Quote:
Originally Posted by pghquest
Not sarcasm at all, did you read the article?
This is not an instance of a skewed appraisal. The story states that the buyers appraisal showed a value of $1.05M, but they paid $1.2M for their home. They chose to pay more money for the home then the appraisal showed it was worth.
In this instance, the appraisal was not misleading, she chose to ignore it. Do not blame the appraiser for her stupidity.
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Most of you know I am not an agent.. I am a buyer & seller. This case has peaked my interest very much, so much that I've been keeping some tabs on it via google.
IMO, I think they think they overpaid and are trying to get compensation from the agent. Buyers remorse. Had they been the seller and gotten top dollar for the house, would they be sharing it with the agent? No. How would the seller feel if the agent sued them?
My parents bought & sold in this same market the Ummels did but in NJ. Unfortunately, they spent more on their new house (which close in July 2005) then they got for their old (closed in March 2006) as they sold after they bought the new & listed in October 2005. There was one particular person that held up the sale of the old house; would I have liked to take his butt to court? You bet. Had this guy not held up my parents house (we were naive) they very well could have gotten more as the market started dropping during this time.
I've come across some links that I'd like to share that puts more light on the story. One came from Active Rain, while the other I've supplied to a few blogs about this story at Active Rain..
Comps for the property in question - got this from someone else.
This is a link I found on my own which tells another story..
Couple, Feeling They've Been Wronged, Picket Re/Max
Now, in that article, some key points:
1. The house in question cost more than a million dollars. After selling their other home in San Rafael, they needed a $300,000 mortgage on the Carlsbad property.
2. Direct quote: In the heated real estate market that peaked near the end of 2005, real estate prices soared, and buyers often bid much higher than sellers had asked for. But they usually did so knowing what the comparable sales in the neighborhood had been. The Ummels say Little didn't provide the appraisal of the property until a week before they closed the sale. And when it did come, it matched the seller's asking price exactly, and was based on sales that actually had larger lot sizes and better amenities, Marti Ummel said.
3. They started working with him in May 2005, looked at houses for 2 weekends, looking at
over 50 homes
4. On May 29, they made an offer on a four-bedroom, 3,697-sq-ft home in the Serenada neighborhood in Carlsbad. The seller, a real estate agent, had
advertised a selling price of $1.175 million for the home. The Ummels made an offer at that price,
owner/agent countered with a $1.2 million price. They agreed to pay that, even though they hadn't seen (at the time) an independent appraisal on the property.
5. Another point lists who they are settling with.. It lists the company name their agent was a mortgage broker with, and says it was him that made the loan, which is legal in that state from other things I've read. They were seeking $20,000 from those 2 co-defendants.
I've read that the Ummels have spent way more then $75,000 on legal fees, about twice that. According to the Zillow page for their home, they are paying taxes on the assessed value of $542,462, which has gone down since 2005 ($667,945)
From what I've read, had the agent shown them the other house (which may not have been available), I don't think his commission would be that much less, so it makes no sense. I also don't doubt that the Ummels told their agent.. we want such & such and don't want such & such.. so as an agent he finds houses to show them in their price range. I expect this of an agent, especially 2 years ago when there weren't many sites buyers could go to.
I'm pretty sure I saw the other house in question on a map and they would have driven by it. As a buyer in 2007, my hubby & I drove around communities we liked, looking for for sale signs. There were 3 times that I went out with my agent, stopped in front of a house that wasn't picked up in my search, my agent called. In each case there were reasons why the house did not come up.. a pool would be one of them as we do not want one.
I've also read (unofficially, no link) that some of the houses in question had value range pricing, which is pretty popular in CA, and from what I've read, during this particular market, very effective for getting the top price, which was what the market in 2005 was like from our experience.
If the agent did something wrong with also being the mortgage broker and not providing comps / appraisal (they only needed a $300,000 mortgage) then he should be fined.
All of the facts are not known for sure, but reading bits and pieces can give a decent idea of what is going on. I for one think that giving an attorney money, especially in a case like this could very well be a frivolous lawsuit. Although I have not watched the video clip from Good Morning America, from what I've read about it, it appears Mr Ummel isn't really involved in this.
edit - I fotgot to mention the other agent here, the one who's flier is being used. I feel bad for her because now she has to get an attorney. I'm not sure if her husband is representing her. She's quoted as saying “People are responsible for their own decisions,” said Ms. Hokkanen, who has been subpoenaed as a
defense witness. It also says she is sympathetic to Mr. Little, which tells me there are things we do not know.
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God forbid they actually own up to buying at the wrong time.
