New Home Caution

Dear Friends,

Here is a story I found about new home sales. The circumstances are actually what has to happen when you buy a new home. And, believe it or not, I am not blowing my own horn when I advise you to use a Realtor (which costs you nothing) when buying a new home. Not all builders will try and pull this kind of stunt but in today's market builders are in troubled financial times (like we homeowners are), so the old adage of Buyer Beware applies.

Here is the story:

"A salesperson for a new home community shared this horror story with me.

This associate told me that a buyer went directly to the builder to negotiate a deal without Realtor representation. This buyer negotiated what he assumed was a good deal and was set to close on his inventory property about 45 days from contract signing.

After receiving copies of the contract the buyer signed that day, he patiently waited for his new home to be built. When the time of closing arrives the builders developer mentions that they never signed the selling side of the contracts and thus there is not an executed contract and did not have to honor the terms that were agreed to previously.

Meanwhile this buyer had his moving truck parked outside of the driveway and no home to move into. Eventually the buyer and the developer worked things out and the buyer purchased the home but of course on the seller's terms.

If I didn't hear this story from my friend I would have not believed it happened, but these confirm the reasons why buyers need representation when involving any type of real estate."