Help! Seller did not disclose tenants living in house!!!! (RE agent, new, mortgage)
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On the day of my home inspection, I discovered that the house that I'm buying is occupied by the seller's son. Apparently she bought the house for him and he can no longer make payments so she is selling the house. They are at odds with each other. He has been cooperating with the selling of the home up to this point, letting us in for my due diligence inspections but he is ANGRY at his mother and she seems to be afraid of him.
My due diligence is up on March 2. My closing date is scheduled for March 10th.
I have so many questions and hardly any answers from my RE agent about this situation.
I am angry because no one seems to care that I am buying a house that someone is living in that may not be gone by March 10th and then I am stuck having to evict. That is NOT an option for me. I want no parts of that.
Should I withdraw my offer if the son is not gone by March 2nd? or can I back out if he is not gone by closing? Would this be a breach of contract by the seller?
She never disclosed any of this information until the day of my inspection 5 days ago!!!!
This is my dream home and now I am faced with this situation. Someone please advise. I don't know what to do!!!!!
First, read your contract. Ours states that tenants have to vacate 5 days prior to close of escrow. Does yours have a provision? I don't think you can demand anything outside what the contract states. However, I would certainly NOT proceed to closing until the home is vacant.
Ditto. Contracts I have seen require that the premises be delivered in broom-clean condition. You should have a final walk-through before closing. If a resident is in place, the premises are not broom-clean and you should not close.
(In SOME states apparently it is not unusual for occupants to vacate after closing. You haven't said what state you are in).
I would send a firm message to the seller's agent through your agent.
Do not close if the son or his belongings are in the house when you do the final walk thru, make sure you get your earnest money back too. If he is not there and his belongings are not make sure that you change the locks as soon as you can, you don't want him sneaking back in and saying he lives there, if he breaks in after the closing have him arrested. Good luck.
The son or evidence of anyone living there was not visible when you looked at the property?
regardless... sonny boy has to pack up and get out. TODAY.
Not Saturday. Not by closing day. TODAY. Even at 8PM on a Tuesday.
packed up and gone.
If/When that is accomplished THEN you can return for the preclosing inspection.
If it passes... then go to closing.
Why isn't your agent saying this to you and to the SELLER?
Thanks for replying. Yes it was evident that someone was living there, but up until my inspection 5 days ago, my RE agent and I were under the impression that it was the seller living there since her listing agent hadn't said anything otherwise. Sometimes people are still living in the home that they are trying to sell so that didn't throw up any red flags.
My agent is in communication with the seller's agent but they aren't returning her calls.
Something is just fishy about this whole situation.
Thanks to everyone that has offered up a solution on this situation.
During my inspection, the seller and I exchanged numbers so I plan to call her in the morning and gently but firmly tell her that if she wants this deal to go thru, her son needs to be gone by the end of the month.
I will look over my contract to see what it says about my final walk thru and the expectations of the seller at that time.
Thanks to everyone that has offered up a solution on this situation.
During my inspection, the seller and I exchanged numbers so I plan to call her in the morning and gently but firmly tell her that if she wants this deal to go thru, her son needs to be gone by the end of the month.
I will look over my contract to see what it says about my final walk thru and the expectations of the seller at that time.
I'll keep everyone updated.
I would seriously question this entire deal. Because:
1)why was the seller even present at your inspection. Seriously inappropriate. It should have just been you, your inspector, and your agent.
2)why are you talking directly to the seller?? It is neither your interest or the seller's to talk directly to each other...that's why you have all these other people like brokers and agents. Talking directly to each other runs the risk that you will disclose information to the other party that they have no business knowing and which may give them leverage to kill or renegotiate the deal.
3)has your agent (or you) not informed your mortgage broker about this? Because the presence of a tenant will almost certainly invalidate your loan application. I guarantee you signed paperwork stating that you intended to live in this home and not rent it as income property---because the loan approval criteria for loans for rental property and the forms that go with it are completely different. Even if you don't intend to be a landlord, and even if the son isn't paying rent....it's still income property if you aren't living there.
4)where the heck is your attorney in all of this? After you make an offer, your RE agent is there to guide you but really the work is then in the hands of your attorney and your broker. Your attorney should be advising you on whether or not your contract is even still valid.
It doesn't sound like to me that you are getting good advice from anyone on your team. If it were me, I'd be looking not only to walk away from this property, but also to find a new agent, broker, and attorney! A decent attorney should be able to get you your earnest money back too.
Last edited by MarianRavenwood; 02-22-2017 at 12:00 AM..
I'd talk to your attorney about getting the guy out ASAP.
And then have the seller pay for another home inspection.
People are weird, and my fear would be that you'd have the home inspection, and then he'd do something to the home afterward out of retaliation for having to leave. Create a water leak, or something similar.
I would seriously question this entire deal. Because:
1)why was the seller even present at your inspection. Seriously inappropriate. It should have just been you, your inspector, and your agent.
Not at all material. It happens.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarianRavenwood
2)why are you talking directly to the seller?? It is neither your interest or the seller's to talk directly to each other...that's why you have all these other people like brokers and agents. Talking directly to each other runs the risk that you will disclose information to the other party that they have no business knowing and which may give them leverage to kill or renegotiate the deal.
Why? Because she had the opportunity to and wanted to.
It is extremely difficult for a seller to "kill a deal" when a buyer is proceeding in good faith effort towards closing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarianRavenwood
3)has your agent (or you) not informed your mortgage broker about this? Because the presence of a tenant will almost certainly invalidate your loan application. I guarantee you signed paperwork stating that you intended to live in this home and not rent it as income property---because the loan approval criteria for loans for rental property and the forms that go with it are completely different. Even if you don't intend to be a landlord, and even if the son isn't paying rent....it's still income property if you aren't living there.
Overreaction to a common situation. Have you seen a written lease? I haven't and the OP does not mention one.
This is a very fixable situation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarianRavenwood
4)where the heck is your attorney in all of this? After you make an offer, your RE agent is there to guide you but really the work is then in the hands of your attorney and your broker. Your attorney should be advising you on whether or not your contract is even still valid.
This is agent level work, as described by the OP. The attorney is there to handle funds in trust, assure insurable and marketable title, and to record the deed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarianRavenwood
It doesn't sound like to me that you are getting good advice from anyone on your team. If it were me, I'd be looking not only to walk away from this property, but also to find a new agent, broker, and attorney! A decent attorney should be able to get you your earnest money back too.
Complete and unnecessary overreaction to the situation.
Some guy is living in the house. The OP wants to sort that out.
the situation does not alter the location of the property, design, or that it is the OP's "dream home."
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