I got really close to making an offer on a house last week, but then I didn’t–the house still had the original 1939 knob and tube wiring and a fuse box.
In the course of finding out about the wiring, my awesome agent forwarded me the emails she got from the seller’s agent, in which I (the buyer) was always referred to “he.” For example: “If the buyer wants to call the guy who inspected the wiring, he can reach that guy* at…” and “If the buyer wants a house with updated wiring, he might need to look at new construction.” (That one’s an actual quote.)**
My realtor is a woman so I haven’t had to deal with any of the “Buying a house all by yourself, little lady?” attitude that you get in a conservative state. I just thought it was interesting that the default for the (male) seller’s agent was “he.”
So the house hunt continues, even though I am not a man.
*That guy was described as an “Army electrician and jack of most trades.” Um, shouldn’t that job description have been “licensed electrician”?
**For the love of god. I don’t need NEW wiring; just wiring that isn’t a fire hazard.
Aaah, your house could burn down at any minute, Jason!!
Just kidding. Mostly.
If there were a chance of the realtor even knowing that “he” was more old-fashionedly correct than “they,” I would have been happy. But judging from his prose in the emails, I would say that’s impossible. I love that you tried to put a positive spin on things with grammar, though.
Ahem. My house still has 1930s-vintage knob-and-tube wiring and a fuse box. Well, half of it does, anyhow. Dad always replaced systems as they failed, not as The Man told him it was time to update…
Seriously, though, the male pronoun thing is pretty off-putting. Maybe the person sending those emails is simply practicing the old-fashioned generic rule? Which is sexist, too, but maybe not quite as objectionable as the “little lady buying a big old house by herself?!” thing. Maybe. Or maybe not.
I’ll shut up now…
I’m glad to hear that the house hunt is going well and that you’ve got a good realtor. And seriously, why not just say “If the buyer has questions about wiring, *they* should contact such-and-such”?
Seriously! I mean, it’s 2010. “Ladies can do stuff now and you’re just going to have to deal with it.”
You’re not alone. The first time I bought a house the realtor (man) kept answering my questions by talking to my mom instead of me. The next time we bought a house and went the closing the attorney handed everything to sign to my hubby, who slid it over the table to me. Sheesh!
A woman? Buying a house? On her own? What is the world coming to?