The House with a Pool...

This deal was actually about three years into my real estate career, so I quite a few completed deals under my belt.  However, even with those deals done, I made a rookie mistake and it almost cost my clients, and me, a lot of money.

My client was a couple, Don and Sherry that had a teenage boy (17) and a teenage girl (15).  I knew them both: she was a former colleague and I had met Don several times at various social and work gatherings.  It was the second marriage for both: the boy was his and the girl was hers.  They wanted a home they could call their own and that was big enough for them all to have their own space.

It was almost an ideal situation for an agent, a well-qualified buyer (approval letter in hand for $450k) that did not have to sell a home.  The only contingency would be a home inspection.  Easy day.

Here is the criteria they gave me…the high school was an important consideration, as was the commute both parents had.  The choice of cities was narrowed down to Virginia Beach and Chesapeake (Ok, well not exactly “narrowed down” but it was a start).  Price range was $375k to $425k.  Their “Must Haves” included 5 bedrooms (or 4 with a FROG), 2.5 or 3 baths, big yard, big garage, on a cul de sac.

We started looking at houses in August; by October they had seen 41 houses.  There were a bunch of different reasons for that; he didn’t like it, she didn’t like it, the kids didn’t like it, whatever.  Now normally I would not have allowed a client to see that many houses without saying something to them.  However, they were good people, I knew them both, they really were not that demanding or in a hurry to buy and ultimately it would be an easy deal.

Finally we found a home they both loved.  It had everything they wanted and then some, it even had an in-ground pool.  It was a beautiful 2-story home on a cul de sac, 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, hardwood floors throughout; kitchens and baths updated.  The schools the home was zoned for were the best rated in the city.  The yard was about 2/3 of an acre…huge in-ground pool with a pool house…an enormous deck (20’ x 40’)…beautifully landscaped.  The commute for both Don and Sherry was about 30 minutes.  All for $405,000

The only criticism was in the master bath.  There was a large plate glass window adjacent to the jetted tub that was not safety glass.  Don didn’t like that is was regular glass, an obvious safety hazard.

Don and Sherry didn’t have to talk long.  They loved the house and wanted to me to present a full price offer with two contingencies: a home inspection and replace the glass in the master bath.  The paperwork took longer than it did for them to make a decision.

I had an answer from the Listing Agent (LA) within 2 hours…the Sellers accepted the contract, except for replacing the glass window.  Now this was a $400 window that was going to sour an otherwise great deal for everyone involved.  The LA and I went round and round on the window with no resolution.  Don was insisting the Seller replace it and the Seller was adamant about not replacing it. Ultimately I decided that I would give Don and Sherry a new window as a housewarming gift.

All was right in the world…until I realized that I did not add an inspection of the pool into the contract.  So essentially the pool would convey “As Is” and if there was anything wrong the Seller would not pay for it to be fixed.  Remember the “rookie mistake” I mentioned at the beginning?  Oops.

Ok, so “oops” is a bit of an understatement, just ask my Broker: her reaction was just a bit more than “oops” when I told her what I did.  So, how to fix it?  It still had to be inspected and possible repairs made.  I contacted the LA to see if I could get the name of the company the Seller used for the pool.  It turned out to be a small local company.  I contacted the company, spoke to the owner (Ed), and explained my situation.  Essentially, I threw myself at his mercy.

Ed agreed to come out and inspect the pool for a $50 charge, down from the $95 he usually charged.  If he found any problems, he would work with me on the cost.  Ed did tell me that he wasn’t going to guarantee me anything.  I scheduled the inspection for the next day.  Why put it off, right?

So, I meet Ed at the house and we go to the backyard in order for him to inspect the pool.  He starts walking around the pool, poking and prodding the liner.  At the pump and filter station he is on his knees pushing this lever and pulling on this cover and flipping that switch.  Ed isn’t saying much, a grunt here and a grunt there.  Every once in a while I hear a “huh” or some other ambiguous sound.  I think he was keeping me in suspense on purpose.

When all was said and done Ed had good news for me: he didn’t find anything materially wrong with the pool or the associated systems and would give a me a letter stating that.  I dodged a bullet on that one. 

I had kept Don and Sherry in the loop about what had happened.  I had accepted full responsibility for the mistake and assured them I would resolve it.  It looked I had done that and it didn’t cost me more than $50.

What was the lesson I learned?  There were actually a couple.  1) Don’t think that just because I have experience that I can’t make a mistake and 2) Always have a second set of eyes look at the contract before submitting it to the other side (LA or Selling Agent).

Everyone makes mistakes: it’s human nature.  The difference is how we deal with them.  Do we learn from them?  If so, do we repeat them?  I hope they’re not repeated if it’s learned.  I learned my lessons on that one.  Even if I do not have a 2^nd person to look at the contract, it forces me to go line by line a minimum of two more times after signing it.

 

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