People love watching HGTV and real estate reality shows. Most of the fake drama is staged and they make buying a house look like a breeze.
I had some buyers under contract for a Pompano condo. It was an estate sale and the sellers listed it before it was ready to be sold. Things got delayed for quite a few months.
One reason was for probate and the other was for some outdated permit that they had to close out. They were extremely slow about doing any of this and would freak out anytime we would ask them for an update.
We went to contract at the beginning of May and whenever we would ask for updates from the seller’s side, they would just come back with annoyed emails, rarely giving us any updated information.
The more people involved in a transaction, the longer it takes and the more complicated it can be. There were two sisters handling the estate, a Miami granddaughter attorney (who knew nothing about real estate law) and a probate attorney.
I am known for being extremely on top of things in my transactions and my real estate attorney is also great with follow-up.
It was the middle of August and we hadn’t heard from them in a couple of weeks. I sent a friendly email to all parties:
Hi,
Sorry to be a bother, but could I get an update on the two issues we are waiting on?
I would greatly appreciate it.
We would like to close this month if possible.
Thank you.
The seller’s response?
You ARE a bother – when the two pending issues are resolved, you will be the first to know.
Till then, get off my back. I don’t appreciate the pressure and I can assure you that I want to close and be
done with you sooner than later.
At this same time, our attorney’s office sent them a friendly email checking in as well.
Good Afternoon,
Please confirm the status of the file.
When will everything be ready to close?
Thank you
The granddaughter attorney wrote back:
I don’t mean to sound flip, and I understand how eager everyone is to get this done, but my crystal ball is broken so I can’t predict when the Judge will issue the letters of administration (everything has been submitted), nor when the engineer will complete his report and submit it the City for approval/closing of the ancient permit. Hopefully both will happen any time now, and we’ll let everyone know as soon as they do. Thank you.
A week later we received no update. I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt and called the granddaughter attorney thinking maybe I could get somewhere over the phone. She told me not to call her again and would not discuss anything with me. She also sent the following email.
Please do not email or call my office again and, similarly, please do not contact (Probate Attorney), who has been asked not to respond. As I tried to explain on the phone, our REALTOR® has up-to-date information on what is being done to resolve the permit issue, and I will let her and (Buyer’s Attorney) know when we have what we need from the court – hopefully both will occur shortly. Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.
Yes, these are people we are trying to give money to, to close on a transaction. It is pretty ridiculous for someone to would treat anyone that way, regardless of the circumstances.
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