Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 01-25-2010, 10:32 AM
 
Location: Martinez CA
5 posts, read 37,079 times
Reputation: 12

Advertisements

Hi peeps,

My friend's supposed to close thursday morning... they visited the property friday & were surprised to find someone living in the property. Apparently, the house was rented out. My friend is sure this happened after January 6 cause they were there to have some work done on the house as part of loan requirements.

Has anyone every encountered this here? She's had the house fixed & she's already spent around $3k for appraisals & the work needed.

Isn't this fraud?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 01-25-2010, 10:43 AM
 
Location: Tempe, Arizona
4,511 posts, read 13,525,379 times
Reputation: 2200
If your friend is working with an agent, then first discuss situation with the agent. Hopefully your friend has a solid contract that covers issues like this. May need to get an RE lawyer involved to review options.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-25-2010, 11:24 AM
 
Location: Boise, ID
8,046 posts, read 28,352,315 times
Reputation: 9469
This is going to sound like a strange question, but are you sure the seller even knows they are there? This could be a craigslist scam. In other words, someone other than the seller could have rented the house to them, and they may have no right to be there at all.

Either way, whether it was the seller or not, that is a tough situation to be in as the buyer. Did they actually close on the house yet? If not, I would refuse to close unless the seller gets them out. And hire a real estate lawyer to collect back money spent.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-25-2010, 11:24 AM
 
Location: southwest TN
8,568 posts, read 18,025,835 times
Reputation: 16701
Quote:
Originally Posted by jayu View Post
Hi peeps,

My friend's supposed to close thursday morning... they visited the property friday & were surprised to find someone living in the property. Apparently, the house was rented out. My friend is sure this happened after January 6 cause they were there to have some work done on the house as part of loan requirements.

Has anyone every encountered this here? She's had the house fixed & she's already spent around $3k for appraisals & the work needed.

Isn't this fraud?
Apparently has a whole meaning to me far removed from how you are using it. Apparently, there is someone living there - whether the house is rented, whether it is rented for the time up until closing, whether they are SQUATTERS is unknown; therefore not apparent.

What is fraudulent? Someone living in the house? the owners? No, that's not fraud. Squatters - still not fraud but illegal; rented through the closing date? again not fraud.

So, you friend needs to ask her lawyer/realtor what gives? It's only apparent that something is not how she expected.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-25-2010, 01:45 PM
 
694 posts, read 1,228,964 times
Reputation: 365
These "renters" might have a legal claim to this property.

Get in touch with the escrow officer asap.

She/he will contact the title company that has a vested interest in this situation as it will issue title insurance on this property.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-25-2010, 08:32 PM
 
7,552 posts, read 8,584,456 times
Reputation: 4421
Isn't the seller still liable, since "She's had the house fixed & she's already spent around $3k for appraisals & the work needed." What if the current occupants somehow damaged something in the house after the fixing and and appraisals?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-26-2010, 10:41 AM
 
Location: southwest TN
8,568 posts, read 18,025,835 times
Reputation: 16701
The OP said her friend, the BUYER, paid that money. But until the closing, the seller owns the property and yes, is liable - for what? depends on whether you are talking about the buyer or the renters, or the mortgage holder.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-26-2010, 11:31 AM
 
4,399 posts, read 10,627,219 times
Reputation: 2383
Quote:
Originally Posted by ssww View Post
Isn't the seller still liable, since "She's had the house fixed & she's already spent around $3k for appraisals & the work needed." What if the current occupants somehow damaged something in the house after the fixing and and appraisals?
Does it say in the contract the house has to be vacant? Even if it does, the seller hasn't done anything wrong unless they aren't out by closing. If the house isn't in the same condition as it was when you signed the contract and removed the contigencies then yes they would be liable for fixing the damage and maybe your appraisels and inspections if you sue for it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-26-2010, 11:45 AM
 
694 posts, read 1,228,964 times
Reputation: 365
Quote:
Originally Posted by jdm2008 View Post
Does it say in the contract the house has to be vacant? Even if it does, the seller hasn't done anything wrong unless they aren't out by closing. If the house isn't in the same condition as it was when you signed the contract and removed the contigencies then yes they would be liable for fixing the damage and maybe your appraisels and inspections if you sue for it.
The buyer is justified in his expectation to receive the house in the same condition as it was at the offer time.

If the house was not rented at the time of the offer, it cannot be rented during escrow without full disclosure to all parties involved and approval of the buyer.

Look into it carefully to determine the legal position of the current occupants as they may be squatters, renters or full right property owners as possesion is constructive notice of ownership.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-26-2010, 12:14 PM
 
Location: Philadelphia
244 posts, read 743,613 times
Reputation: 169
In PA we do pre-settlement walk thru's usually the day of or sometimes the day before. If the property is not in the condition that it should be in then you do not need to settle and your escrow is returned.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top