Avoiding a Wrong Decision

A longtime client called me last week to see if I would provide my opinion on a home that one of his employees was considering in the Central Valley. The price was less than half what a comparable home would cost here, and the entire property had been recently renovated, so on the surface it sounded like a good deal. 

I let him know I wouldn’t feel comfortable providing an opinion without seeing the home in person, and since it was two hours away, I probably wasn’t the right agent for the job. But it so happened I was already going to be in the area over the weekend, so I arranged to meet with the prospective buyer at the property and at least lay eyes on it.

When I arrived, the listing agent and her partner were also present to show us around. I learned that the agent also happened to be the owner and that she had recently purchased the property and fixed it up.

The property was located directly next to a levee in a neighborhood surrounded by other older homes in generally dilapidated condition. There hadn’t been a geohazard map report included with the disclosure package but with the levee nearby it seemed likely to be in a flood zone.

Walking in, I noted that a scented candle had been lit on the kitchen counter. I asked the agent if there had been odor or moisture issues with the home and she responded that there had been, but they had been checked out by a physical inspector and an engineer, and any issues had been addressed per their recommendations.

While the exterior of the home showed some lingering signs of neglect under the skin, the interior had been beautifully upgraded with high-end cabinets, countertops and appliances, and all new luxury vinyl flooring. There was a brand-new HVAC system and the bathrooms were outfitted with the latest in modern fixtures and décor—basically your archetypical flip treatment—but the floors throughout the home had a general unevenness to them, and the ceiling height was less than the standard 8 feet in most of the rooms. 

When I located the access hatch in one of the closets, I discovered not one but four layers of built-up flooring and underlayment in various states of decay under the vinyl planks, and shining my phone light I could see that the entire subarea had been lined with black plastic sheeting, with new piers installed next to old stacks of randomly placed bricks and blocks. 

The clincher was when I reviewed their Purchase Agreement and saw that the agent was not only proposing to represent both herself and the buyer in a dual agency: She had the buyer paying her a 2% commission on top of paying the full list price, which was nearly twice what she had paid for the place a scant 3 months earlier. I had seen enough! 

I advised the buyer to cancel whatever plans she had to buy the property and put her in touch with our agent who covers that region in case she wanted local representation.

Sometimes our best work is in helping people avoid making a wrong decision.