Real Estate Called Out

For Part 2 of this buyer's story (listen to Part 1), we want to focus on what happened with the new build lender.  Why did her closing costs increase by 15% and why she didn't know they used points to buy down her rate?

Joining the co-host seat for this episode is Chelle Prunkel.   Chelle is a Senior Loan Officer who has seen and heard it all.    In this episode, she talks about how to find points on your estimate, what can impact your closing costs, and many other tips for new buyers hitting the market.


Contact Chelle
More about mortgage points

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In this two part series, we share a buyer's story in which she felt steered into building a new home.    Not only did her agent stop communicating with her during the process (and still try to collect 4% commission), but she also discovered many issues with her loan from the builder.

In part 1, Real Estate Attorney and Agent, David Tkacik, shares his thoughts on what went wrong in the story and what you should expect from your agent when building a new home. 

David and Wendy also discuss some "gotcha's" when building new, the importance of getting an inspection, and tips on dealing with the builders warranty department.

More importantly, David is a great advocate for buyer rebates in his state.   In our discussion, he shares how some new build buyers are able to save money by using a buyer rebate at the closing table. 

For those wondering, here is the article that upset a few people in the industry. :)

Stay tuned for part 2 as we discuss the issues this buyer faced with the builders lender.

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Have a story you would like to share with other sellers or buyers?
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This episode is for you if you are a buyer getting ready to hit the market!

This first-time homebuyer had their agent refuse to submit an offer for them on TWO separate occasions.   This second time, they wanted to offer 4k over asking with 4k in closing costs. Their agent told them it was insulting to offer that and compared their offer to a home that sold for 10K over asking SIX MONTHS AGO.

For this episode, we bring in our favorite agent on Tiktok, Kim Drakulich. Kim gets honest with us about why it's baffling that this agent would refuse to submit the offer. She also shares her experience with newer agents who haven't mastered the art of negotiation in a changing market.

We also get into red flags you should be looking for when interviewing listing and buyer agents, as well as the one thing Kim thinks consumers misunderstand about agents.

Kim's Profile
Kim's Tiktok

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Have a story you would like to share with other sellers or buyers?
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We have a guilty habit of watching the real estate start up scene and trying to figure out all the ways they make money off of consumers.     One start up in particular, was offering consumers money in advance (between $500 and $5,000), as long as the homeowner used the brokerage to sell their home at some point.    No matter how much we dug into their website, we couldn't figure out the catch, but that all changed when this article came out.

This company is essentially putting a 40 year lien on the customer's home.

For this episode, we asked Real Estate Reporter, Rebecca Liebson at the Tampa Bay Times, to join us in dissecting this company to learn what happens if you take their money, what happens if you sell with someone else, the lack luster response from the National Association of Realtors, and what this looks like with over 29,000 customers still active in this program.

Highlighted in the podcast:
Rebecca's article
The ads and website before and after this article came out

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"What did I just do?"
"Shouldn't I feel happier?"
"I just don't feel comfortable in my new home."

These are all comments that we've read or heard time and time again.  The reality is that these feelings can be totally normal and there are ways to get yourself out of this homebuyer funk.

Our co host for this special episode is Kimberly Zeidner.   Kimberly is an Orlando Florida Realtor with not only years of experience in real estate, but also has a degree in psychology.   Kimberly shares with us the reality of homebuyer blues, how to combat them, and things you can do to set yourself for happy homeowner success. 

She also shares a few tips on meeting new neighbors, tips to prepare to buy, and why it's ok to fire your real estate agent if you don't feel they are a fit during the process.


Kimberly on Selling Later Search
Kimberly on Instagram

Got a question?

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Have a story you would like to share with other sellers or buyers?
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This homeowner was flabbergasted to see their listing was not only LIVE in the MLS (it was supposed to just be a "Coming Soon" home) but also that it was listed $75,000 less than what they agreed to.     To make it worse, the next day the home was priced up by $25,000.

Can an agent list your home before you are ready?   Can they change the price of the home in the MLS without your consent?

To dive into these issues, we recruited one of our favorite Dallas real estate agents, Steve Lester.   Steve shares how not only should that agent have written consent to make any pricing change but also gives advice on how that homeowner should report their agent to the real estate commission.   

Steve also shares what questions you should be asking a listing agent before hiring them, how he strategizes a home sale, and how things look different in this changing market.  

Got a question?

State laws and regulations may vary.

Have a story you would like to share with other sellers or buyers?
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Can a listing agent refuse to let the buyer use a specific home inspector?

In this epsiode, the buyer was thrilled to have their offer accepted, but when it came time for the home inspection, the listing agent refused to let them use their home inspector because he has "killed 7 deals" for the listing agent.   

After many back and forth emails and threats (plus a letter from a lawyer) the buyers were able to use their preferred home inspector.   

Can a listing agent do this?

To dissect this story, we enlisted the help of Tradd Bastian.   Tradd is a real estate agent in Charleston, South Carolina and has actually experienced a similar situation with a homebuilder.  Hear his opinion on what went wrong and what you should know if you get into this scenario.     Plus, Tradd and Wendy share their experiences with new builds and what you should know before building a home!

Contact Tradd

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Have a story you would like to share with other sellers or buyers?
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A buyer agent was thrilled to tell her single dad client that he won out of 18 offers!   But when she asked for the signed contract back the next day, the listing agent suddenly claimed that her clients accepted a cash offer the day before?

The story continues as the listing agent "tries to get out of the deal with the cash buyer broker."   Unfortunately, that didn't happen and the single dad lost out on the home.   Being curious, the buyer agent looked up the sale a few weeks later and learned that the listing agent ended up being a dual agent on the deal (representing the buy side and sell side).    Did the seller actually sign a contract the day before, or was this dad's offer used to get more cash from the cash buyer?

For this episode, we asked veteran Chicago agent, Marc Dumas, to help us out!  Hear how he would have handled this situation for his buyer and in his opinion, what might have happened in this scenario.    Marc also shares some tips on working with agents and what's going on in the Chicago housing market right now!

 Find Marc Dumas

Got a question?

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Have a story you would like to share with other sellers or buyers?
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When we came across the story, we found so many red flags that we knew we needed an expert to help dissect this one!   Helping us untangle this mess is our favorite straight shooter agent, Steve Frazier from Platinum Realty in Kansas City.

This buyer went to see a property and was connected with an agent via a search site (you can guess which big site it was).    This buyer claims the agent refused to place an offer for them unless he had 20% down.   While the buyer thought this was weird, he went ahead and cashed out some stocks.    When he called the agent back a few days later, ready to go with 20%, the agent told him it was already under contract.

What that agent didn't tell him was that the agent was the buyer under contract on that house.

Do you need 20% down?   Should that agent have purchased the home behind his back?   What you should do if your agent refused to submit your offer?

Contact Steve With Questions

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Have a story you would like to share with other sellers or buyers?
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When this buyer told their agent they wanted to use companies other than the in-house title and in-house insurance company, their agent lost it and went as far as to scare them from changing companies.  But, when the buyer caught their agent in a potential lie, everything changed.

Our co-host for today, Matt Ward, chimes in on what went wrong, what was total BS, and what clients should know about in house services and kickbacks.     Wendy and Matt go one step further by sharing  examples of kickbacks that some companies give out at this very moment when a certain agent gets use to use their "preferred title agent."

Tune in to hear what happened and why you should ALWAYS shop around for services that you pay for.

Matt Ward's Profile
Matt's Offbeat Agent Forum

This podcast is opinion only based on local experience.   State laws and regulations may vary per state.

Got a question?

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