[quote=garysears]CA renter, I did not cover my deal elsewhere. I don’t really feel it deserved its own post so I’ll briefly answer. The full story would be book length. I guess I don’t feel bad about thread jacking a dead thread.
The property was 9324 Westhill Road 92040.
My offer was 20% down conventional. Unfortunately that means it must conform to FNMA guidelines since no one is writing loans they cannot sell to the government (unless you want to pay hard money 10-12%). The property was rezoned after a legal second unit was added in the 70s. Do to the nonconforming zoning the bank finally decided after 2.5 months that they would not make the loan.
I made a lower cash offer (hard money financing) but the listing agent refused to submit to the seller. Prior to my loan being denied the listing agent had relisted as active (with no mention of escrow and at a lower price than our contract amount) and apparently found an buyer they could double end the deal through.
The listing agent waited out the escrow extension, had the seller cancel escrow due to my alleged failure to perform (didn’t send my offer to the seller even though it was sent as an amended contract), and sold the property to the buyer they had so they could double the commission (speculation on my part but I firmly believe this is what happened).
My preconceived notions about real estate were confirmed. Mainly, that fraud, misrepresentation, dishonesty, and lack of ethics is the norm in every aspect of most deals. I made a lot of dumb mistakes and am out a lot more money than I should be. A terrible first escrow experience.
Bottom line is I doubt the value of a buyers agent and will probably never go that route again. More to the point I think the entire realtor concept is outdated and flawed. I think appraisers are worthless at best and probably any left at this point are too new to be competent or otherwise lack the skills to get a job in a legitimate profession. I intend to sign a lease for another year and really don’t know if I’ll ever buy real estate in California. The current market is crap and there isn’t a single property in the county I am interested in.
But I can’t keep from watching the MLS and visiting here since it has been my habit for so long.
Marc Carpenter is the listing agent and a real POS in my book.[/quote]
Very sorry to hear about your experience, gary. I believe you had mentioned it being a short sale or REO??? If so, have you thought about going directly to the lender to show them what happened? That realtor should be put out of business (and I know this happens a lot).
Without a doubt, this market is more fraudulent and convoluted than it’s ever been. It’s at least as bad as during the bubble, IMHO.
We share your frustration and are trying to adjust to the fact that we might never buy real estate here either. I’ve tried to spend a lot less time on these blogs because it makes me so angry and frustrated to see what’s going on. Time to just live life instead of watching RE like a hawk and studying the minutae of our global financial system (a habit of too many years).
I wish you the best of luck in your home search. Hopefully, things will change in the future.
