eBook - Home Inspection Business from A to Z

Third Parties To The Transaction

As I said in the beginning of the book, when I use the term "Third Parties", I'm talking about people involved in the transaction, not including you or your client. 90% of the time I'm referring to dishonest and/or incompetent Realtors when I mention "third parties"! Other "third parties" involved in the transaction includes but isn't limited to: the seller, the appraiser, the home inspector, the mortgage lender, the title company, the attorney, the builder or repair contractor, the mailman, the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the seller's dog or cat, and anyone else who may have an interest in the deal. Also, when I use descriptive adjectives and refer to immoral, greedy, dishonest, ignorant, incompetent, etc. Third Parties, it does not refer to all third party people, just those that match the particular adjective used (90% of the time it's the Realtor!!!).

Realtors can be important people involved in the purchase and sale of real estate. They can provide a service that helps the public to buy and sell property. The problem is that the majority of Realtors can be very dishonest, greedy, incompetent, immoral, ignorant, or a combination of all of these undesirable qualities. To make matters even worse, they go a step further and think that they're experts in every aspect of real estate. These are the third party people that I'm referring to!! You need to understand that third parties, such as Realtors, are not experts in real estate. Realtors only need the equivalent of a few days of basic real estate classes to get a license. So don't think they know all the important aspects of investing in real estate. Even if a Realtor has many years of experience as a real estate agent and/or investor, they're not knowledgeable in all aspects of real estate. They cannot give you advice like a qualified real estate appraiser, home inspector, builder, real estate attorney, etc. can in each particular field of expertise.

In case you didn't know, almost all of the time the Realtor works for the seller, not the buyer. Sometimes the Realtor will represent the buyer as a "buyer's agent" but that's not  very common. Some states require Realtors to sign an agreement with potential sellers and buyers clearly stating whom they're working for. One reason for this may be that some home buyers don't realize that the Realtor often represents the seller. This means that when you go into a real estate office looking to buy a house, the Realtor that shows you the properties listed for sale has a fiduciary responsibility to the seller of the house! Even though a buyer goes into the real estate office looking for houses, the Realtor still works for the seller. In this case the Realtor is responsible for looking out for the seller's best interest, and not the buyer's. Some buyers don't know this and mistakenly think that the Realtor is looking out for their best interest only. (Some Realtors only look out for THEIR OWN best interests, regardless of whether they represent the seller or buyer! It's as though some Realtor's believe their fiduciary responsibility is only to fill their own pockets with sales commissions.)

An educated home buyer or seller is a dishonest Realtor's worst nightmare!! I've seen plenty of greedy, ignorant, dishonest Realtors and third parties get angry because my clients wanted to take my advice and check everything out about the house they were planning to buy or sell. I think the last thing a greedy, dishonest, ignorant, immoral and/or incompetent third party person wants is an educated home buyer or seller. That's because an educated home buyer or seller is a careful, intelligent person who checks everything out before making a big investment. This can take a few days to check the town hall records, get repair estimates, etc. If a home buyer or seller wants to verify items by checking the documentation themselves, getting repair estimates prior to closing, etc., these Realtors and third parties criticize them and say things like, "Oh, this buyer or seller is just a worrier. They're making a big fuss over nothing. They should just close on the house and forget about it." These third parties can cost a home buyer or seller tens of thousands of dollars. They do this by pressuring your client into not checking everything out before he closing. Far too many people are buying and selling their homes with their eyes closed. Hopefully, my educational materials will open your eyes nice and wide when you decide to buy or sell your house!

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