Promises, Promises, Promises (Queen Creek: house, buyers, contractors) - Phoenix area - Arizona (AZ) - City-Data Forum

mickeyb11 · 07-01-2009, 10:00 PM

We recently purchased a house in Johnson Ranch. Is a great house with a pool and got it for a great price. We have been working with our realtor for almost a year and finally were able to make a deal. Don't get me wrong, he has done a great job for us. Over this past year we have been told repeatedly not to worry about the yard or pool ( we're from Canada, had to have a pool) because he had " People" that would take care of everything for us, and this is a service he provides to all his out of town clients. We closed escrow on June 17 and have gone from ...don't worry... to my People won't come to Queen Creek ... to I will take care of things until you can make other arrangements... to I am annoyed that I have to meet with the contractors that you are trying to set up to take care of your house.I'M SORRY, BUT YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON IN THE COUNTRY THAT HAS A KEY. It is a bit harder to try to arrange for people to take care of your home when you are not from the area, and will not be there most of the year to make sure that things are actually being taken care of. Sorry I am venting, but just want to let the other Canadian buyers( and I know there are alot of them) aware that they should check out the realtors promises so they don't get left scrambling to protect and maintain their investment.

YAZ · 07-01-2009, 10:27 PM

For what it's worth:

Welcome!

I love our friendly neighbors to the north!

Grannysroost · 07-01-2009, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickeyb11

We recently purchased a house in Johnson Ranch. Is a great house with a pool and got it for a great price. We have been working with our realtor for almost a year and finally were able to make a deal. Don't get me wrong, he has done a great job for us. Over this past year we have been told repeatedly not to worry about the yard or pool ( we're from Canada, had to have a pool) because he had " People" that would take care of everything for us, and this is a service he provides to all his out of town clients. We closed escrow on June 17 and have gone from ...don't worry... to my People won't come to Queen Creek ... to I will take care of things until you can make other arrangements... to I am annoyed that I have to meet with the contractors that you are trying to set up to take care of your house.I'M SORRY, BUT YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON IN THE COUNTRY THAT HAS A KEY. It is a bit harder to try to arrange for people to take care of your home when you are not from the area, and will not be there most of the year to make sure that things are actually being taken care of. Sorry I am venting, but just want to let the other Canadian buyers( and I know there are alot of them) aware that they should check out the realtors promises so they don't get left scrambling to protect and maintain their investment.

Maybe for starters have him put a lockbox on there and give you the combo, until you can find someone to help out or, or find a pool service, etc., on your own and don't worry about it

mickeyb11 · 07-01-2009, 10:49 PM

I am sorry that I felt the need to vent. But we have gone from excitement to worry in a few short days. At least our realtor could offer some suggestions of who to try. We rented a house thru VRBO for 5 weeks last winter and absolutely loved our time there. Yes we used the pool in December. It was much better than the 4 ft of snow we had in the yard when we went home. We purposely bought a house with a south facing back yard so that the sun will heat the patio and the heat reflecting from the house will make it quite comfortable. Can't wait to get there, but probably won't be until November

YAZ · 07-01-2009, 10:52 PM

What part of Canada?

I'm originally from St Ste Marie, Michigan.

I know snow.

mickeyb11 · 07-01-2009, 11:03 PM

We live in Salmon Arm BC. A great small city on the shores of Shuswap Lake. It's a beautiful place to be in the summer, over 1000 miles of shoreline, but we do get a lot of tourists, especially from Alberta. The winters have been fairly mild, but in the past 3 years we have had snow, snow, snow...

YAZ · 07-01-2009, 11:21 PM

A very dear friend of mine grew up in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

Of course, he and his beautiful wife live in Tampa, Florida now.

mickeyb11 · 07-01-2009, 11:42 PM

Smart move, there is not much in Saskatchewan.

Captain Bill · 07-02-2009, 07:18 AM

I would suggest never relying on a realtor to take care of a property while you are away. That is just not their function, unless they run a property management company, in which case they will charge you a fee.

They can provide names of pool companies, landscapers, housekeepers, etc., but the home owner is the one who should interview these people and hire them.

It sounds like your realtor had a company that he used, and thought they would go to QC. Perhaps they would have come to QC in the past, but things changed and they have decided they had to reduce their service area. That is not your realtors fault.

The realtor can get a vendor lock box placed on the hose bib for your convenience. But if you need to change vendors, then that lockbox code needs to be changed immediately.

My Canadian clients became friends with their neighbors and have them check on the house on occasion. He does favors for them, and in return they keep an eye on his house.

Also, they fly down every couple months for a few days to check on the property themselves, and to say hello to their friends/neighbors who have been looking out for his home.

There are thousands of people who have summer homes here and they manage to have their property looked after. It takes effort on their part, but they get it done. Just don't expect others to do it for you without becoming friends and doing favors for them first (your neighbors), and/or finding reliable vendors and paying them for their services.

ellieril · 10-03-2009, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickeyb11

We live in Salmon Arm BC. A great small city on the shores of Shuswap Lake. It's a beautiful place to be in the summer, over 1000 miles of shoreline, but we do get a lot of tourists, especially from Alberta. The winters have been fairly mild, but in the past 3 years we have had snow, snow, snow...

We live on Vancouver Island. Small world aye (lol). Hope all works out for you with the pool issue. We considered purchasing a home with a pool but are not sure we will because of the problems you are facing and also the liability.. My husband spoke with a realtor about this and he tried to persuade us not to. The homes we looked at didn't have a pool but I have come across some that do. It would be nice but not to sure. Good luck. I hope it works out for you. :>)