Hawkins Real Estate

"We had a deal fall through with Don Hawkins representing the sellers of a single family home. Our offer was accepted and we went through the customary inspection process, where the inspector found issues totaling approximately $50,000. We made a list and divided the items to what we thought was a fair and reasonable offer, pretty much split down the middle of what we were going to fix after closing and what the sellers would fix prior. To our surprise, the sellers agreed and signed the defect notice on 9/2/22. While most of the items were completed, there were two major points that were performed improperly or not at all. Line #2 stated, in full: “Roofing contractor to replace roof and sheathing on house and garage and Install Proper Roof Venting.” We had a roofing expert come out and write a quote based on their observations, which included the fact that the sheathing was spaced 1/4”-1” apart and needed to be replaced. The sellers decided to use their own roofer who told them what they wanted to hear: that the deck boards didn’t need replaced. So they went ahead and paid their roofer to tear off the old shingles and install new ones on top of the existing deck boards. (Regardless of what they were told did or didn’t need to be done, they signed a contract to do X, Y, and Z, and willingly went against the contract they themselves signed without consulting us or our agent). When we went to inspect the house at our final walkthrough, we inspected the attic space of the roof and discovered that entire rows of shingles were nailed into the gaps between the deck boards. Ohio Code 905.2.1 states: “Sheathing requirements. Asphalt shingles shall be fastened to solidly sheathed decks.” The technical bulletin from the shingles they used on the roof states: “Decks constructed with spaced deck boards: Installed with maximum 1/4-Inch spacing between boards. Holes or gaps greater than 1/4 inch must be repaired or boards replaced.” By the Ohio Building Code, the roof is out of compliance. By the shingle manufacturer, the fact that the shingles were installed incorrectly meant that the shingles were not warrantied. This was red flag #1. Red flag #2 came up with line #3 of the defect notice: “Licensed Electrician to evaluate and repair the following items […] B)To Replace all Knob and Tube Wiring.” This house had old, no-longer in-use knob and tube wiring in the basement and first floor that never got removed, but the attic was still using knob and tube. The problem is that a lot of insurance companies either won’t insure homes with knob and tube or charge astronomically for it (we were able to find one company and the quote was around $2100 annually). So during our final walkthrough, we noticed that the knob and tube wiring was still present in the attic. We brought these two items up to our realtor and gave her an ultimatum to include to Don Hawkins: either fix the items you and your sellers signed a legally binding contract to do, or we’ll hire an attorney to sue for Failure to Perform. Per our agent, Don told her “I’m not fixing another thing on that house.” We met with an attorney and were told we had a clear case to sue for, however the cost of legal fees would be equal to or greater than the cost to compel them to perform the repairs they were contractually obligated to perform. So instead, we walked from the deal, ate the $1,000+ cost in inspections, appraisals, etc, and started the search over. When we qualified for our loan, we locked in a 6% interest rate. When we walked, the rate disappeared and now we’re starting over at 8% due to rate hikes. Now that we’re on the hunt again, any home with a Hawkins Real Estate listing agent is immediately passed on."

"Not very friendly"

"Very rude an inconsiderable"

"They never come out and fix anything"