Home Buying Horror

[PAJJ]

I bought my home in 2003. The sellers claimed there was no history of flooding on the disclosure statement. I was there one week and we had a heavy rainfall (not a hurricane, just a heavy rain). I go outside to go to Home Depot and the street is flooded so high, the water is up to my front steps! Had I been parked on the street, my van would have been flooded! Seems the storm drain out front is too small, the floods have been happening for years, the neighbors have complained without resolution from the borough for years, etc. Having a solid disclosure statement would help save me, right? Not so! Lawyers on both sides seem to have been working on this thing almost a year now without an end in sight. A second appraissal came back with a value of ZERO! (No one would buy it knowing of the flooding. Therefore, no market value.)
In hindsight, I would have interviewed the neighbors (didn't have time as I was working 10 hour days and living miles away in another state.) Seems to me the disclosure statement is worthless.

[grumpydasmurf]

Yeah always interview the neighbors. I did that when I bought my place.

Lawyers drag things out. Educate yourself as much as possible in regards to the disclosure laws. Push your lawer as much as possible. Call him and be persistant. If he's not working for you tell him you are upset with his productivity.

In the mean time, consider raising your grade as much as possible so the water has a harder time making it's way to your door. Call the public works weekly inquiring about how you can petition to have the problem fixed. Call any of your local city officials, alderman, precinct captains etc...

A worthless house? I'd be on the phone every day complaining to someone.

[mfinley919]

Why haven't you contacted the sellers of the home? They are in breach of contract since they did not disclose the flooding to you and are liable for it.

[PAJJ]

Oh I have contacted the sellers. They originally denied any knowledge of the water problem but upon seeing photos and hearing testimonies from neighbors, they now say they did know of it but didn't think it was that bad. As far as the lawyer goes, I fired the first one and hired another but even he is sloowww to act. As far as the disclosure statement, I'm finding out it's crap...meaningless crap. I've received no support from my realtor other than to call her and let her know what's happening occasionally. The state realtor's board offers mediation but getting my lawyer to set it up has been less than speedy. I now know why there are lots of jokes about lawyers. If I acted the lazy way these two have done at my job, I'd have been fired months ago. According to the state bar disciplinary board, not mailing a very important letter to the sellers for 6 weeks after it was written, and only then after I called to find out what reply if any had been received, is considered "appropriate action" by the attorney.
I have been offered a job out of state just this week and am likely going to take it. I will be putting the house up for sale (so much for the renovating) and if I don't break even, I will have no choice but to sue the sellers for everything: loss of value, legal fees, expenses, etc.
This will be my last post as the concrete work has been stopped while I go find a realtor and it won't be the one I had buying this place! Thanks to you all.

[Rich]

Wow.. good luck with everything and I hope it doesn't affect your selling of the house.

[Eric]

Any update on this? I've been curious since I read the initial post a couple months ago...

[mfinley919]

I'm sorry, but this is more about self induced suffering and drama then reality. If your lawyer sucks canal water in your opinion, stop throwing money down a bottomless pit with this guy for no results and get a new lawyer.

Go to the managing broker, stop dealing with your old realtor, go to the managing broker and the realtor board.

Why are you waiting to sue the previous owners as a last resort? The time is now, they are in breach of contract, they lied on the disclosure, there is no reason to wait for anything else to develope, sue them now.

The other recourse is to get the other neighbors to pool together and get a lawyer and sue the city, get the TV news out there, find an advocate and get the problem solved.

[Rich]

I agree with Mike. The longer you drag it out the less impact you'll have on the courts. If you hit them hard now you may be able to "force" them into some type of negotiation.

[CC]

the real estate agent is ultimately responsible, they are responsible for due diligence to their client, that is what they are collecting comission for. they are responsible for not only what they know but what they should have known when selling you the house. The agent should have E&O insurance, this covers errors and omissions the agent makes (similar to malpractice). If you can't get anywhere with the broker ask them for the phone number to OBRE (office of banks and real estate) they regulate professional licensing, maybe their legal department could answer your questions. If they have to pay a claim out for error and omission the agent loses their license, that might get some results. Let me know what happens.
Chris

[Dragon]

the real estate agent is ultimately responsible, they are responsible for due diligence to their client, that is what they are collecting comission for. they are responsible for not only what they know but what they should have known when selling you the house.

Yes and no. This is what the disclosure statements are really for. To protect the agent against unknowns.

In this case the seller is ultimately responsible since they signed an erroneous disclosure statement.

The fiduciary responsibility only goes so far...

[PAJJ]

I've been working long hours at my job (which is why I didn't have time to interview neighbors prior to purchase) and putting in many hours doing what I love, working on the house, so dealing with any more lawyers is not going to happen. I now know why there are so many "lawyers are a**holes" jokes...like this one..."Why is a lawyer like a sperm....because only one in a million actually become a real human being."
I just don't have the time to follow through with this any more. I tried a LOT when this first happened and was given the run-around, no returned calls, and a lot of "sorry, can't help you"s and spent $2000 on lawyers with NO return. The last couple of lawyers I spoke to said that unless I have hard evidence of damage, there's nothing I can do. So far, I have had no "damage". They said that when I go to sell the place at some point, if I cannot sell it for a good price (because no one will buy it due to the flooding), THEN I have hard evidence of damage and can sue the sellers.
I did recently contact the city about this. Last year they did a survey of what needed to be done to fix the problem and said they'd get back to me...but never did. I asked them for an update and they basically said, "When we get the money to fix it, we will."
If I die from stress on this, you guys go get the sellers of my house!
(Souder)

[PAJJ]

I did contact the media in the area numerous times about this and none of them responded. I thought it'd make a great story but I guess none of the local stations/newspapers thought so. Stephen King could have made a great horror movie based on this!

[TnAndy]

Another thought.....assuming you have a loan and title insurance.....get your lender involved and the title insurance company....if you have a new appraisal showing ZERO value, then the lender OUGHT to be worried you're gonna walk away and leave them holding the bag......maybe THEY have an attorney that will carry the ball.