My Seller Got Arrested Twice & Locked Me Out The Basement

In Episode 9 of The Fitze Is Right, Maryland realtor Jen Fitze tells the story of the most chaotic listing of her career — one that ended with an arrest, a restraining order, and a seller she's still tagged as "incarcerated" in her CRM.It started as a simple referral. A realtor friend at a 55-and-older new construction community in Perry Hall called Jen to list a woman's house. The seller needed to sell in order to qualify to buy in the new community. Simple enough. Jen drove down, met the woman — super sweet, 90 pounds, not even five feet tall — toured the house, which was clean and beautifully decorated. Everything seemed perfect.Then Jen heard yelling from the basement. On the tour, one daughter's bedroom was locked with a note that said she could never show it. The stairwell to the basement had no trespassing signs posted in the seller's own home. The basement was completely off limits.What Jen discovered: one daughter upstairs had mental health issues. Another daughter and her wife were living in the basement rent-free, screaming obscenities at their mother. The husband, sitting on the couch ignoring everything, apparently doesn't live there — and now Jen knew why.It got worse. During listing photos, the upstairs daughter's bedroom door had warnings written on it: "Keep out. No trespassing. You'll go to jail." When the daughter was finally gone, Jen was able to see the room — the walls were covered in drawings and nasty messages to the mother. In Sharpie.Then came the phone call no agent ever expects. The builder's agent called: "We have a problem." The 90-pound seller had been arrested for assault on her basement daughter. A restraining order was filed — against the mother. She couldn't return to her own house. The daughters threw her clothes on the front lawn.A few days later? Arrested again. Same charge. Jen had to withdraw the listing and put in the notes: "Seller is incarcerated." The seller lost $10,000 in good faith deposit on the new construction because she couldn't sell her house. The daughters won — they were living there for free and sabotaged the entire sale.Jen also breaks down the financial reality of being a realtor that most people don't understand: agents front all costs out of pocket, don't get paid until settlement, and if the deal falls through, they eat every dollar they invested. Plus four scenarios that can kill a deal — from financing falling through to title search surprises.In this episode you'll learn: → What happens when a seller's family sabotages a home sale → Why the basement is where all the problems hide → What realtors actually pay out of pocket before getting paid → Why realtors only earn about $40/hour when you break it down → Four things that can kill a deal between contract and closing → Why you should never buy anything during escrow — not even gumNew episodes weekly. Follow Jen Fitze on social media for daily real estate tips.Thanks for listening to The Fitze Is Right with Jen Fitze... the real estate podcast that tells you what your agent won't.New episodes drop every other week. If this episode helped you or made your jaw drop, leave a 5-star review; it's the single best way to help new listeners find the show.Got a real estate horror story of your own? We want to hear it. Send your story to @jenniferfitzecompassrealestate and Jen might read and react to it live on a future episode.CONNECT WITH JEN: All socials @jenniferfitzecompassrealestateWORK WITH JEN: Buying or selling a home in Maryland? Jen has over 20 years of experience helping families in Harford County, Baltimore County, and beyond. Reach out at [email protected]