The Fitze is Right | A Real Estate Podcast

In Episode 4 of The Fitze Is Right, Maryland realtor Jen Fitze takes you inside one of the wildest bidding wars she's ever been a part of... and she was at pottery class when it all went down.A $425,000 house in Bel Air hit the market with zero photos online. Not one interior shot. Just a terrible exterior photo that looked like it came from Google Earth. No showings were available through the normal scheduling app; Jen had to call the listing agent directly. Showings were restricted to one four-hourwindow and the seller would be present.Jen and her buyers showed up expecting the worst. Instead, they walked into a flipping party... cars everywhere. The house was a huge rancher on almost three acres, beautifully maintained by the same owner for 50 years. Original medieval-looking flooring in perfect condition. And a French maid mannequinin the family room. 40 people toured the house in four hours... on a listing with no photos.Then things got creative. Jen's buyer's husband found a $5 bill in the yard while looking for lot line stakes. They returned it to the seller. When they wrote their offer with an escalation clause, they ended the cap amount in "05"... so the seller would know they were "the $5 people." Since love letters to sellers are no longer legal, they had to get creative to stand out. Offers were due Sunday at 2 PM. Jen was at pottery class. Covered in clay. Her vase collapsed. Her phone was blowing up... buyer wants to change the offer, listing agent is texting updates, and Jen istrying not to be rude to the pottery instructor while managing a real estate bidding war with clay-covered hands.Then came the gut punch. Only 5 offers came in out of 40 showings,  but the winning offers were well over $100,000 above the listing price. All cash. Jen's buyer never had a chance. She texted her frowny faces from the pottery wheel.But the episode doesn't stop there. Jen breaks down everything you need to know about bidding wars — what an escalation clause is and when it helps vs. hurts you, what an appraisal gap means, why she'd never let a client waive inspections on a well and septic system, and how cash offers actually work. Then she reveals what your agent won't tell you: the listing agent does NOT work for buyers, dual agencymeans one agent takes both sides with no commission discount, and love letters are now illegal due to Fair Housing violations. Plus, she shares how she once won a house for her buyer using Reese's Cups, a Home Depot gift card, and a little creative research.The episode wraps with the first-ever Rapid Fire segment; including Jen's answer to "What would you ban from real estate?" Spoiler: RIP Zillow.In this episode you'll learn:→ Why a house with no photos got 40 showings in 4 hours→ The creative $5 strategy that made one offer unforgettable→ What an escalation clause is and when it can hurt you→ Why cash offers win and how financed buyers can still compete→ What the listing agent really does with your information→ Why dual agency is almost never smart for buyers→ How love letters became illegal and what 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]

In Episode 3 of The Fitze Is Right, Maryland realtor Jen Fitze shares two stories that will change the way you think about selling a home — one about a Facebook post that destroyed a deal on settlement day, and one about what your agent legally doesn't have to tell you.A house in Jen's parents' neighborhood in Parkville, Maryland had a water line burst from the refrigerator. Water was literally pouring out of the house. The owner came home to $60,000 in repairs. The entire main level was destroyed.A couple years later, the homeowner decided to sell. One problem — they never disclosed the water damage. It wasn't in the disclosures. It wasn't in the listing. They acted like it never happened.Then the buyer did what every buyer does — they went and stalked the seller on social media. Found their Facebook page. Scrolled through old posts. And there it was — photos and posts about the water damage, the $60,000 in repairs, all of it documented on Facebook for the world to see. The buyer had no idea until that moment. None of it had been disclosed.When settlement day came, the buyer sat down at the table and said three words: "I'm not buying." The seller had already moved out. Moving trucks were loaded. Possibly already purchased another home. They had to move everything back in. The entire sale collapsed — all because of a Facebook post and a missing disclosure.But Jen doesn't stop there. She breaks down exactly what disclosures are, what sellers are legally required to tell buyers, and what happens when they don't. From a Walmart being built near your neighborhood to a road widening that eats half your front yard — if it affects a buyer's decision, it has to be disclosed. Period.Then the episode takes an unexpected turn. Jen reveals that in Maryland, you do NOT have to disclose if someone died in a house. And she shares the story of listing a home where the previous owner — a doctor — was found in the garage. She refused to step foot in that garage. And she didn't have to tell a soul.In this episode you'll learn: → What disclosures are and why they can make or break a home sale → How a Facebook post gave a buyer the leverage to walk away on settlement day → Why buyers should always check a seller's social media before closing → The things sellers try to hide and how they get caught → What happens legally when you don't disclose known issues → What your agent is and isn't required to tell you about a property's history → Why Jen gives every seller "homework" before listing their homeNew 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]

In Episode 2 of The Fitze Is Right, Maryland realtor Jen Fitze shares one of the wildest buyer stories you'll ever hear... and it all started with a phone call about a nightmare.A military buyer relocating from Arizona to Aberdeen, Maryland found the perfect home; a beautiful rancher near Ripken Stadium. Offer accepted, deposit down, everything moving forward. Then Jen gets a call one morning. The buyer had a nightmare that the big tree in the front yard fell on the house. She no longer wanted to buy it.Not because of the inspection. Not because of the appraisal. Not because of financing. Because of a dream about a tree.From that point, the buyer completely ghosted Jen. Wouldn't answer calls, texts, or emails. The only thing she would say was that she wasn't buying the house. She missed her entire inspection window which was her only legitimate way out of the contract. She didn't schedule the appraisal. She just disappeared.Meanwhile, Jen is documenting everything in writing, keeping her broker in the loop, and communicating with the listing agent. Then a week before settlement, Jen gets a phone call from an attorney. The buyer had hired legal representation to get her out of the contract... because of a dream about a tree.The attorney reviewed everything Jen had documented, called back the next day, and delivered the verdict: the buyer cannot get out of the contract. She has to buy this house. And the attorney charged her an extra $1,500 just for wasting her time.But here's where the story takes its wildest turn. After weeks of ghosting, fighting, and hiring lawyers, the buyer shows up to the final walkthrough and says "Oh, I just love this house. I just love it." She walked through picking out where to put her furniture, barely spoke to Jen, and settled on the house like nothing ever happened.Jen and the listing agent sat in the family room after closing and stared at each other in disbelief.In this episode you'll learn: → The only ways you can legally back out of a real estate contract → Why skipping your inspection window can cost you your only exit → What to do when a deal starts falling apart from the buyer's side → Why documenting everything in writing saved Jen when the attorney called → What sellers should know about packing before the deal is final → How to handle stress and anxiety during the home buying process without derailing your purchaseNew 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]

In the very first episode of The Fitze Is Right, Maryland realtor Jen Fitze takes you all the way back to where it started... her own first home buying experience. And it was a disaster.In 2003, Jen and her husband were young, broke, and desperate to buy their first house in a competitive market. They finally landed a $72,000 home in Edgewood, Maryland. Sounds like a win, right? That's where the nightmare begins.The seller's wife, who wasn't even on the deed, physically blocked them from doing the final walkthrough. At settlement, that same woman came over the table screaming and threatening Jen. They had to split into separate rooms just to close the deal. The listing agent was so concerned about the situation that he put up his entire commission as a guarantee the sellers would leave the home in good condition.They didn't. Jen showed up on move-in day to holes in the walls, trash everywhere, a destroyed fence, and tire marks across the backyard. The agent lost every dollar of his commission.But it gets worse. Fifteen months later, a drug raid hit their court. Jen found herself on the floor of her bedroom in the dark at midnight while helicopters circled overhead and suspects ran past her house. The for-sale sign went up two weeks later.Their next home? A $138,000 house in Abingdon with 22 showings and zero offers, because the inside was trashed. A daycare operator with seven kids had left the home with poop on the bathroom walls, destroyed carpets, and a smell so bad they had to sit outside during the home inspection. Jen and her husband saw the potential and bought it anyway.To start renovations before closing, they agreed to pre-occupancy which meant waiving the final walkthrough. That one decision cost them everything. After closing, they discovered the basement was soaked, the walls were wet, and behind the drywall was black mold running up every joist. They couldn't afford to fix it and had to sleep on an air mattress in that basement with the mold for three months while they rehabbed the rest of the house.No one would go to court to help them. Their agent stopped returning calls. They were on their own.These two nightmares are exactly why Jen became a realtor. She never wanted anyone else to go through what she went through... and now, with over 20 years of experience in Maryland real estate, she makes sure they don't.In this episode you'll learn: → What a final walkthrough actually covers and why you should never skip it → What pre-occupancy means and why it can strip away your only protection as a buyer → Why your agent's obligation to you legally ends at settlement → What to do if you discover damage or hidden problems after closing → The one mistake first-time home buyers make that costs them thousandsThis is the episode that started it all. If you're buying a home, selling a home, or just love a wild real estate story... hit play.New episodes bi-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]