I'm burned about an Oklahoma City Burn Notice

I am not given to rants despite the fact it is taught by many blogging experts as legitimate. But every so often I feel like a Don Quixote tilting at windmills. So excuse my impotent rage but I have to tell you about my day yesterday.

My team works short sales, so when a potential client found us on the internet and said come over to list it I did. If you work short sales like I do in Oklahoma City you here a lot of stories and this was one of those legitimate hardships, but what I got was a lot more and it got me burned up. I was viewing the house which was in poor condition and I say something suspicious in the kitchen among other red flags. I opened the cabinet door and saw this, the sign of a fire. The cabinets had a very bad repaint onlky around the stove and the backsplash had contact paper over it. In peeling back the contact paper I was that a good size fire had erupted. They bought the house anyway. The home also had mold remeditation, termites, and termite damage I kid you not. FYI, mold remediation is a rare event in OKC. This was by no means eveything but let me give you a play by play of this comic-tragedy.

The Buyer. This just had to have a large house, so they bought a used home from a builder known for the cheapest construction. They ignored the burns, the bad roof, the mold where concrete had to be drilled out from the slab, the missing concrete under the covered patio that creates a lack, the bad windows, and the termite problem. They felt that they could fix it up without getting any estinmates. They could have bought a home in great condition 800 feet smaller. Yes made big mistakes, but where was the wing men? Talk to me Goose.

The Realtor. Knowing all of this the Realtor told them that she felt they shouldn't buy the house. When the buyers told her that they wanted it anyway instead of refusing to write it, she said well if that is what you want I have an oblifgation to write it. What the? She had an obligation to use her expertise, knowledge, and integrity to just say no I will not be a part of this and I release you from the contract. I would have done that and if you need a reason beyond ethics and altruism, I would worry about future lawsuits.

The Inspector. Not once did the inspector mention the fire despite the fact it was obvious. This should have been noted beyond jsut considering this was cosmetic. Do you think that wood on the cabinet doors that was burned off, the bad repaint, and the wrinkled contact paper should have been a clue? Obviously not. They were paid by the buyers and had a duty to them and did not act on it. I have asked for them to find the inspection report becasue I want to know who this is and investigate filing a complaint.

The VA Appraiser. You heard me right, the VA Appraiser. You know the ones for government laons we think are picky. No mention of the fire from the appraiser. No mention of fixing the termite damage from the report by the pest inspector. The only reason the mold was cited was becasue of the relocation company reuqirements for inspection. This is like telling an alcoholic that you are limited to three drinks. The appraiser as enabler.

The lender. Where was the lender on this. This was not a suprime, Alt-A, or negative am loan, it was a fixed VA. This loan was done three years ago when I thought guidelines and protections were put in place. Obviously not.

Conclusion. I am one of those people that wonder sometimes, should the government protect people from making huge mistakes, and normally I say no. And in this case I still stay with that. What gets me is the chain of incompetence here. As Realtors are we just order takers and collect a commission? Never. Is an inspector there to bust the deal if it should be busted? Absolutely. Should an apprasier properly assess condition problems this large as well as value. You betcha. Should we tolerate this? No. It is time that we quit saying, but we may have to do business with these people. Take a chance, file a complaint, and do what ethically we are supposed to do. Represent the best interest of our clients no matter how foolish they are. Besides, most people don't know the details about a real estate transaction and they rely on us to help them. In this case it helped them into a possible foreclosure.