April 2007
Friday 11:05AM

Dear Friends and Clients,

How builders bamboozle naive buyers

I was filling in for an agent friend who went on vacation.  The clients were first time buyers who found a new condo in downtown Tacoma they wanted to purchase. 

It’s fairly common for builders to have their own addendum.  Units are sold before they are built and there needs to be specifications of what’s to be built, what’s included in the warranty, etc.  As this was good-sized developer/builder with a number of projects around the sound, I expected they’d have some of their own forms so I called the listing agent and asked to have any builder addendums sent over.

Often times clients don’t understand a purchase and sale agreement is not just about price.  It’s also about apportioning risk.  And like any seller, a builder wants as much risk passed to the buyer as possible (just as a knowledgeable buyer will want it shifted to the seller).

But this builder’s addendum was astonishing.  It had the typical clauses about substituting materials as the builder saw fit (not unusual), a not so normal clause stating the buyer was buying the unit “as-is” (whether already built or not and regardless of specifications), and a clause saying the closing date could be extended by the seller up to six months if need be.  As this unit was scheduled for completion within 30 days, a 6-month extension was overly long.  Normally shortening this to 2 months would be a non-issue.

But the real killer lurked in the boilerplate.  There was a clause stating the builder’s standard addendum prevailed over anything and everything else in the contract including any changes made to their addendum and any additional addendums attached whether the changes were typed, printed or handwritten.  

What that meant was that the upgrades, seller paid costs, closing date, and unit configuration negotiated in the purchase and sale agreement were moot.  The seller was only obligated to provide a standard unit (while substituting materials), without any of the monetary concessions agreed upon, up to 6 months after the agreed upon closing date.

Sounds like a government deal doesn’t it?

Naturally, we deleted and/or replaced the onerous clauses with those more reasonable.  Can you guess what happened?  The seller responded with “we don’t allow any changes to our standard forms”.  Of course a seller can insist on whatever they want, but who would accept such terms unless the unit was completely finished - you’d have to be either naïve or a fool.  Our deal didn’t go together, but this builder is finding buyers somewhere. 

Stupefaction at the kitchen counter 

I was sitting at the kitchen counter watching TV after finishing dinner when my brother walked in.  I didn’t really look up or pay much attention, but there was another person with him.  I just assumed it was either my nephew or one of his friends.  When I did focus my attention on them a few seconds later, all of a sudden I realized it was my son.

As a surprise birthday present he came out to visit for a week from Minnesota.  You could have knocked me over with a feather.  I was a totally surprised (much to his delight) and speechless. 

It was the best birthday present I could have imagined.  We had a wonderful time, albeit short.  And not only had he planned and paid for the trip himself, he announced he had a zero balance on his credit card.  Talk about a proud father! 

Imagine awaking in an ice filled bathtub

with a note taped to the wall in front of you warning Don’t Move. Call 911.  You were fed a “Mickey” and your kidney was harvested.

That story is one of the most successful urban legends and the opening passage of Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath.  It’s a great book that expounds upon the six key principles of why some ideas survive and others die.  I heartily recommend you find the time to read it.  It will greatly improve your communications skills.

By the way, remember the story of someone putting razor blades in apples that were passed out as Halloween treats?  Never happened.  Since 1958 there have been no incidents of strangers causing life-threatening harm to children via tampered Halloween treats.

So was your social security number stolen or not?

There’s a new site where you can find out on-line. They are trying to sell you identity theft protection, but you don’t have to buy it to find out if your id has been stolen.  Go to www.stolenidsearch.com and enter your social security number or credit card number.  And no, it’s not a scam to obtain your numbers. 

Google’s Announces TISP

If you were searching using Google on April 1^st you would have seen a link to their new free service.  If you missed it then you can still find it on-line at http://www.google.com/tisp/install.html .  Don’t miss the advanced features and FAQ.

Inventories are up, activity is slowing, prices are up but increases are decelerating.

Source: Northwest Multiple Listing Service
Statistical Summary by Counties: Market Activity Summary for March 2007

Stay well.  Stay frosty.                         Lee R. Mason