Sharyn,
Here is the info from Carolyn's realtor.
HI, Cathy,
I am very sorry to hear that anyone would be anything but very pleased with the manner in which this property was handled on behalf of your sister’s trust, starting with the Herculean effort put forth by you, Heather and the team of people you had to hire to clean out years of stuff. That said, I would like address all of these accusations and concerns clearly and accurately. Pardon the length of this email but there is a lot to cover.
First, the issue of our relationship or friendship: Although we have known each other since the 1960’s, we had not seen nor communicated with each other for decades. The fact that you knew me and my family, I believe, for you and your sister, Claudia, gave you a sense of relief because you accurately trusted that I would have your family’s best interest at heart, which of course I did. From my end, I wanted to do my best work for you and your family because of my respect for you and Claudia.
As you recall, even then, I still met with you and your sister and interviewed for the job. As I recall, you had spoken to at least two other agents. As a top producing agent both locally and nationally, a Stanford graduate and a long time local who has been selling real estate in this community for over 32 years, my credentials substantiate the fact that I always give 100% to my clients in translating their needs and getting the job done.
Regarding the “assignment”; as I recall, you are the trustee of your sister’s trust which, as I recall, is to benefit your sister and take care of her needs. As I remember, the house needed to be sold in order to finance the best care possible for your sister as she needed to be in a care home. Her needs were pressing and the goal was to get the most we could for the house in the shortest amount of time as you did not have the “luxury” of time of putting the house on the market and having it sit there for months before it sold. As an aside, I don’t remember her adult children’s needs as being part of the equation, as I thought the care and comfort of your sister was what her money was to be used for.
So, in April 2015, we met and reviewed comparable sales information as well as what was currently on the market, what size the homes were and how long they were on the market for before they sold. Based on the statistics, we agreed that the list price for the house would be $900,000, provided the house was cleaned and painted and the carpets replaced, and that this seemed to be the “sweet spot” for getting the house sold quickly. At the time , I provided the listing paperwork as well as the comparable sales information to you and to your trust attorney, who reviewed everything before you signed it. The commission amount was 6%, which is the industry standard.
Please take a look again at the comparable properties on the attached sheet, which I provided you in April as we discussed pricing. As you can see from this report, we looked at 5 properties in the Country Club gate area of Pebble that had sold in the previous few months. Of the four that had sold, the two that most accurately reflected the size, age and expected condition (once the clean us was done) of the Raccoon Trail property sold for $790,000 and $845,000. The other two were significantly larger (2268 sf and 2977 sf as opposed to 1770 sf), with one being on the golf course and they both sold for $1,060,000 each. They also took between 4-5 months to sell. The last property we looked at was on Ocean Road, a substantially better location a stone’s throw from the beach and with one more bedroom but similar in overall size, listed at $975,000 and contingent at the time we looked at the information. It ultimately sold for $965,000. So we listed the house at the end of April for $900,000, which at the time was more than the other properties of similar size and location had sold for but accounted for the fact that the house would be neat and clean at time of sale.
As you know, the house initially was in a very challenging condition and could not be shown as it was. Every room was filled to the brim with stuff and the house had not been cleaned or maintained for a very long time. We could not put it in the MLS because we could not get in there to show it. We all—including myself, but especially Heather and you—-worked very hard and for a long time to clear the house and get it market ready. I know the trust spent money getting the house market ready, but in fairness, I would guess that a large portion of that did not actually go to improvements but to clearing out the personal property and the labor costs of those who were paid to help out. The major improvements were paint, flooring, baseboards, cleaning which were all necessary to obtain the market price we got.
Absolutely in no way did you, Cathy ever “refuse” to put the house on MLS. In fact, I recall that you were somewhat frustrated by how long the clean out process was taking. But it was a huge job and most of it fell on the shoulders of Heather and there was only so much she could pack in a day. We all did our best to get through this really challenging project.
Meanwhile, I put the word out to several of my colleagues that this property would be coming on the market for $900,000. Several people drove by and took a look, but apparently were not impressed enough to make an offer. I know that some potential buyers came through while the estate sale was happening but they also did not get to the point of making an offer.
I had a past client who was hiring an executive to come out from Indiana to work for him. This executive has a grown child with Down’s Syndrome, so I thought that the Raccoon Trail house could be a perfect house for them as their son could walk to Gateway House from there, etc., etc. So I suggested to this client of mine that his company buy this property on behalf of their new executive so that his transition to the area would be easier. The plan was that the executive could then reimburse the company for the property….or keep renting it from the company. So I made an appointment with Heather and brought my client over to see it. Because he liked my plan, he made a full price, all-cash offer with an approx 30 day close in as-is condition. By then, the house was painted and the floors were installed. However, there were many issues that came out later that ultimately needed to be addressed, like the roof, plumbing, termite fumigation,appliances, heater ductwork etc., that the buyer ultimately did have to address later after close of escrow.
Obviously an all-cash, full-price, quick close offer was the best possible outcome for the sale of this house. So, after consulting again with the trust attorney, Cathy accepted the offer and the house went into escrow around May 15 and closed June 19 after all the personal contents had been removed. It was my impression that Cathy always ran everything past the trust attorney first before making a decision.
Once all the contents were removed, we put the house into the MLS as a contingent sale since we received the offer previous to putting it on MLS. I do not believe this in any way negated a better outcome. This buyer paid full price, as is,with an all cash deal (no qualifying for a bank loan,etc) and a quick close. The reason we did not put into the MLS sooner is because we could not show the house in the condition it was in. Once the house was entered in the MLS, I put a lockbox on it. If the house were under market value—which it emphatically was not—any number of buyers could have and would have put in back up offers in case the first escrow fell out. However, nobody did.
Buyer then did approx $3,600 worth of termite fumigation work and the tenant (executive) moved in. Unfortunately, from the very first week, the family had trouble with the house. The plumbing backed up three times and the plumbing/sewer line needed significant work. The garbage disposal broke. The washing machine leaked. The oven temperature was off. And the worst thing was that the neighbor behind the house went off on the wife when their little dog slipped through the broken fence and went into his yard (which also meant the back fence needed repair). He shouted and cursed at her and kept it up every time she was in the in yard her dogs. She is originally from Scotland and was very offended and also did not like the idea of living next door to a crazy person with a temper as her husband was constantly traveling and she was alone with her special needs son. The only reason I know all of is this is I am the person she called every time something went wrong with the house. So she just could not be convinced to live there and moved out as soon as they could.
So by October, my client decided the best thing to do was to try to sell the house as he really did not want the aggravation of being a landlord unless it was for his employee and he really did not want to have to carry an empty house. Fortunately, the market had improved since the previous quarter. Statistics show that while the market in Pebble Beach remained flat from January 2015 through June 2015, by October when I re listed the property, the total closed dollar volume sales for Pebble Beach had almost doubled ($10,992,500 in June of 2015 and $18,854,140 in October) and the median price of sold homes was up by 26% from June to October. The market is cyclical and it is not unusual for the climate to change from quarter to quarter. It is definitely not unusual for the real estate market to have price swings over a five month period. So I listed the home at $1,100,000, hoping that the seller’s costs in commissions plus the carrying costs and improvements would be covered.
I do not think it is relevant nor ethical for me to discuss the details of a transaction that the trust was not a party to. However, just to set your mind at ease, I absolutely did not represent the buyer. The buyer was represented by a completely different real estate agency. Also, the buyer made an offer in a similar fashion to the first time it sold; in other words, he met our asking price before I had a chance to put in in the MLS. So, to answer the statement by your relative that the MLS description did not give any detail of improvements, it was not necessary to put a lot of info on the description as the house was already in escrow.
During this time, I called Heather and left a message for her. I wanted to discuss what had transpired and I also had a question about a major repair under the house that the new owner had to do. I had hoped she didn’t pay for that repair as it had not been done. But she did not return my call.
By the way, the house on Raccoon Trail that your relative referred to as selling for $1.3 million was a 4 bedroom, 3 bath home significantly larger than your sister’s home and property (2600 sf on a 13,000 sf lot) and it sold at the height of the market boom in 2004. That would not have been a relevant comparable to look at 11 years later when the market had not yet nearly recovered or come back to the landmark pricing of a decade ago.
Aside from representing the trust in trying to get the best possible outcome with the sale of the house for your sister so that she could afford the best care her money can buy, as you and Heather know, I did my best to work along side you both for months in trying to get through the personal property. I helped with referrals for buyers for the items, helped with recommendations for dealers who might be interested in the items for sale, showed you how to stage the sale, helped with pricing of items because of my background as a personal property appraiser, helped clean out the garage, loaned you tables for the sale, etc. I did this without compensation and to be helpful and supportive to your family in any way I could.
I hope this information will bring closure to your relative and I hope I have addressed her concerns. Everyone worked very diligently to do their very best for your sister so that she could have the care and comfort that she deserves and needs. I was really happy to bring you such a strong offer and I stand by the facts. Sometimes what you read on the internet does not tell the whole story and I think one should have all the facts before jumping to such serious accusations. I hope your sister is as comfortable as she possibly can be and is receiving the full benefit of her trust in having her needs met as that is how it should be.
If you need any further information, Cathy, please feel free to reach out.
Best,
Vilia
Vilia Kakis Gilles
Sotheby's International Realty
BRE#00883948
(831)-760-7091
2015 Top 3 Producing Agent
Top 1% Producing Agent Nationwide
-------- Original message --------
From: Sharyn Bovat <sharynbovat@icloud.com>
Date: 03/21/2016 6:16 AM (GMT-08:00)
To: jogthru <jogthru@yahoo.com>, "Kyle A. Krasa" <kyle@krasalaw.com>, Claudia <cojocar1@telus.net>, Heather Bovat <h_bov@hotmail.com>, Traci Bovat <traci.bovat@live.com>, Michael Dorris <michael.dorris@credit-suisse.com>, Michael Reyes <mike_reyes@outlook.com>
Subject: Records Show "Fishy" Transaction in reference to sale of Mom's Home. Estate can re-coup loss via action against realtor. It Starts with a formal complaint to the Real Estate Board .
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