http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/ Issues involved in the purchase and sale of a home, or other real estate. en Sat, 25 May 2013 10:45:11 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/images/misc/rss.png http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/ http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158951&goto=newpost Sat, 25 May 2013 08:21:46 GMT My question involves real estate located in the State of: washington we bought a house and hired an inspector that did a relatively shity job at... My question involves real estate located in the State of: washington

we bought a house and hired an inspector that did a relatively shity job at finding issues.
the house was bought during a 3 month dry spell in seattle

and everything was dry.

after we moved in about a month or so i accidentally found a basement full of water. the water was about 6 inches from the floor when i saw it

turns out they had an issue with water leak into the electrical panel. that blew the fuse to the sump pump
we knew about sump pump that was just thrown in there and not properly installed.

we didnt know about electrical panel damage
or the flooding issue.

now the owners are giving us the runaround saying that they didnt know about any of that

1 roof was replaced and not sealed properly.later on it was patched up. so they knew about that one but didnt replace rusted out breaker board
2 i found 2 broken sump pumps in the house
3 city worker tester basement water to see if it was city or ground water(its ground water)
4 i spoke to all the neighbors and all of them have ground water issues
5 i have 2 people that said they saw previous owners pumping the water out of their house
6the hard wood floor is black in few spotsand i know the wood turns black from excessive moisture
7the corner of the house is settled and have cracks on evry door
both upstairs and downstairs bathroom dors are not closing even after shaving off the top corner.
cracks have been painted over and filled in but cracked again

in addition to that we had to fix:
chinmey siding was completely water damaged top to bottom
front porch is faling through on one corner from water damage
the siding on the chimney side is also water damaged
hardwood floor had to be sanded and resealed
carpets removed( house is built in 1982 and EVERYTHING is original nothing have been updated
had to do major yard work because the bushes were damaging neighbors driveway
woodpeckers are somehow eating through the metal net covers 3 times i dont know what breed they are but they are some tough fukers to be able to knock through the metal 3 times
and now are hapily living right above our bed.

but
the owners now got their daughter involved and would not speak with us or our realtor and will only speak to our lawyer.

i have pictures of everything dated when they were taken
we are only asking them to pay for the water problem fix and not the electrical box that had to come out of our pocket
yet they are still refusing to talk.

why is it always the buyer that gets the short end of the stick.

i wasnt born in this country and not very familiar with the laws and rights and the legal process so its hard for me to know what needs to be done and when.

and lawyers are damn expensive.

where can i learn more about defending myself from people like the ones we are dealing with.
and my rights, what can i ask for in these situations. ]]> Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate fuzzysig http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158951 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158870&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 14:26:10 GMT My question involves real estate located in the State of: Illinois

I'm aware that a room cannot be listed as a bedroom unless it has an egress window.

But is there anything illegal about having a bed, made, in a room without an egress window...say for storage purposes? ]]> Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate thorxes http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158870 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158852&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 02:10:49 GMT My Grandparent left half of their will too my father and my father brought my wife and i a house, a year later my father went too hospital and after... My Grandparent left half of their will too my father and my father brought my wife and i a house, a year later my father went too hospital and after not discharging him, they have got the trustee and guardianship too control his welfare and now their wanting the house he brought me so they can put him in a hostel, do they have the right to do that, i have rang a few hostels and because he is on a pension
it would not cost a lot and as from what i was told he had too have 100% care because i have a job they would not release my father too live with me yet the are putting him in a hostel which will be not the 100% care they are claiming he has too have, im thinking because he a really difficult person they are passing him off and wanting the funds from his house while he has money in his bank which they say they cant access? I dont know what too do as its a really hard position im in as i see it my father brought me a house i tryed too look after him and the hospital took charge and now the trustee and guardianship are forcing me too sell my family home by putting up a notice of caveat, asking me for the insurance information and today asking me too give them a set of keys,,,, What can i do. ]]> Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate Someone007 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158852 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158750&goto=newpost Tue, 21 May 2013 16:45:14 GMT My question involves real estate located in the State of: Maryland Back in September of 2012 we made an offer and it was accepted with settlement... My question involves real estate located in the State of: Maryland

Back in September of 2012 we made an offer and it was accepted with settlement scheduled for November 2012. The week of settlement we found out that the seller had a large lien on the home that was not disclosed and the property was actually a short sale, also not disclosed. We obviously could not settle due to the lien as well as because the bank had not given approval. We already had all of our belongings packed and ready to go as well as having renters moving into our house the following week.

The buyers agreed to let us lease the house for 3 months and then settle. The bank approved the short sale but just before settlement, again, we were informed that the IRS had not released the lien and that a new appraisal was needed. We extended the lease, and purchase agreement again for an additional 3 months and now with settlement again approaching next week, we appear to be in the same boat that the paperwork for the lien release has not been filed and the bank is just now approving the short sale.

The lien is not the problem as the sale of the property will result in no income to the sellers so the IRS will release it, but the bank is only providing approval for the short sale with a 30 day window and the IRS takes 45 days to release the paperwork. Couple that with their Realtor does not answer any questions as to the status of the paperwork or anything else for that matter and we have no contact with the sellers as they are out of state and we are now at the end of our patience with the whole process.

The sellers appear to know this and according to our neighbors did this to the previous tenants who were also trying to buy the home. The house was vacant for over a year and has been on/off the market for 5 years. We think the sellers are hoping we'll just back out of the contract but this is our dream house - perfect location/schools etc.

We don't think mediation will work because there is really no disagreements, its just that they don't appear to do anything on time. The only option that we can see is Specific Performance. Problem there is that our lease is up and I highly doubt they will extend putting us in a bad spot. I'm already looking to file a rent disagreement with the courts and put the amount that we would pay into escrow (with the expectation that we'd win that back if we go to court). I'm also setting up to file Lis pendens against the property so that the seller cannot legally try to sell it to anyone else. Essentially, I'm willing to lock the place down and pretty much be a squatter until we get the property at the agreed upon terms. As for the short sale, we think the amount the bank is forgiving is only $10,000..but neither the seller nor their realtor will confirm that. If that is the case, we'll just pay that difference, file to have the lien removed ourselves and close this out...but again, nobody will give an answer. I've called the bank directly and they will not talk to me as I don't have the owners permission to discuss the account with them.

Again - dream house/location, paying fair market value. Only hitch is PITA sellers and their terrible realtor.

So is filing suit the best option? ]]> Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate Jason3743 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158750 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158716&goto=newpost Mon, 20 May 2013 23:54:44 GMT I closed on a property and I found out that the utility company placed a lien on the property after the lean search was completed by the title... I closed on a property and I found out that the utility company placed a lien on the property after the lean search was completed by the title company
So I had to satisfy the debt out of my own pocket and had the lien lifted.
The title company provided a paperwork that there is no lean on the property at closing.
Now when I contacted them they told me that this is not their problem and that the lien was placed after the lien search. I believe even if there was no lien on the property the lien search should have shown at least an outstanding balance with the utility company.

the previous owner was a bank and the utility company provided me with details. I also have the receipt that I paid this debt.

Now I'm not in a business to pay someone else's bills and I want to be reimbursed
My question is who is responsible for this The title company or the previous owner the bank. The title company agent sent me an email that they will request the balance to be paid by the bank that was 4 weeks ago and now they are ignoring my emails when I ask for a status on this case.
I feel I have to start contacting authorities I'm just not sure who is really responsible

any help appretiated ]]> Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate motorman http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158716 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158597&goto=newpost Sat, 18 May 2013 16:51:14 GMT My question involves real estate located in the State of: Massachusetts Hi, I am currently very close to closing on a condo. My real estate lawyer... My question involves real estate located in the State of: Massachusetts

Hi, I am currently very close to closing on a condo. My real estate lawyer found that the parking spot was not deeded to the seller and not showing in the title as well (even though the seller used it for years). Since he found this discrepancy (7 weeks later) they have been able to issue the current owner (seller) a deed on the parking spot along with the unit. I have been told they will transfer the deed to me and offer the commonwealth title insurance to protect me in the future if someone challenges me for the spot. I am not happy with the fact that they said they will not fix the title but issue the deed which shows ownership rights. I feel that although I will have ownership a title search in the future when I try to resell could be a mess for me. I dont know what Im getting myself into if I settle for the deed. I know the deed is powerful and allows for titles to be changed but I find that as the BUYER this should be fixed. and if not will this be a problem for me to resell in the future? Also, can this really be done? or are they just handing a problem to me? Or is this something that happens all the time?

(when they dug deep they found that other spots at the condo complex had parking discrepancies too! so basically its not an easy fix on the title)

Anyways, please advise. Thank you! ]]> Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate VeroNicky http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158597 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158463&goto=newpost Wed, 15 May 2013 15:36:37 GMT My question involves estate planning in the state of: Minnesota I am going to try to make this short and sweet. My father has a peice of property... My question involves estate planning in the state of: Minnesota

I am going to try to make this short and sweet. My father has a peice of property (cabin) that is completely paid for. He doesn't pay the taxes and has almost lost the property to back taxes. I am taking over paying the taxes and he is going to deed me the property.

1: What kind of deed would make the most sense? Quitclaim? Gift?
2: What tax ramifications would there be for either of us?
3: Would it make more sense for him to sell it to me for $1 (or small amount?)
4: In the instance he falls ill and is unable to pay his bill and such, is there a time period where someone could come after the property for payment?
5: I am married but want to make sure the property is just in my name and protected in the instance that we divorce. (to ensure no matter what, it stays in my family 100%) Can I do that?

Is there anything else I should consider in this process?
Thanks in advance for your help! ]]> Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate msashleyjean http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158463 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158408&goto=newpost Tue, 14 May 2013 03:34:47 GMT My question involves real estate located in the State of: New York. I'm not very good with legal things and definately plan on involving an attorney but was just trying to get an idea of what to expect. My father recently passed away and the will leaves my mom 50% of the house and the other 50% is divided between myself and 3 siblings... Which is how it will appear on the deed. My mom has decided she no longer needs a large house nor can she afford the mortgage. She is willing to walk away without being "bought out". I have decided I would like the house so have come into an agreement with 2 of my siblings to pay $10,000 each to buy their interest. The third sibling will be living in the house and his name will remain on the deed. The mortgage to the house is only in my father (now deceased) name. My moms credit is horrible and she has several liens on the title. Where do we go from here? If I take out a mortgage for the remainder of the home with the lien amount, finances would be too close. Can the mortgage stay in my fathers name and I continue to pay it? Can I get notarized letters saying I bought out my siblings? Can I take them off the deed and leave my mom on because of the liens? Is there anyway to get around the liens? Any info would be great ... This should have been planned long ago but my father was only 58 so it was quite unexpected ]]> Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate Kbaby8587 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158408 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158383&goto=newpost Mon, 13 May 2013 20:44:24 GMT I have an agent who is in our office in Southern California who is dealing with an situation in which the listing agent is forcing her buyers to use... I have an agent who is in our office in Southern California who is dealing with an situation in which the listing agent is forcing her buyers to use his lender. I understand requesting they obtain cross qualification, but he put exact verbiage on a purchase contract addendum that states "Buyers to submit loan and finance purchase with XYZ mortgage." This strikes me as highly illegal as he told the agent the offer would not be approved without. I reviewed the GFE and he neglected to disclose transfer tax, owners policy and he marked the origination as P.O.C. Something is very fishy with this guy, but I was under the impression due to anti-steering laws that you could not force a buyer to use a specific lender? Any advise is welcome. ]]> Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate DirectFunding http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158383 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158196&goto=newpost Wed, 08 May 2013 23:04:29 GMT My question involves real estate located in the State of: Washington We have an interesting issue. I am short selling a house in Washington. The... My question involves real estate located in the State of: Washington

We have an interesting issue. I am short selling a house in Washington. The purchaser needs to be out of their house this week and would like to move in early before it closes. We seem to be very close to closing. We have approval form Chase (1st) and 2nd is in final approval from Real Time Resolutions.

So I am already in our rental (same neighborhood) so I could allow them to move in but I will loose my $3,000 Hafa proceeds by doing so. Do I have any legal issues by asking the purchaser to pay me the $3,000 (as rent)?

Thanks for your responses. ]]> Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate tmharris09 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158196 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158180&goto=newpost Wed, 08 May 2013 14:10:45 GMT My question involves real estate located in the State of: Michigan Hello, I will try and make a long story as short as possible. Back in... My question involves real estate located in the State of: Michigan


Hello,

I will try and make a long story as short as possible. Back in February I had listed my house on Zillow as a FSBO. I received an offer right away from a family with a real estate agent. The agent agreed to do both sides of the paperwork for us, only charge 1.5% commission if we agreed to use her on the next house. We setup a tentative closing date of 4/25. As that date approache we were told by the agent, and by the mortgage company that they needed to revise the purchase agreement to set a new closing date of 5/9...which we were told was MORE than reasonable, and that they only had a credit error on their report that needed to be cleared up. Then two more weeks go by, and it was "one" more piece of information after another. Even today I was told throughout the day that they were just "waiting on the clear to close tomorrow"...then the real estate agent calls and tells me that the buyer had emailed her lender and said something like "im thinking of quitting my job". This apparently sent up a red flag with the lender and they supposedly denied the loan. Now we have to relist our house, lost out on other offers, lost out on another house we had already signed a purchase agreement on. We only get $1,000 in earnest money deposit...granted I shouldve asked for more, but didnt know better. This all sounds very fishy to me, the story doesnt jive, and it sounds like they intentionally found a way out of buying the house last minute after stringing us along for 2 months. Do I have any legal standing to go after the agent or the buyers?

The purchase contract did state it was conditional on obtaining financing, and they are FHA...but I feel they are lying and found a loophole here.

P.S. we are in Michigan.

Thanks!

Justin ]]> Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate MoneyIsTheRoot http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158180 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158126&goto=newpost Tue, 07 May 2013 07:17:16 GMT My question involves real estate located in the State of: Oregon My two brothers and I inherited some property after our mother’s death. My... My question involves real estate located in the State of: Oregon

My two brothers and I inherited some property after our mother’s death. My question involves a “First Right of Refusal to Purchase Property” that my mother gave to the buyers of our family farm when she sold it. The property in question was part of our farm, but not attached and a different tax lot, so she did not sell it when she sold the rest, but did give the buyers first right of refusal. The document say the following: (I have removed the actual names)

Xxx xxx individually and as Trustee of The XXX Family Trust under a trust agreement dated July 12, 1994, hereinafter referred to as Seller, herby grants yyy yyy and zzz zzz, husband and wife, hereinafter referred to as Buyers, should she decide to sell premises described as (legal description of property) the first right of refusal to purchase the property. Written notice shall be given yyy yyy and zzz zzz, husband and wife, of Seller’s intent to sell, and Buyers shall have not less than 72 hours to notify xxx xxx they are exercising the first right of refusal to purchase said property.

Dated the 18 day of February, 1998.

It is signed by my mother and the husband and wife buyers of the rest of our old farm. It was recorded with the county.

We (my brothers and me) are thinking about selling the property. The guy that currently farms the land has expressed interest in buying the land. We would like to have this guy end up with the property as he is part of the family that owns the neighboring farm.

My first question is if this “Frist right of refusal” is still in force since my mother’s death? Are we as the current members of the Family Trust under obligation to honor the terms of this agreement or did this agreement end once my mother died?

Assuming the agreement is still valid, then this brings up more questions. If we offer to sell to the buyers of our old farm at a certain price, lets say $100,000 and they refuse, then I assume we are free to sell to anyone else we choose to sell to for the same or higher price we offered to sell to the Buyers. Question is what if we decide to sell at a later date at a price below what we offered to sell to the Buyers when they refused, do we then have to reoffer the property to them at the now reduced price before we can sell to someone else? Any insight you could give on this process would be helpful.

Thank you in advance for any advice given. Also, I was not sure exactly where to post this question and if I posted in the wrong place, I am sorry. Also I was forced to choose a Topic Title and none of them really fit, so I chose Purchase Contracts as I felt it was the closest one of the options given. ]]> Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate Oregon_3 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158126 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158027&goto=newpost Sat, 04 May 2013 04:18:42 GMT My question involves real estate located in the State of: indiana We have negotiated a price and signed the contract on a flipped house. The (non... My question involves real estate located in the State of: indiana

We have negotiated a price and signed the contract on a flipped house. The (non traditional) mortgage is approved and we are just waiting on appraisal. We have another week an a half until the contract expires if we don't close.

After inspection the garage roof was declared useless and we asked the seller to repair it, along with some other things. The verbal response from his agent was "Sign a mutual release form." We did not. The house was relisted as ACTIVE on the MLS, with a price increase and saying it had a new garage roof. After we found it relisted, we received a paper saying the house was priced for the condition it was in, and that no changes would be made at that price. It was initialed by the seller on that line, below that and initialed again it said seller would consider continuing sale as he was getting bids to replace things we asked for, but the price would have to be raised. In the mean time the house would be relisted on the MLS. This paper did not even have a deadline listed on it. We signed this, 3 days AFTER it was already relisted and reroofing had begun. We were then verbally informed that a new garage roof had been put on and that the seller wants to raise the price by $1600.00. We never agreed to have anything repaired at cost to us. The seller's position is that he thought we weren't interested (so he's making improvements and relisting the house at a higher price) but the contract hasn't expired and we did not sign a mutual release. We believe he has another buyer who is willing to pay more and he's trying to back out or get us to walk.

My question is: Do we have to pay him for repairs to the roof and can he continue to do repairs without a signed contract to do so? This is our dream house and we are willing to fight for it. We would be willing to pay the invoice price for the roof, with a copy of the invoice, but it will have to be out of pocket and we can't continue to do that if he makes anymore major repairs. We and our realtor think he will refuse to sign at closing if he is not compensated for the roof, can he do that? ]]> Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate Amy Bennett http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158027 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157965&goto=newpost Wed, 01 May 2013 20:52:09 GMT My question involves real estate located in the State of: Arizona We are purchasing our first property with a VA loan. We put in an offer at full... My question involves real estate located in the State of: Arizona

We are purchasing our first property with a VA loan. We put in an offer at full asking with seller to cover closing costs. It was accepted we moved forward. The property had tenants in it, whom made the inspection and appraisal process difficult by never being available to allow access. Our close date was pushed back several times do to that. Finally we were supposed to close today, and our lender called saying the seller had not signed and returned the appropriate documents. Our real estate agent contacted the sellers listing agent and was told the seller refused to sign because they did not realize prior to today that they would be covering the closing costs. They are now trying to back out. I know there are contingencies and clauses that allow the seller to do so but is not actually reading the offer contract one of them?? In all seriousness, without being able to understand the legalese, is there a way the seller can back out the day of close because they chamged their mind about paying closing costs?? Leaving us living in a hotel until we find an apartment? We would happily pay the closing costs ourselves just to avoid renting again but we are not allowed to through the va loan. ]]> Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate StephiHCM http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157965 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157959&goto=newpost Wed, 01 May 2013 18:58:43 GMT My question involves real estate located in the State of: TN My family recently purchased a home from a LLC company (one man who has had this LLC... My question involves real estate located in the State of: TN

My family recently purchased a home from a LLC company (one man who has had this LLC set up for some years). On the seller disclosure from, the seller did not indicate any leaking in the basement or issues with the foundation. It has come to light that the basement does leak-sometimes floods if the rain is heavy, and the foundation of the home is compromised (large cracks between cinder block and bulging wall-about 3/4 of basement has this issue). We were unaware of the problem because the sellers had hung drywall in the basement and hung it well enough to cover any wall issues. We are scared that the basement wall could give out at any moment and cause harm to our family. We are seeking input from a lawyer. We have also spoken to several others who were aware of the foundation and basement leaking issue. Do we have a case that we should continue to pursue? ]]> Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate jeny04 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157959