For Your Home Inspector
Now, don’t get me all wrong, when you are a first time homebuyer, you naturally want opinions from those who are close to you. You sometimes need that validation from parents or relatives to give you the confidence you need to push on and complete your home purchase….I get that.
However, it has been my experience that some parents and relatives will try to find everything they can to show you why you should not buy the home of your choice. I have seen relatives who felt it was their duty to report every single default in a home, and give the same weight to a plug cover missing a screw as they would a furnace about to explode.
One of my clients had an uncle, who was a city inspector, come to her condo. He proceeded to condemn the inside, because he would never have approved the plugs in the living room being 7 ft apart rather than 6. He was also suggesting we have a sound proofing test done because he worried it wasn’t up to code, and was ready to tear down walls to look at the construction underneath the sheet rock. My clients father, however, being the wise man that he was, said “This may not be perfect, but is this condo going to fall down, is this place sound, or do we need to find another place?”, to which the Uncle replied, “No, actually the place is pretty great, I was one of the inspectors on this project, and I like the builder”. At that point, I was ready to kiss feet and proclaim the dad King.
My rather long winded point here is that sometimes relatives (as much as we love ‘em) will offer a very subjective view any issues associated with your home, so you are better off with a 3rd party’s objective view on a home inspection. They will give weight to the serious problems, tell you which issues are minimal, and even offer solutions, so that you can make informed decisions.
Well, I have run over my allotted space for this post, stay tuned for other Gray Hair Turning activities, but remember we are here to help you in any way we can. We love our clients, love to serve them, love to answer questions, love to help them through any challenges…but if you are indulging in gray hair turning activities… Stop It!
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