Here’s Why Choosing A Careful, Detail-Oriented Real Estate Professional Is Important

I recently had a family ask me to represent them as their buyer’s agent.  The wife originally told me they were looking for 40-50 acres to grow an orchard and garden so her husband could take a break from truck driving.  That’s all I knew until I scheduled the initial consultation.  I sat down with him and his grown son who was very interested in dad’s business ventures and I asked him what he was looking for.  He told me 5-20 acres of bare land out in the country with or without a house and he told me exactly where he was looking.  I asked, “what are you planning to do with the land.”  He told me that he needed an easy and convenient place to park his 18-wheeler.  I told him I would need to call the county first to see if they would allow it in this area because I had checked on a piece of land several months ago and the seller’s agent told me they wouldn’t allow it on the property he was selling. 

This time, I was determined to call the county and find out more details.  I found out that there are several country roads in this particular county that were built very narrow and not conducive to accommodating a big rig.  I gave the county representative two addresses to see if my buyer’s client could park his truck on either of the properties in question.  The county representative told me that they were both zoned “agricultural” which means the buyer would have to submit an Admin Permit to the county at the cost of $11,410.  It would get reviewed by office staff and then a letter would be sent to the neighbors to give them a chance to appeal it. If the permit was denied, my client would lose the $11,410. 

I told the county representative that I thought it was a little steep and that even though it is a one-time fee, I thought it should be charged after the permit was accepted, rather than taking the chance of losing money.  He understood my concern, but confirmed that it was standard practice in this county. 

My client told me that he had 2 friends who each bought 10 acres to park their trucks on – one cost $1,000,000 and the other cost $800,000 and after they bought it, they found out they couldn’t park their truck on it.  I am sorry to hear that these two friends didn’t have an agent who did their homework and looked out for their client’s best interest by giving them all the facts.  The sale is a result of a job “well-done” in my opinion and is not as important as the satisfaction of a client. 

Currently, we are looking for a property that meets my client’s criteria, but I will do all I can to prevent him from paying money until I am certain that we have found the property that will suit his needs. 

If you know of someone in need of an agent who will look out for their best interest, feel free to email me at realagentcarla@gmail.com to schedule a pressure-free meeting or call to discuss their current needs in real estate.  It could save them some money!