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What a mess. I sold the house at a decent price, it was vandalized, the buyer withdrew their offer (supposedly over another reason) and now I've submitted a counter offer on another offer I'm waiting on. In the meantime, the second buyer does not know of the vandalism. So I guess I have to ask. Is it required to disclose this? It's obvious enough what was done. The house is vacant.
The worst part is I know who did it and he has a commercial RE broker license and hence has had access to my house. So I and my RE company have devised a plan to have the house alarmed at all times and agents must call in for the alarm code. Meanwhile, I had to tell them he is not allowed in the house and he just happens to be my neighbor! Now, I know this is all personally directed against me (always has been). He would not be like this with another new neighbor. I've disclosed what can be verified and, since the cops think I'm nuts anyway, I felt no need to disclose the rest. However, I did call the police over this vandalism.
There is no one touring my house who would dislike it so much to go out there and kick in the door and do what has been done. So now I live in fear of losing this second offer (still have to wait and see what happens with the counter) and I just want to be OUT OF THERE before anymore destruction is done. I am meticulous about keeping the garage door locked so it had to have been someone who slipped in or came with a realtor or presented his own business card as a broker (as in he who is responsible).
Of course, I don't want to get sued down the road either, but now I guess I have a "stigmatized house" on my hands. This is just the nightmare that never ends. Thanks for any advice.
There is no one touring my house who would dislike it so much to go out there and kick in the door and do what has been done.
Was the door kicked in? Or was there no forced entry? Vandals are EVERYWHERE. I'd cut my losses and fix, repaint, do whatever I had to do to put the house back to where it was before. And I'm no RE agent, but I'd say you'd have to disclose it. It's going to be pretty apparent anyway. Why add legal troubles on top of everything else. Just my two cents.
Thanks for everyone's input. Of course it will be disclosed. I don't even know what I was thinking when I asked that question. For one thing, it's obvious! Secondly, vandals are everywhere and for all I know some careless realtor or party left the service door open and anyone could have decided to cause some trouble, so I think I was a bit hasty in jumping to "I know who did this." I don't. It's just easy (when one has had a bad history with someone) to point the finger their way. The truth is I have no proof of anything and it's just really unfortunate it happened.
What's even MORE unfortunate is that this may cause me to lose the sale. It may not be repairable and if replaced will cost a lot of money (and I'm not sure my homeowners is willing to dole out the kind of money we're talking). And of course I do not want to have to file a claim as that goes against me.
I just don't know why people like to cause problems, but they do. On the stigma scale, I personally don't think it's a make or break. As long as I am willing to be responsible for the house until it closes (someday), a buyer should be ok with that. Hopefully nothing else happens. I had thought about spending some nights there, but this would mean a blow up bed and, quite frankly, if someone is intent on damaging a property they will just wait for that window of opportunity when I'm not there anyway. Fingers crossed here that nothing goes wrong and thanks.
I do have one more question though. My realtor has advised me not to try to repair any damage until the inspection. Well, I don't quite follow that line of thinking. I am going to have to repair any damage anyway, so does anyone get why I would be given that kind of advice? I mean I realize to her she has the listing for X months so if this falls through she still has plenty of time to sell it. Meanwhile, I'm paying taxes on two places, utilities, insurances, etc, not to mention the burden of being responsible for a vacant property and the anxiety that goes along with it. Maybe a realtor can explain this to me. Of course I welcome input from anyone who isn't a realtor too!
Misty, your Realtor may be trying to save you some money. If you wait until after the inspection, the buyer should tell you what repairs are needed in order to proceed with the sale. If you've repaired something that's not important to the buyers then you've spent your money unnecessarily. Hope this makes sense.
P.S. So sorry that your house was vandalized. I've seen the damage done here as well.
If you don't make repairs, you have to disclose. I would talk to an agent about how to explain what happened because if you give buyers the version of the story you gave here, you will never sell that house. I sure as heck wouldn't want to live next to a guy who behaves like this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mistygrl092
What a mess. I sold the house at a decent price, it was vandalized, the buyer withdrew their offer (supposedly over another reason) and now I've submitted a counter offer on another offer I'm waiting on. In the meantime, the second buyer does not know of the vandalism. So I guess I have to ask. Is it required to disclose this? It's obvious enough what was done. The house is vacant.
The worst part is I know who did it and he has a commercial RE broker license and hence has had access to my house. So I and my RE company have devised a plan to have the house alarmed at all times and agents must call in for the alarm code. Meanwhile, I had to tell them he is not allowed in the house and he just happens to be my neighbor! Now, I know this is all personally directed against me (always has been). He would not be like this with another new neighbor. I've disclosed what can be verified and, since the cops think I'm nuts anyway, I felt no need to disclose the rest. However, I did call the police over this vandalism.
There is no one touring my house who would dislike it so much to go out there and kick in the door and do what has been done. So now I live in fear of losing this second offer (still have to wait and see what happens with the counter) and I just want to be OUT OF THERE before anymore destruction is done. I am meticulous about keeping the garage door locked so it had to have been someone who slipped in or came with a realtor or presented his own business card as a broker (as in he who is responsible).
Of course, I don't want to get sued down the road either, but now I guess I have a "stigmatized house" on my hands. This is just the nightmare that never ends. Thanks for any advice.
If you don't make repairs, you have to disclose. I would talk to an agent about how to explain what happened because if you give buyers the version of the story you gave here, you will never sell that house. I sure as heck wouldn't want to live next to a guy who behaves like this.
It's not only these repairs I am thinking of making, rather other stuff that is fairly minor and one potentially big deal but I'm still waiting on a call back from the person who provided the service to see if he could have hit a water line.
Like I said, I have no idea who did this. Of course my first thought is my neighbor, but that doesn't make it so. So I have no grounds for accusation other than I suspect people who don't like me to do things like this. Could have just as well been some kids walking down the street who saw an open door and decided to cause some trouble (just like why do people do graffiti?) It's pointless yet there is that element of the population out there that is just destructive, for whatever reason. I no more understand vandalism than I do other criminal activity (of certain types) so I can't wrap my brain around it. But then I have no criminal background either so there ya go. Anyway, I already met with someone today who just advised me to hire a handyman and do a patch up job and fix a few things. I figure I can do my part to at least have most things looking right. Thanks for your input and I do not plan to have any interaction with the buyers as I don't want to answer any questions. That's what realtors are for, IMHO.
Misty, your Realtor may be trying to save you some money. If you wait until after the inspection, the buyer should tell you what repairs are needed in order to proceed with the sale. If you've repaired something that's not important to the buyers then you've spent your money unnecessarily. Hope this makes sense.
P.S. So sorry that your house was vandalized. I've seen the damage done here as well.
Thanks, I bet in FL you have.
If I could ask, do buyers view a vandalized house as damaged goods and does that really serve to make it a stigmatized property? I was reading about stigmatized properties and know that suicides, homicides, hauntings, meth labs, violent crimes, felonies all do - but it would seem to me unfair to punish a seller just because the seller had the misfortune of having someone vandalize the property.
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