Homeowner's persistence yields results
A Baltimore resident contacted me months ago to explain her particular housing woe, and she's kept me updated as her story progressed. I thought Keisha's experience (and how she handled it) would help others, so she kindly agreed to share with all of you.
She purchased a rowhome on Baltimore's west side in spring 2009 after relocating back to the state. After signing the contract, she used a variety of professionals recommended by her real estate agent, from the title company to the home inspector. "That was a big mistake on my part," she says now.
Here's her story in her words:
In June of 2009 as the summer heat started rising, I went to use my central air only to find it did not work. I notified the builder that rehabbed the home and within a week they sent an HVAC contractor. It was then I was told the air condensing units were stolen from my roof.
I did what most would do: I notified the police, then the insurance company. Days later the insurance company came to the property only to deny my claim because they saw no evidence that air condensers had ever been installed on my property.
Needless to say, I thought, "This can't be true, I had a home inspection. Furthermore, Baltimore City code enforcement inspectors were just here in mid-May -- surely they would have noticed if I had no air conditioning condensers."
Her first call for help was to her real estate agent, "the one I hired to protect my interests in the closing."
His response was, "If you read your home inspection report, it states that the condensers appeared to be on the roof and thus was not tested by my inspector."A month later I consulted with a lawyer, who after writing two letters to all parties involved in my closing received only one formal response. It was now October and my repair list had grown to having no heat, plumbing issues in two of the four bathrooms, termites in the basement, water and mold damage in the basement, a roof in need of repairs -- and do not forget, no air condensers. To date I had spent about $2,200 in repairs and had estimates for $16,000 more.
I knew I did not have that type of money, so I began writing letters to the Better Business Bureau, the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division, and my Congressman. I was told by two that this issue was out of their jurisdiction and did not even get a response from the third.
So I continued to write, this time to the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. I thought filing complaints against the contractors who performed the work on the house would yield resolution. This time, I was told I had no valid complaint because I did not hire the contractors to perform work -- the previous owner did.
"This can't be happening," I kept thinking.
Keisha pressed onward, trying the city's code enforcement office. An official there seemed interested in helping, but didn't get back to her as promised, she says. So she went to the office again, this time to see the permits on her home:
"Am I reading this correctly?" I asked the permits clerk.Her reply, with a look of dismay: "Yes ma'am, it appears your property has never had any final inspection."
Translation: The city allowed the builder to close the walls to my property without a final inspection on the plumbing, HVAC and electrical.
What was left for me to do? My last resort -- I wrote the then-mayor and sent copies to the deputy commissioner of code enforcement.
At this point, it was the end of December. With, if you'll recall, no working heat in her house. But that letter did the trick. She received calls from several people.
Mid-January 2010, eight months after my first problem surfaced and many more developed, the deputy commissioner of code enforcement called and asked to meet me. The following Monday my heat was repaired at no cost to me and an agreement was made between myself and the builder as to what other repairs his company would make at no cost to me.To date the builder has made good on that agreement -- at his own pace, but the repairs are being made.
The lessons I take from this experience and hope some buyer somewhere will find useful:
1. Hire your own home inspector and other closing professionals, including a real estate attorney, independent of your agent's choice of professionals. Google search your agent -- I wished I did. You will be surprised what a simple Google search will reveal.
2. Visit your local code enforcement office to verify permit status on the property you're considering.
3. Check with your local licensing agency to ensure all contractors are licensed to work in your state.
4. Keep accurate records of dates, times, names, phone calls made, letters written, etc.
5. Never give up. If you know you have been wronged, keep writing, calling, visiting offices. Someone will listen eventually.
Thanks very much for sharing your experience, Keisha. I hope your home serves you well from here on out.
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Comments
I love hearing stories of people that don't give up the fight and get results. Good for her.
I completely agree with her point of hiring your own independent inspection professionals. I used someone referred by my real estate agent and I believe that he under estimated some of the issues to get the deal done. My real estate agent is a good guy, but the inspector was just playing the game. "I'm going to let some things slide so the agent referring me keeps referring me to people". If the inspector is a stick in the mud and makes a big stink about every issue, like he should, the agent will go find someone else who will not break up his deals.
Posted by: M | July 27, 2010 8:45 AM
Jamie,
Thank you for this excellent posting. The lesson learned is that one must realize up front that the real estate industry, with little exception, is corrupt and essentially on par with Wall Street. The primary objective is to line their pockets with your money as quickly and completely as possible with as much slimy grease between the gears as is needed to make this work.
It is a losers game, and as with all losers games there is only one way to win....DO NOT PLAY. Keisha's advise to ignore all advise from the realtor and play the game by your own rules-- by hiring your own profesionals to assess the deal is paramount to avoiding getting hosed. If your realtor huffs and puffs, then his/her corrupt rear-end needs to be fired immediatley
Posted by: Darwin Rules | July 27, 2010 10:20 AM
I really admire Keisha's persistence. And, I am so glad that she was able to have these issues in her home (at least the majority of them) addressed. As a real estate professional, it is ALWAYS upsetting for me when I hear from a client post-closing that something has broken or turned out different than it appeared in the inspection.
Jamie, I read your blog every day. The info is great and I often share your articles with clients. Yet, it seems to me that there is a decided slant against real estate professionals in many of the topics you cover. It bugs me to see the myth that "all realtors are money grubbing scum who will try to screw you over" perpetuated. And it seems there is a regular group of followers who have had that experience! Having worked with hundreds of other agents in our area, I would say that the vast majority of the agents I have come into contact with are caring and ethical professionals. I, for one, would appreciate seeing more of the other side, if at all possible.
Posted by: A Baltimore Realtor | July 27, 2010 1:23 PM
Hi, Baltimore Realtor. Some of the readers who regularly comment here seem to have had some lousy experiences, but I don't think the blog posts themselves are anti-agent. Even this particular post shows a reader who felt she was failed by many parties, not just her agent.
If you find something I personally have written that you think is slanted, please feel free to call me on it.
Posted by: Jamie Smith Hopkins | July 27, 2010 1:42 PM
I'm not sure if the list is comprehensive, but City permits are searchable online. It's pretty nifty - you can search by neighborhood or address, and the data goes back years.
Posted by: NDresCity | July 27, 2010 5:30 PM
Just curious, but as stated much of the homeowner's problems began and resolution started during Mayor Dixon's tenure. The building contractor wouldn't have happened to have been Duracon or one of its many sub-LLCs, would it?
Posted by: AVC | July 27, 2010 10:23 PM
To the best of my knowledge, AVC, Duracon was not involved in this homeowner's project.
NDresCity, thanks for pointing that out. Here's the link to see city permits: http://www.baltimorehousing.org/ps_permits.asp
Posted by: Jamie Smith Hopkins | July 27, 2010 10:28 PM
Its discourages to know that Keisha had to do so much for resolutions. Recently moving to the area I have chosen to rent for over a year now, because my friends have so many real estate horror stories. I am shocked to hear about her agents lack of assistance in the matter and the Baltimore code enforcements department failure to do their job from the start. Best wishes to Keisha in her journey and I have learned a few good pointers for when I begin my house search
Posted by: Jack | July 30, 2010 3:31 PM