Shelia Swaim was the listing agent on a house that I made an offer to purchase in June 2019. I made the offer through a buyer's agent. My offer was accepted, and everything started to move forward. The first time I saw the house at 7599 Foxfire Drive, was at an open house. The second time was with my agent. In the bay window, in the eat-in kitchen, was an old, very large, round, dinning table, that was actually too large for the space. You had to turn sideways to walk behind it. On my second visit, I walked behind the table, to look at the view from the bay windows, and noticed the table was very wobbly, but thought it must be the old table.
From the inspection, that was given to me by the owner, the inspector indicated there were very minor items that needed to be fixed. One of these items was, the windows had been painted shut. I was also given a list of items, that had been repaired, and this list indicated that the painted shut windows had been fixed. On my second visit to the house, I tried to open some windows, but they would not open, and I knew that the repaired list was not correct. This made me think, there could be other items, that I was being told had been repaired, but actually had not been. So, I asked to see the house for a third time. On this visit, the old table had been moved. That is when I noticed the floor was not level. Also on this visit, on the second floor, almost directly above the unlevel first floor, was a large hump in the transition between the hall and bathroom.
After I discovered the unlevel floor, I asked to get another inspection, to get a second opinion. According to Shelia Swaim, I was on a time line, that I had to stick too, and there wasn't enough time for me to get a second opinion. It was very, very obvious that Shelia Swain didn't want me to get another inspection, and she made all sorts of threats, if I didn't proceed with closing. Shelia Swaim came at me like a bull dog, and every other day it would be a new threat, and a new deadline that she set for me. When she learned that I would not be bullied, she finally acquiesced for the second opinion. I called an inspector, whom I had already been talking to, and he recommend I get a foundation inspection, and gave me the name of someone to call. As it turned out, the foundation expert, had done an estimate for foundation repair work in 2004, when the house was for sale, but the foundation was never repaired. During all this time Shelia Swain continued to bully me, trying to get me to closing. She even set up the appointment with the closing attorney, who called me, and either the attorney, or Shelia Swain herself, called my lender telling them what documents they needed to send to closing. Every other day Shelia Swain gave me a new deadline that I had to meet, or else. Shelia Swain acted like she had lost her mind. I called the Alabama Real Estate Commission to file a complaint. The investigator offered some suggestions to try, before filing the complaint. Shelia Swain continued to threatened me, that if I didn't move to closing, she was keeping my $1000 earnest money, and every other day it was a new threat, and new demands.
The owner purchased the house in Jan 2019, and was selling it six months later. The owner bought the house from Shelia Swain, and then Shelia Swaim was helping him sell it in June 2019. I am no expert, but I noticed the floor being unlevel on my brief third visit. Shelia Swain had spent enough time in the house to have known about the foundation problems, and certainly the owner did. They both knew all right, and made a conscience decision to conceal it. Even after I discovered the foundation problems, Shelia Swain said if I didn't proceed to closing she would sue me, and she did contact a lawyer, who contacted me. I guess the lawyer must have given her good advice, and she returned my earnest money.
Shelia Swaim is a corrupt real estate agent, who will use any tactic to sell a house. The house that I was interested in, had foundation problems, that Shelia Swain, chose to conceal, rather than reveal. Don't be Shelia Swain's patsy, and don't be bullied by her tactics.
After my money was returned, I called the investigator at the Real Estate Commission, to let him know the outcome of my situation with Shelia Swaim. When he learned the house would be back on the market, he asked for Shelia Swaim's contact information. He was going to contact her, to ensure that she revealed the foundation problems to any prospective buyers. read more
