A new homeowner thought she had closed on her dream home, but she said the situation quickly turned into a nightmare.
In a viral video that has racked up over 383,000 views as of this writing, TikTok user London Chandler (@london.chandler) said she got taken advantage of by a real estate agent who sold her a bug-infested home.
While applying a makeup look, London shared how she ended up in the predicament.
“I got scammed by my real estate agent, and now, two months in, I have $50,000 in repairs and a house infested by termites,” she began in the clip.
London said she and her girlfriend were in the market for a new home back in February. However, she believes their first mistake was rushing into the purchase.
“Our first mistake was we were on a little bit of a time crunch because my lease was ending,” she said. “Buying a house is a huge decision. Do not rush that.”
She said they found what appeared to be their perfect home on Zillow and then contacted the real estate agent who represented the property.
That’s when things allegedly took a strange turn.
London claimed the real estate showed up at the property and simply let the couple in. She reportedly never gave them a tour of the property or the other listings London asked to view.
“We were kinda confused because we were like, ‘Aren’t the Realtors supposed to find you houses and like show them to you?’” she said she had wondered.
Still, the couple was able to find what they thought would be the perfect property and put in a bid.
London alleged the real estate agent saw the property for the first time during the inspection.
“She set that up with an inspector she uses every time,” the TikToker said. “Red flag.”
During the process, the woman believed she could trust her real estate agent and that she would have the couple’s best interest at heart.
“Mistake number two,” she continued.
London said the inspector refused to look in the attic while examining the home because it was covered in spray foam. However, he reportedly warned about seeing what he thought were termite droppings.
“He also said like, ‘You should get a termite inspector out here,’” London said.
According to her, the real estate agent then brought in a termite inspector, and tests came back indicating there were, in fact, termites in the property. The real estate agent also allegedly promised to put the findings in the report and get the home’s sellers to cover the cost of fumigating the property.
The TikToker said none of that happened. Instead, the real estate agent completely changed her story. The real estate agent allegedly argued that “active termites” simply meant that termites were in the property at one point and that there were no live termites in the home.
“I have text messages of her saying all this,” London said.
Ultimately, London felt that her real estate agent was intimidated by the agent who listed the property, so she threw her own clients under the bus.
“Looking back, she did not fight for us at all,” the TikToker said. “She just wanted a sale, and she got it.”
Months later, the couple’s friend reportedly woke up one morning with termites crawling all over her. London said that’s when several termite companies informed the couple that they had a very bad termite problem.
@london.chandler smallest realor that ever lived #storytime #homeowner #lgbt #florida #realestate #realtorsoftiktok ♬ original sound – London Chandler 🌈
In a follow-up video, London said things only got worse.
According to her, the spray foam in the attic meant the home couldn’t be properly fumigated until it was removed. She said multiple companies in her area refused to do the work, but she finally found one that would. Thus, to fix the problematic termite problem, she would have to remove the spray foam, essentially demolish her attic, get an inspection and fumigation, and then finally repair all of the damage.
@london.chandler Replying to @kyleetorppa forgot to mention all 3 of us have been sleeping on the couch every night:) the termites haven’t fully taken over the living room yet 🥲 #storytime #lgbtq #homeowner ♬ original sound – London Chandler 🌈
According to Whitney LLP Attorneys At Law, real estate agents who lie or misrepresent facts to their clients may be held legally responsible. They can be sued in a civil suit for negligence, misrepresentation, fraud, and/or a breach of fiduciary duty.
In the comments section, many urged the TikToker to lawyer up.
“Please get an attorney that specializes in this kind of thing,” user Hollysatterwhite3 said. “You may be entitled to funds to make repairs.”
“Sue,” another commenter urged. “You will absolutely win.”
Others recommended that she look into getting the costs covered in other ways.
“As Realtors, we all pay into a recovery fund in the event something like this happens,” user Madison Shawver said. “Call the board of Realtors to file a complaint and see about getting expenses taken care of through this!!!”
The Daily Dot emailed London for comment.
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