About a gazillion years ago a general was being defeated in battle and so like all good generals he buried his treasure in his tent. Now, apparently this was the Biltmore Estate of tents because his treasure could not be found. Personally, I think they must have been man-looking in the tent, but I digress from the legend. So totally stymied by his incredibly clever hiding place, the seekers of the treasure consult the Oracle at Delphi who advises them to turn over every stone. Seriously, is that the best advice the Oracle has? Quit man-looking and do real looking? Sometime later when people still used outhouses, this legend was converted into our lovely overused phrase “leave no stone unturned.”
I don’t know what is in the water, but there is this insane post on another forum about agent responsibilities. So if a real estate agent here in Salem Oregon tells a buyer “Hey, I think the house has mold,” is that right, wrong, or some shade of quicksilver (that’s the shade of gray in the Crayola swirls collection for those of you without kids). The agent that wrote the post felt it was wrong for the agent to say this and felt that the agent should have called the listing agent to inform them of the potential mold and NOT share their thoughts with the buyer.
Seriously? So you are out with a buyer agent who thinks the house might have mold based on some red flag they see, and they aren’t supposed to discuss that with you the buyer, but the listing agent? Um…yeah. Chalk one up for the demise of the real estate profession with that behavior.
If you decide to work with a real estate agent to help you buy a house, it is OUR JOB, to leave no stone unturned. Now, I am not aware that Clark Kent has been posing as a Salem Oregon real estate agent which is a possibility because the newer Superman movie wasn’t that good: I can see Superman needing a second career. We agents don’t have X-ray vision and can’t see inside walls, but it is our job to look for red flags. As a buyer, beside having the normal ol’ home inspection you can also do
- Mold inspections
- Radon inspections
- Well flow testing and water quality testing above what the seller is required to do.
- Septic inspections
- Lead paint inspections
- Sewer scopes
- System specific inspections like HVAC, roofing etc.
- Structural engineer inspections.
- Pest inspections
It is my job to help you know which ones might be appropriate for you. It’s my job to know where the Historic Districts are, where the general flood plains are, landslide hazard areas, sensitive groundwater areas…you get the idea. I mean isn’t that the point of hiring me say over a dog? I can read and gain knowledge whereas my cute dog cannot, but he does know how to hide granola bars in our back yard so I can’t find them…hmmm….maybe it was the general’s dog that hid the treasure…
Unless I am totally missing the point of my job, most of you aren’t hiring a buyer agent to hide information from you. Some of you may want to practice your telepathic skills on your agent so you may not want them to share anything with you, but most of you are hiring us to leave no stone unturned. So think about that when you go to hire a buyer agent. Ask them where the flood plains are in Salem Oregon. Ask them where the landslide areas are. If they can’t answer those basic questions, they might be lacking knowledge and at that point that it’s a toss-up about whether or not that buyer agent or the Oracle at Delphi will give you better advice.
Melina-unbelievable that a buyer’s agent wouldn’t be looking out for the best interest of their buyer. Great blog post, and I love the bits of sarcasm and humor.
The buyer agent was trying to. It was a listing agent who was upset that the buyer agent was “stigmatizing” the listing by suggesting it had mold.
Great points Melina. And I resemble the “man looking” comment.
Jim you and my hubby resemble that man-looking comment. I heard that phrase about 10 years ago when I worked as a therapist. I thought it was the most appropriate thing I’d heard so I use it a lot.