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Old 03-18-2010, 11:50 AM
 
8,007 posts, read 10,428,452 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jennibc View Post
When we bought this house the seller didn't disclose to us that we had no hot water in the front sink. It costs us $2000 in electrical and plumbing work to rectify the situation. Because I hold a JD and have been legally trained, I could sue him and would only incur court costs. But we won't. It's too big of headache for 2000 and technically we did get warm water there and there would be the entire question of whether that was something that legally had to be disclosed under the contract.
Did you have an inspection done? If not, that's sort of your fault. If so, then I would have issue with the inspector. Not that the owner was right to not disclose it, but you sort of have to protect yourself.
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Old 03-18-2010, 04:30 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX!!!!
3,757 posts, read 9,060,121 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mm57553 View Post
Did you have an inspection done? If not, that's sort of your fault. If so, then I would have issue with the inspector. Not that the owner was right to not disclose it, but you sort of have to protect yourself.
Of course we did. This is our third home. The inspector didn't catch it and apparently it's not something that they usually check. They just turn on the faucets and see if water comes out.
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Old 03-19-2010, 07:27 AM
 
Location: Austin, Texas
544 posts, read 1,667,625 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by XLadylawX View Post
The OP also raises an interesting issue re financing falling through. We keep hearing that lenders are being super strict these days even with qualified buyers. Does anyone here know how hard it is to obtain a loan in Austin these days? I was speaking to a RE Broker in California and she indicated to me that I may have trouble getting financing for a primary residence unless I put MORE than a 20% downpayment because I own another house (now an investment) in California. This is despite the fact that I have good credit and the ability to pay a mortgage.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

lenders have gone from approving pretty much blind to placing every candidate under a microscope -- expect loads of paperwork but, if you've got it together, things fly smoothly and there is money available

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Old 03-19-2010, 07:37 AM
 
Location: Cypress, TX
587 posts, read 1,420,338 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by orbius View Post
You can sue in small claims court. Presumably they have to produce documents that proves they tried to obtain financing.
My first question when reading this thread is about Texas real estate, in general. Is it not standard to always submit an LSR (Loan Status Report) from the lender when submitting an offer? In Phoenix, an offer won't even be looked at without one, certainly not accepted. This lender form shows the buyer's pre-approval and where they are in the process for the loan. They could still be denied further along in the process, but it at least shows that the process has been started and that they're pre-approved.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jennibc View Post
That's why most realtors advise sellers to get a bank's commitment letter from the buyer at the the time of contract.
So I guess this kind of answers my previous question. Apparently it's not standard, just advised?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jennibc View Post
When we bought this house the seller didn't disclose to us that we had no hot water in the front sink. It costs us $2000 in electrical and plumbing work to rectify the situation. Because I hold a JD and have been legally trained, I could sue him and would only incur court costs. But we won't. It's too big of headache for 2000 and technically we did get warm water there and there would be the entire question of whether that was something that legally had to be disclosed under the contract.
Ok, this raises another Texas real estate question for me. Again, in Arizona, there is a form required to be filled out by sellers (also in Washington state, as we had to fill it out when we sold a house there) called "SPDS", which is Seller Property Disclosure Statement. In Arizona, if you don't ever live in the home, etc. (investor or bank-owned, usually) you can dislcose in the listing that there is no SPDS because the owner doesn't have enough information on the home to accurately answer the questions. In Washington, however, it must be filled out, regardless. We actually never did live in our home in Washington, but had to fill out it "to the best of our knowledge".

No hot water at a sink would certainly have to be disclosed on such a form and there would be legal implications for the seller if it were not.

Does this also work differently in Texas?

Sorry for going a little off-topic here, but this thread seemed like a good place to ask some of these real-estate questions that are being raised.
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Old 03-19-2010, 08:01 AM
 
Location: Central Texas
20,958 posts, read 45,404,950 times
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Texas has a Seller's Disclosure. It's supposed to cover the things that a seller knows are a problem with the house that they are required to disclose. There are exemptions for sellers who inherited it, foreclosed on it, etc., because they would be in no position to know anything about it.
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Old 03-19-2010, 08:11 AM
 
37,315 posts, read 59,869,570 times
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when we bought our current home in Hurst about year and half ago, the inspector had a device that he would point at water flow from faucets to check the temps--so that he could see if there was hot water coming out of the hot faucet...
we had problem in master bath shower after we moved in (house was bought in Oct but we did not move in until Dec because of having some remodeling work done)...but the home inspector reiterated to us that there was hot water coming out of shower at inspection...

Supposedly the home inspectors we used also checked EVERY electrical socket to make sure they were all working--but since the house was occupied when they inspected I don't know that they really did that...
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Old 03-19-2010, 02:00 PM
 
Location: SW Austin & Wimberley
6,333 posts, read 18,056,449 times
Reputation: 5532
Quote:
No hot water at a sink would certainly have to be disclosed on such a form and there would be legal implications for the seller if it were not.
She was saying that the cost of a successful lawsuit over that issue was not worth the time and money required to prevail. Makes sense. Some things are better walked away from.

Steve
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Old 03-19-2010, 02:39 PM
 
1,148 posts, read 2,780,650 times
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Basically you refuse to release their earnest money get a lawyer to send a demand letter to the buyer asking for verifiable proof of the failed financing attempt or the earnest money one of the two. If they dont produce the documents its basically open and shut for the mediator to release the earnest money to you.
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Old 03-19-2010, 02:47 PM
 
Location: SW Austin & Wimberley
6,333 posts, read 18,056,449 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by orbius View Post
Basically you refuse to release their earnest money get a lawyer to send a demand letter to the buyer asking for verifiable proof of the failed financing attempt or the earnest money one of the two. If they dont produce the documents its basically open and shut for the mediator to release the earnest money to you.
Your answering your own question now?

The mediator has no authority whatsoever over the earnest money. The Title Company has to have a signed release from both parties, or the won't release it. The only exception is if one party demands it, the other party is notified of the demand and fails to respond within the specifiied time (30 days I think). A mediator can't cause anything to happen. Mediation isn't even binding.

Meanwhile, you can't sell your house when a earnest money dispute is in place.

Steve
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Old 03-19-2010, 02:50 PM
 
Location: Back home in California
589 posts, read 1,812,951 times
Reputation: 292
Quote:
Originally Posted by orbius View Post
Basically you refuse to release their earnest money get a lawyer to send a demand letter to the buyer asking for verifiable proof of the failed financing attempt or the earnest money one of the two. If they dont produce the documents its basically open and shut for the mediator to release the earnest money to you.
In the alternative, you could draft and send the demand letter yourself and save the cost of having the letter drafted. If you want to fancy it up, you can quote language from the contract in your letter. Just be clear and to the point. Make a copy of the letter for your reecords and send the original certified with a return receipt.

Last edited by XLadylawX; 03-19-2010 at 02:50 PM.. Reason: Content
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