Not All Home Buying/Selling Experiences Are Easy...

With so many different people involved in a home sale, from the buyers and sellers themselves to the real estate agents, loan officers, home inspectors, appraisers, title closers, etc...., there is plenty of room for human error.  We'd be lying if we said we can promise a flawless, stress-free experience for you. However, we are proud that we have developed a team of trusted, highly skilled, and experienced people in all of the relevant phases of a transaction.  

While many of our clients use our team of people and can report that buying or selling their home was a piece of cake, unfortunately we've often found ourselves pulling our hair out alongside others who have not had such a pleasant experience due to someone else involved in the transaction.

We asked some of our clients to share their not-so-stellar experiences so that our future clients can better prepare for and avoid a potential bumpy road in their home buying or selling experiences.  These are their stories, in their own words. 

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Experience #1--Newlyweds

Property Purchased:  Single family home for $174,900 in December 2008. Traditional sale.

What happened: 1) The mortgage person. We had heard about the City Living loan program and were interested in it, but we were told that only a select number of [loan officers] were certified in dealing with these types of loans. Our [loan officer] was on the list. Although we called several people before her, she was the only one available to meet with us right away. [The loan officer] made several mistakes that were frustrating and stressful for us. She initially gave us wrong information about the type of loan that we pursued (one that we actually didn't qualify for since our desired property was a foreclosure and not eligible). We figured this out on our own, after we already had an offer in on the property. We ended up having to pull that offer. We only stayed with the same [loan officer] because we were able to negotiate a lower interest rate on behalf of that error. Even so, she was difficult to get answers from, difficult to get a hold of, failed to give us what I consider to be important information about our mortgage, and even made errors on our documentation (like misspelling our last name). Luckily, our home insurance agent caught the misspelling and so we were able to fix it prior to closing. She was also an hour late to closing, which only helped solidify the feeling that she really didn't care about us as customers. 2) The Home Inspector. The first home inspector we got was very unprofessional and did not answer any questions. The owner of the company gave us a second inspection (at Karen's request/demand) but it still was not very thorough. 3) The Seller's Agent. The Seller's Agent was a part timer who did not have time to perform his duties in a timely manner. It was frustrating for Karen and us. 4) The Seller. The seller did not complete the list of repairs we had both agreed on after the inspection. We almost walked away from the house on principal alone the night before the close [when we realized the repairs were not done]. I don't know if we could have been any more firm with him, but it was frustrating. [The repairs were finally done properly before we closed]. There were times when we wished we could just talk to the sellers directly.  There were a lot of emotions (especially pride) present during our house buying experience, and we were not expecting it nor prepared for handling it.  I think that buying your first house is stressful no matter what you do, but one of the most stressful things for me was that I had our agent and the seller's agent between myself and the seller. It seemed like talking to the seller was like playing the telephone game, where everything I said would get watered down, and the same with him.

Advice to Future Buyers: Choose your mortgage [loan officer] carefully. Do your research (don't just trust what they say). Get everything in writing. Get a real estate agent you can trust (we had this, luckily). They are well tuned to the current market and can provide guidance in making a reasonable offer and other negotiations. Be prepared for strong emotions, and try not to get stressed when things don't go as planned. Look at as many properties as you can. Don't settle. Buy the house you want, you are probably going to be stuck there for 5-10 years. Only buy what you can afford. Have fun.

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Experience #2--Single First Time Home Buyer

Property Purchased: Foreclosure. $145,000. Closed on June 30 2009.

What Happened:  [Prior to closing], I had paint chips [on the exterior of the house] that had to be picked up like 15 times [as a requirement to be approved for FHA financing]. Anything the [FHA appraiser] could find [during the appraisal] to write up, he would. For example, (besides paint chips) the color of paint I used to fix some peeling paint [did not match closely enough], [and] a bucket under the [kitchen] sink that was there from the first day I looked at the home [the appraiser ordered it to be removed before FHA would finance the purchase]. I wish they would have let me buy the house and then give me a time line to fix the things they wrote up. Instead of me putting money into a house that I did not even own.

Advice to Future Buyers:  It takes time, it will pay off in the long run. Karen is great to work with and she fought for me all the way until I signed my name on the papers.

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Experience #3--Young Couple Starting Out

Property Purchased: We purchased a foreclosure for $74,900 and we closed on June 10, 2009.

What Happened: 1) The Mortgage Person. We connected with this company and person because that is where one of us had a bank account. We were not told about them prior to this. We came into the situation completely clueless and wished we had looked around more. Buying a foreclosure is hard enough as it is and our loan officer was not the most honest or trustworthy person. We feel that she took advantage of our inexperience. By the time things started to get really bad, we were already too far invested in the process and our home that we had to ride out the storm. 2) The Seller. The bank that owned the property was not the best either. We were never a priority of theirs. The sellers agent tried her best but there was only so much that she could do. Getting a hold of anyone on the other side of the deal was damn near impossible making it extremely difficult to move forward in the sale. Our inexperience, being naive, purchasing a foreclosure, dealing with the city of Brooklyn Park, our incompetent loan officer and the company she worked for [made this transaction difficult/stressful]. This was the most heartbreaking, scary and stressful experience that we have ever had. The obstacles seemed endless. Karen was our angel in this experience and kept us sane. She always had an effective and creative way of dealing with these issues. She definitely thought outside of the box and we feel that she always had our best interest in mind.

It was very easy for the other people involved to put us on the back burner, because we were not making them very much money! Simple as that. Who cares about two “kids” in their early twenties that hardly were approved for much at all? Our loan officer could have cared less about us. After a long and draining experience the day of closing finally came. It was monumental for us. We signed the papers and thought we had actually done it, it was the best feeling in the world…. followed by absolute heartbreak. We thought it was a done deal, but unfortunately, our loan officers’ lack of attention and detail made it so that we could not close, even after we had signed the papers! I will not bore you with the technicalities of the situation but bottom line this is something that could have been avoided. We had the deed in our hand and then minutes later it was taken away from us. Thank God for Karen. She picked us up; we wasted no time in getting the ball rolling to fix what had happened. We ended up closing two weeks later; we were very guarded and did not get to enjoy that day as much as we should. One thing is for sure, we will never take our home for granted and learned so much about this industry.

Advice to Future Buyers:  The only thing I wouldn’t change was our realtor and the home we purchased. I would definitely look around a lot more at different mortgage companies and done my research! At the time we felt so lucky that someone had actually approved us when the reality is that they were lucky that we came to them for business. They always had the upper hand over us which should not be the case. This is our starter home so we will be buying again. Next time we will be approved for much more. I will not go back to them and I will tell everyone I know to steer clear! They could have had a customer for life. Do not give up! Stay calm! Once you enter your home for the first time knowing that it is YOURS, it is the best feeling in the world. All of the frustration, tears and stress is worth it when it is all said and done. You may not have a clue what you are doing but you will learn as you go. Surround yourself with honest, trustworthy people that can help guide you through this process.

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Experience #4--From Renter to Home Owner

Property Purchased: Traditional home at $109500, and expected to close on November 19. Still waiting as of Dec 1, 2009!

What Happened: 1) The Mortgage Person. Company was recommended by a friend whose husband works there. Loan officer was not experienced in down payment assistance programs, and made me believe from the beginning that I qualified [for the program], until a week before scheduled closing I found out that I do not qualify. Turns out that loan officer did not calculate [numbers] properly, and I did not qualify for down payment assistance.

Advice to Future Buyers: I would have taken Home [buying] class before or just as I started looking for houses. For a $35-50 fee for class, [it] could have saved me lots of stress over mortgage loans. I also would have listened to my agent and gone with different loan officer. Be honest with your realtor. I believe if I was not upfront with Karen from the moment I got an email from her, we would not be here. I explained my situation to her, and what she can expect from me, and it worked as a charm! When it comes to loan officers ask about experience, especially if you plan on using any programs for down payment assistance. Have them confirm everything before you get your hopes up. Take a home [buying] class. There is so much information in that class when it comes to preparing to buy, and on loans and programs available, that you could get more assistance then you think you can. That class, and program they talked about, saved my house deal.