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Brian - L.V.

Returning House To Owner

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Hey Everyone! I'm in the process of returning the house to the owner for a SLO that I did where the t/b trashed the house. I hired people to fully clean, paint, and to do a restorative cleaning to the carpets so it would look good when I gave it back. The house is pretty much ready to go, so the homeowner hired a realtor to rent out the house for him (he's overseas right now). The issue is that I believe the realtor is being unreasonable about some things that he wants done in order for the house to be "rentable", therefore making the homeowner upset with me. It's a decent house, but the realtor's basically asking for a palace back.

 

I agree with them on some of the stuff (trim the hedge, pull a few weeds, & scrub the grout in the entrance), but the realtor is even saying things like he thinks some or all of the carpet needs to be replaced since there's a few small spots here and there and some traffic wear. So the homeowner is getting upset with me via email due to the stuff this realtor is saying. I checked out the house and would say it's back to the way I received it, minus some normal wear and tear over the past 2 years like I mentioned with the carpets.

 

I'm wondering if anyone has any insight into what to do should my idea and his idea of the house being back to normal differ greatly, like with the carpets?

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Realtors grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr :wub:

 

Brian, I think they are just pushing you around because now the owner has a vacancy. And it will be easier for the realtor to rent the place with brand new carpet at your expense. Realtors sound tough until you stand up to them. Your agreement is not with the realtor. So, if the realtor is contacting/bullying you, nicely/firmly ask him/her to stop contacting "harassing" you.

 

From what you've said it sounds like normal wear and tear. How old are the carpets? Typically for me carpeting last 5 years, then need replacing. If you truly believe it is normal wear and tear, tell the owner you will not be replacing the carpet or doing any more work. You’re done!

 

Are you able or have you taken pictures of how you left the house? If you can do it! Just to keep for your records. Annnnnnnd do you have pictures of the house when you took possession? This is your defense. The seller has to prove damages. Do you think the seller has before pictures? Doubt it.

 

You need to cut the ties with the owner now. Let him get his licks in on the phone (drop the emails-nothing in writing) as you tell the owner all the work you have completed without mentioning to the owner it was trashed. This is business don't worry about it. There are no guarantees that a tenant/buyer will buy. Stay firm, keep your receipts & pics and move on. And don't mention any kind of legal stuff. No need to put crazy ideas in anybody's head.

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Realtors sound tough until you stand up to them. Your agreement is not with the realtor. So, if the realtor is contacting/bullying you, nicely/firmly ask him/her to stop contacting "harassing" you.
It's not necessarily the realtor talking to me, but telling the seller what he feels needs to be done in order to make the house "rentable". The seller is currently overseas for his job, which makes it harder since he has to go by what the realtor says vs. seeing it himself.

 

From what you've said it sounds like normal wear and tear. How old are the carpets? Typically for me carpeting last 5 years, then need replacing. If you truly believe it is normal wear and tear, tell the owner you will not be replacing the carpet or doing any more work.
I believe the carpets are the original that came with the house, which was built in 1999. So condsidering the age, it's still in good condition.

 

Are you able or have you taken pictures of how you left the house? If you can do it! Just to keep for your records. Annnnnnnd do you have pictures of the house when you took possession? This is your defense. The seller has to prove damages. Do you think the seller has before pictures? Doubt it.
I'm going to go back over to the house and do a few little clean up chores that the realtor mentioned to save a fight. It'll only take a couple of hours to hopefully build some goodwill. I'm not about to start doing the major stuff the realtor is talking about obviously.

 

You need to cut the ties with the owner now. Let him get his licks in on the phone (drop the emails-nothing in writing) as you tell the owner all the work you have completed without mentioning to the owner it was trashed. This is business don't worry about it. There are no guarantees that a tenant/buyer will buy. Stay firm, keep your receipts & pics and move on. And don't mention any kind of legal stuff. No need to put crazy ideas in anybody's head.
That's totally what I'm looking to do asap. It makes it harder since we pretty much have to communicate through email, but I've been saving a copy of everything that I've said in case. I didn't mention anything about a lawsuit, but the homeowner mentioned something to the effect that if he doesn't get the house back in EXACTLY THE SAME CONDITION as two years ago, he's gonna "show me how upset he's getting". I don't want any trouble with this, but am not going to shell out $2-3k over this either.

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Tell the realtor that you would be more than happy to provide a home improvement service for his client. that the home is now in better condition than it was before. that we are not at a stage of communication of he said she said. But if the realtor needs work to be done that your staff would be more than happy to provide it for a fee.

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Brian, I don't suppose your contract says anything about the condition that the property will be returned? And did you take pics of the house when you signed it up?

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I didn't mention anything about a lawsuit, but the homeowner mentioned something to the effect that if he doesn't get the house back in EXACTLY THE SAME CONDITION as two years ago, he's gonna "show me how upset he's getting".
Assuming you're using the Naked Investor contracts there is a paragraph #25 or #26 that limits your liability for any damages the owner may claim. Keep that in your back pocket if the owner makes any legal type threats. That's your trump card.

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Brian, you have received alot of good advice already here. I suspect this is much ado about nothing and will eventually fizzle out.

The homeowner says he wants the property back in the exact condition it was in two years ago? That's laughable, and if he is fool enough to tell that to an attorney he'll be told the same. The catch all phrase in these situations is "excluding normal wear and tear". And that's precisely what occurs with a carpet over a two year period.

Be polite, but be firm. I'd call the Realtor directly to let him know you are not some unknown entity he can dump on. I love Jonathan's idea: tell the Realtor you've done all required of you, and that if he wants a professional level of cleaning you'd be happy to quote him a price for your services.

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Hey everyone. Thanks for the advice so far. The homeowner just emailed me back after I've been hounding him over the past couple of days to take care of some of those minor issues the realtor brought up with the grout being cleaned, pantry painted, and the lawn being taken care of. He basically told me that instead of letting me into the house to take care of this stuff, he's waiting for professional estimates. So he's essentially saying he wants to send me $1000 bill for some minor issues. In that case, I'd imagine that they're going to do any work that they want done and try to charge me for it. Any further suggestions?

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Tell him to ditch this whiny realtor and you'll do a CA for him FREE OF CHARGE (he doesn't need to know that's normal).

 

When life hands you lemons...

 

PS: Has the owner seen pics of the house in its current condition or is he getting all this second-hand from the realtor? I think at this point you need to be concerned that this realtor is attempting to teach you a lesson for meddling in "their" domain.

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Brian, I'm still wondering if you have any before and after pictures or videos? And this Realtor is gettin' my shorts in a knot and I'm not even in this picture! <_< I think it's time to call the Realtor and get in his face about a few things.

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And this Realtor is gettin' my shorts in a knot and I'm not even in this picture! I think it's time to call the Realtor and get in his face about a few things.
AGREE!!!

 

Brian - STOP THIS!!! STOP THE EMAILS!!!

I've been hounding him over the past couple of days to take care of some of those minor issues the realtor brought up with the grout being cleaned, pantry painted, and the lawn being taken care of.
These items are not damages. You should have already completed your work before talking with the seller to end your SLO. I realize you are trying to have a smooth exit; but the realtor is mucking up things. You're digging yourself in deeper. If you keep going you will look like a target to take advantage of.

 

He basically told me that instead of letting me into the house to take care of this stuff, he's waiting for professional estimates.

You have no control over this. So be it. Let the seller wait and you move on.

Well then Mr. Seller there is nothing else I can do for you. Thank you for your business.

 

Your goal is to get away from this deal. It's over. Make moves to leave this behind.

 

Read this paragraph in your agreement for the (Buyer/Tenant). This is what the seller agreed to right. If the seller starts making threats or talking legal junk re-introduce him to what he agreed to.

23. REMEDIES UPON DEFAULT:

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Has the owner seen pics of the house in its current condition or is he getting all this second-hand from the realtor?
Mainly second-hand from the realtor, but he did send the homeowner a few pics. Most don't support what the realtor is complaining about, other than that the painter missed the pantry. I'll agree that needs to be done.

 

Brian, I'm still wondering if you have any before and after pictures or videos?
Yes, I do have pics of when I took the house and how I left it. Don't know if it'll help or hurt me since they are all general overview pics (like you'd put on your website) vs. documenting any minor deficiencies when I got the house.

 

These items are not damages. You should have already completed your work before talking with the seller to end your SLO. I realize you are trying to have a smooth exit; but the realtor is mucking up things. You're digging yourself in deeper. If you keep going you will look like a target to take advantage of.
That makes sense. My thing is I'm willing to take a couple of hours out of my weekend to prevent a big hassle over this. But if he's gonna try and play hardball by essentially saying he's not going to have the realtor let me in to try and take care of this stuff, then there's nothing more that I can really do. The thing with the emails is just because the homeowner is in Africa on business. He's saying that he'll be back next week.

 

Read this paragraph in your agreement for the (Buyer/Tenant). This is what the seller agreed to right. If the seller starts making threats or talking legal junk re-introduce him to what he agreed to.

23. REMEDIES UPON DEFAULT:

I did use MC's contracts, of course. <_<

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