It always amazes me that seemingly normal people can turn completely irrational during a real estate transaction. An elderly buyer client of mine had very specific requirements on what he wanted and more importantly DIDN’T want while looking for a home.
After much searching we found a home he liked. The offer was made and accepted. Despite my encouragement to do so the buyer absolutely refused to have a home inspection done, and thankfully I had the foresight to have him put in writing that the home inspection was offered but he elected not to have one done.
Escrow proceeded smoothly until a few days before closing when instead of having an out of town bank wire the funds to escrow he hand carried a cashiers check in and raised much ruckus when escrow and local banks informed him that even a cashiers check requires 17 days to clear. We finally got a bank to clear it in 7 days and I thought that the challenges were finally over. The client did the final walk thru of the house and okayed everything.
So where’s the horror story you ask? Here it comes!
We proceed to closing. He signs all the papers. Escrow messengers the docs. Typically here recording happens the day after signing as escrow has to deliver originals to the bureau, which is on a different island, and occupancy is given on recordation.
Later that afternoon the buyer calls me wanting the keys. I explained AGAIN that he gets the keys the next day, and he goes ballistic. The next call I get is from escrow saying he was in their office and refusing to leave until they either give him the keys or return his money, which of course they can’t do as they don’t have keys and have already deposited the funds and sent the docs to the bureau.
I proceed to try and sort it out with the seller’s agent and finally get them to agree to let him have the keys so escrow wouldn’t have to call the police to have him removed from their office.
I give him the keys and thought all was well. Within 30 minutes I get a call from my client saying he’s canceling the deal because when he got to the house the electric had been turned off! I had reminded him 2 weeks before to go to the electric company and have it transferred to his name as of the expected closing date, but he didn’t do it. So I go to the house, having made arrangements with the electric company to come out and turn it on that very day, but he’s in such a state that he’s just ranting and raving, and then proceeds to tell me that someone has been in the house and damaged the cabinets in the kitchen.
We go to look and they are the same as they have always been every time we went to the house, and I explained this to him, at which point he begins yelling at me saying I am the one who went into the house and damaged the cabinets!
Being completely irrational at this point he has somehow managed to come up with this idea that I caused the damage so that I could sell the house again. At that point I told him I was not going to be yelled at and was leaving. I haven’t heard from him again.
A few days ago I get a call from my broker saying she got a call from my client about a house he wants to buy in a different area. When she told him he should call me he said not in 1000 years as I am a cheat!
She reminded him that she had also talked to him when he was buying the house so she must be a cheat too in his eyes. She wondered why he would think that, so I told her his idea that I damaged the house so that I could list it.
There was a long pause, then, she said, “Darn I never would have thought of that marketing technique!”
I considered putting this under “Marketing ideas” but decided it probably isn’t a good technique to use!
