Expert: liznarr - 3/18/2009

Question
Hi liznarr,
I am currently in the process of buying a home in Alabama.  We are having trouble with the Seller's Agent.  The Seller is an Asset Management Company.  We have recently been told that we have to have some repairs made to the house before the lender will close.  My question is, does the Seller's agent have to notify the seller when a written signed addendum is sent to the Seller's agent, regardless if the seller agrees, are they suppose to know.  For Instance, I have turned in an addendum stating that the lender has required this list to be repaired before they will close.  The Seller's agent has told my agent that she will not send the addendum to the seller.  This is the second time she has not sent a signed addendum to the seller.  By law is she required to send the addendum to the Seller?  Also this same agent told us (buyer) that we are the ones that have to get the bids to repair the house, is this also right?  
If so would you tell me the Document that states this?
Thank you for your help!

Laura

Answer
Hi Laura,

The real estate laws where I live and work require that ANY WRITTEN OFFER (counter offer, addendum, etc.) shall be presented to a Seller or Buyer, whichever is the case.  You would need to check with the Real Estate Commission in Alabama to see if it is the same, which I would suspect it is.

The underlying reasoning for this is that an agent of a Seller (or a Buyer) can NOT act on behalf of their seller or buyer without a separate Power of Attorney authorizing them to do so.  To properly represent a Seller or Buyer, an agent is required (again, my state) to present ALL WRITTEN offers to whichever client they represent.  (VERBAL offers do not have the same requirement.)

As far as you having the burden to get bids to repair the house, I don’t have enough information from you to give you an answer.  Your executed Contract of Sale and/or an addendum thereto should have this information in it somewhere.  Read it carefully and see if you can locate it.

In the case of bank-owned real estate or corporate owned properties, many times the Seller may not make repairs to a property.

If your Contract of Sale does not have the language you are looking for, ask your agent to have her Broker-in-Charge contact the listing agent’s Broker-in-Charge to get this matter settled for you.

Good luck to you, and feel free to write again if you have additional questions.

Regards,
Elizabeth