Rules of Real Estate Disclosure?

[elvisabeth]

Originally Posted by VeritasMatters

Well, it will take us a bit to digest all your info, Mrradio. but we will! My brother-in-law is an attorney and brokers' attorney - forgot about this, and will check with him as well. I have never heard of an "verbal" real estate offer, just assumed it always had to be written...interesting. We have just started working w/a realtor in Kingston recommended by locals there. You have certainly armed us with some great food for thought and/or action! Really appreciate it. Hubby will look this week at listings we've selected online and see how they check out in "real-time" w/realtor. Again, thanks!

I am interested in contacting your recommended realtor...I am going to purchase a home near Kingston. Any advise you can give me resulting from your experience will be greatly appreciated.

[hilly7]

Originally Posted by inamess

In my case the Real Estate agents was the owners & sellers of the property I bought. They did NOT inform me of MAJOR DEFECTS "within" and/or "on" the property/house/land. Property Drainage Issues, MOLD inside of the home, Mold inside crawlspace, cracks in foundation/footer, Sump Pump (they installed due to a min. of 8" of standing water) ALL of this: "Required/Must be Disclosed" My case: Consumer Protection Act, Breach of Contract, Misrepresentation, Code of Ethics with TREC and Board of Realtors. The poor or rich should NOT be subject to living with or around MOLD and should be informed of MAJOR DEFECTS within a home before purchase. FLIPPING homes is fine BUT do NOT do it at the risk of someones life and lets TELL ALL before signing the papers.

If someone hasn't lived in the house then they can file a Property Disclosure Waiver. Unless something is noticeable to the eye, this covers them. Not the case where they had to install a pump to get the water out, that should have been disclosed.

I have to disagree with one thing you said, IMHO, agents should not be buying a flipping houses for themselves. I know it is legal but there is an ethical problem with that. There is no way that an agent can help someone find the best deal if they are snatching them up for theirself. Flipping houses is fine as long as the ones flipping aren't licenced to sell real-estate.

[LovnTN]

Originally Posted by SheBee

We bought an unimproved lot a few months ago. At the time we asked the sellers' realtor if there is an HOA because the property looked as though it might be part of one. We were told no, that there was no HOA and no dues. Today I got a letter from an HOA informing me that we are now in arrears on dues we knew nothing about. If this had been a house sale I would have gone through the usual channels - inspector, real estate lawyer, etc, - but because it was a relatively straightforward deal it didn't seem necessary. If I had been told there was an HOA I would have demanded copies of the covenants and by-laws as a part of our due dilligence.
My buyers realtor is checking with her broker, but I'm wondering if we have any recourse here against the seller? We live 12 hours away from this property, in another state.

I know this probably won't help your current situation, but for future reference one of the best places to check if an HOA/deed restrictions/back taxes still due apply to a piece of property is the county court house/recorder. You may check there now to see if they show an HOA. The information is free unless you make copies and it can save you a headache in the future.

[LovnTN]

Originally Posted by hilly7

If someone hasn't lived in the house then they can file a Property Disclosure Waiver. Unless something is noticeable to the eye, this covers them. Not the case where they had to install a pump to get the water out, that should have been disclosed.

I have to disagree with one thing you said, IMHO, agents should not be buying a flipping houses for themselves. I know it is legal but there is an ethical problem with that. There is no way that an agent can help someone find the best deal if they are snatching them up for theirself. Flipping houses is fine as long as the ones flipping aren't licenced to sell real-estate.

ALWAYS, always get a property inspection no matter what is disclosed, it will be worth the money. Make sure you find a property inspector that is very experienced, and thorough. Ours was awesome and he earned every penny. When we purchased our home a year ago we were told that the home had recently been under contract but the people could not finance so the deal was canceled. We were told they had an inspection and no major defects were found so we would be wasting our money on one. We insisted on our own inspection (with our own guy) and found problems with the roof, cracked rafters, numerous foundation problems, etc.