The One That Got Away: The Importance of a Buyers Agent - And a Lender !
(My Long Fish Tail - Getting Sucked into the Bank of America <BOA> abyss)
I had a feeling that something might go wrong when the buyers agent on my team said "Chris, the buyer 
plans to submit an offer on the property, but wants to use a "family friend" as his agent." We both wondered why the other agent did not show his "client" the property in the first place but it made sense later when I discovered that this "family friend" was way out in a different county. The agent on my team who showed our listing decided not to make a stink about it, took the high road and let it go. It was honorable. But still I had a sinking feeling that something might go wrong. We did the right thing, we got the folks into our listing. Still, looking back...
So when the initial offer came in (despite the derogatory comments made by this agent about the location of the subject property and his attempt to steer his client away, the buyer agent wrote up the offer as a VA loan (which was fine) with the buyer getting $10,000 back under the table. That was written blatantly on the contract, not even on a separate addendum. Both of which is FRAUD ! Hmmm, lovely. The buyer agent was clearly clueless and misrepresenting his "family friend". To add more fuel to this insulting scenario, this guy was from one of the so called self proclaimed "fastest growing recruiting offices". I wonder if the broker realized his agent was encouraging his clients to commit fraud ? In any event, the buyers agent, after discussion, revised the agreement and a contract was finalized that both the buyer and seller agreed upon.
The whole deal was a series of missed dates, late escrows, slow appraisal, and delayed mortgage commitment (ultimately no commitment) not to mention pulling teeth just to get updates via return calls or emails from either the agent or their chosen mortgage company. This is where I really lost the fish and the rod.
There was a change in lenders to (grinding my teeth as I write this) to Bank of America ! The loan seemed to be floating in the Dead Sea of BOA underwriting forever and I was told by the lender "We are just one signature away from final approval !"..."It is not a matter of if, it is just a matter of when this will settle." Just when we thought we had spotted land... we sailed into the Bermuda Triangle ! The BOA rep who was about to sign off with that final approval was mysteriously whisked away from us ! (We said a silent prayer to her family, with visions of her laying under piles of short sale rejects, and foreclosure freezes.)
Seriously, we should all take a moment of silence here....
Back to the story... No return calls, no updates. We left messages for days, switching phones to avoid our number being recognized and the bank dodging our calls. We emailed for days with no responses. Just silence. The most crazy thing I have ever experienced. The lack of communication was insane - on both the buyers agent and the loan rep. Was this the calm before the storm ??? Laying stranded on the beach of despair, we finally get contacted. "The loan is DENIED !" That news came to us from the SELLER !! Apparently the mortgage rep only responds positively to cursing and threats of law suits. Why didn't we use that strategy ? Oh right, we are professionals. Anyway, the loan officer at BOA has still yet to return our call and we still have not received that "denial" letter.
We must be gluttons for punishment. We pleaded with the buyer agent to have the buyer contact our LOCAL VA specialist (I had been privately consulting this specialist throughout the deal as I was 95 percent confident that the buyer was mortgageable and still am). His comment was "They are frustrated." Great, so am I, and so is the seller. This buyer agent to this day has not given us a denial letter nor provided a signed release request of the deposit money for his "family friend". With friends like that... Get a professional buyer agent !
To conclude, I presume BOA is too busy dealing with their foreclosure freeze with Countrywide instead of approving loans for qualifed United States Veterans. It is a disgrace for our country. And the training that this agent has received from that office with the "best training", the top recruiting, and the fastest growing office in the country should be grateful that I am not naming names.
Moral of the story ? I am not sure. Perhaps this...
Consumers - work with full-time agents and be careful of choosing part time or family friends. The experienced Realtor is aligned with exceptional lenders, knowledge of real estate rules, and they have the skills to communicate, educate, and guide you through a successful home buying experience.
Realtors - beware of BOA and and the sharks that swim with them. (Note: we have never referred any of our buyers to BOA and at this point, never will)
Self - sell every share of stock of BOA (ticker symbol BAC) even though it is trading at a 52 week low (shocker !! at least I sold most of it) that I own and close all of my accounts with Merrill Lynch.
What are your thoughts ?
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