Buying or Selling? Vet Your Realtor in Knoxville TN First

An eraser removing the word "ERRORS," symbolizing real estate mistakes.

I don’t usually write posts like this, but after seeing several deals fall apart due to agent mistakes, I felt the need to talk about why it’s so important to vet your Realtor in Knoxville TN—especially when your home is your largest investment. Too many Knoxville homeowners risk their biggest asset by hiring an inexperienced real estate agent who doesn't understand critical contract basics.

The real estate profession can be highly lucrative. Highly successful Realtors can earn as much as a doctor or lawyer. Given that over 80% of new agents quit the business within two years, those that are successful usually deserve it. Professional agents provide an important service for their clients both saving them money and limiting both their risk and liability.

However, it is shocking to me sometimes, when dealing with one’s most valuable asset, a

homeowner will not thoroughly vet the agent they hire. A consumer will interview 3 lawyers for a legal issue or seek a 2nd opinion for an MD or talk to 3 or 4 Financial Advisors, but

then hire their neighbor’s best friend’s cousin to sell their largest asset.

Here are 3 examples of incompetence I’ve dealt with in just the last several months. These are real life events.

I represented the seller. A buyer makes an offer on an $875,000 home, a good offer with typical contingencies. The buyer in the contract specifies the number of days in which they will complete their inspection. According to the agreement, before those days expire the buyer must either back out of the deal, accept the property “as is”, or request a list of repairs for the seller to make, which is standard. The inspection was completed, however the days came and passed without a response from the buyer. I assumed they were accepting the house “as is” since it was fairly new anyway. Then an extra week goes by and we receive a list of repair items to be done. I had to make the call to the buyer’s agent (who has been in the industry longer than me) to let them know that according to the contract, since they did not respond within the inspection timeframe, the buyer was required to take the house “as is”. You can imagine how the buyer felt when their agent gave them that news.

Here’s another recent example. I represented the Seller. After completing the inspection the Buyer’s agent texted me to say the Buyer wanted to back out. I responded by saying “send me the Notification form with specific reasons.” Again this must be done within the inspection timeframe. I never received another communication. That deadline came and passed and I asked for a receipt for the earnest money. At that point I heard from the Buyer’s agent and said “no, we backed out”. Again I had to make a call and let them know because we didn’t get the proper notice their Buyer was required to accept it “as is”. The contract states that in order to back out during the inspection period the Buyer must submit the standard Notification form (or other “written” correspondence listing “specific” objections. Not only did we not get the Notification form but did not get specific objections and a text message is NOT considered “written communication” according to the contract. The Seller did not want to sue the Buyer for breach of contract (but could have) and instead settled for taking $1,250 of the Buyer’s earnest money (which their agent paid).

An agent recently sent me an offer for a Seller I represented. As I reviewed the offer, it was already expired when I received it, a bad sign right off the bat (offers have a response time and after that time, if not responded to, they become null and void). After they resubmitted their offer and conducted the inspections it was the final day and I had not heard from the Buyer’s agent even though she told me the inspection was great and they were moving forward. I chose to remind the agent of the deadline (I could have waited and forced them to take it “as is” but felt it was better for my client to avoid that kind of conflict). Having finally received the list of repairs and verbally negotiated them, there is a Resolution Period where you must come to agreement on the repairs or the entire deal falls through. I didn’t receive the Buyer’s signed Repair Amendment until after the deadline, even after asking multiple times for it. The deal was now over, as if it never happened. In this case the Buyer were able to resubmit the contract and get all the proper signatures on time so this wasn’t as dramatic but we had to re-do the entire contract. Imagine however that there were multiple offers or a back-up offer, or another buyer on the sidelines with serious interest, this Buyer could have lost this house.

These are just a few recent examples of what I’ve seen. You can imagine how prevalent this can be. I’m not writing this to persuade you to hire ME to be your agent (although I would appreciate it :). I am advising you that there are bad apples in every profession, no matter how long they’ve been practicing. The documents that you are signing are legally binding and can expose you to substantial risk and/or liability. It’s in YOUR best interest to vet the person that you are going to trust with your largest asset. 

Looking forward to working with you when you decide to buy or sell.