{"id":23135,"date":"2024-01-10T16:16:51","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T16:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/?p=23135"},"modified":"2024-01-10T16:16:52","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T16:16:52","slug":"you-could-be-the-fall-guy-for-your-sellers-lies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/you-could-be-the-fall-guy-for-your-sellers-lies\/","title":{"rendered":"You Could Be the Fall Guy for Your Seller\u2019s Lies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When clients deceptively skirt their responsibility to disclose property defects, it could spell trouble for you, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Kristen Martinez and her family bought a home in the Seattle area two years ago, she specifically asked about the electrical wiring. \u201cWe had been told [by the seller] when we bought the house that there was no knob-and-tube wiring,\u201d Martinez says. This older form of electrical wiring is less resistant to damage and more prone to causing fires. The issue went undetected during an inspection because the electrical work appeared to have been masked, says Martinez, who wasn\u2019t at the inspection. But as soon as the Martinez family moved into their new home, they realized they had been deceived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had come to realize that the seller\u2014who is a house flipper and electrician\u2014did a shoddy job hiding the bad wiring and illegally connected dangerous knob-and-tube wiring with [more modern] wiring,\u201d Martinez says. About $7,000 later, the Martinez family\u2019s electrician completely rewired their home, but they still come across safety issues. \u201cIt has been a terrible experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sellers can be held legally liable under most state laws for not disclosing property defects and material facts, such as leaky basements or knowledge of lead paint. You, too, can suffer legal consequences if you don\u2019t disclose material defects found on the property that you become aware of in the course of serving your client. But if your seller is hiding problems he or she is aware of, and you\u2019re none the wiser about them, can the finger be pointed at you? Legally, you can\u2019t be held liable for property issues you don\u2019t have knowledge of in most jurisdictions. But your reputation as an agent\u2014having even unwittingly represented a seller who lied\u2014could inadvertently take a hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if you\u2019re selling a property \u201cas is,\u201d which indicates the buyer must accept the home\u2019s condition, the buyer still has the right to know what the problems are. \u201cThe buyer [must have the information available to] make an educated decision about whether or not to make an offer,\u201d says Kevin Deselms, a sales associate with RE\/MAX Alliance in Golden, Colo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you suspect your client is either unaware of property issues or being less than forthcoming about them, and you want to ensure more transparency in the transaction, you could disclose your observations of the property\u2019s condition to the buyer and encourage them to seek further professional advice, says Bryan Zuetel, a real estate attorney and broker-owner of Esquire Real Estate Inc., in Irvine, Calif. \u201cFor instance, an agent might smell a moldy scent in the basement and see what looks like mold, but the agent is not qualified\u2014nor required to\u2014conclude that there is mold in the basement,\u201d Zuetel says. \u201cThe agent could simply disclose a \u2018moldy scent\u2019 or a \u2018moldy appearance\u2019 in the basement, and advise all parties to engage the proper professionals for further evaluation. Whether a seller acknowledges the issue is not relevant to the agent\u2019s duty to disclose.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cassandra Corum, managing broker at Sotheby\u2019s International Realty in Beverly Hills, Calif., takes this approach, cautioning that \u201cwe can\u2019t force a seller to tell the truth, and sometimes they may not know the truth. The home could have flooded prior to their ownership, so their experience has been that the property has never flooded.\u201d Corum makes sure to get the disclosure form, including her notes about her observations of the property, to the buyer before they schedule a home inspection. That way, the buyer can make a more informed decision about how they want to proceed earlier in the transaction. \u201cThis is tricky,\u201d she says, \u201cbecause you can\u2019t say [a problem exists where it might not], but you would hope and assume that a comment about an odor, for example, would turn on a lightbulb and move the buyer to schedule a mold inspection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though you have no duty to search for property defects yourself, it would be wise to pay attention to the home\u2019s condition as you and your client prepare it for market. If you notice a potential problem the seller has not told you about, ask your client questions to gauge their knowledge of the issue and willingness to fix it. Uncooperativeness at this juncture may mean you\u2019re working with an unscrupulous seller\u2014and you\u2019d be better off walking away from the deal. \u201cOne listing, however great it may be, is not worth an agent\u2019s license,\u201d says Vincent Averaimo, an attorney with Milford Law in Milford, Conn. \u201cRather than get involved in deceit, it is a more prudent business decision to walk away from the deal and advise your broker immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fred Glick, e-PRO, a sales associate with Arrivva Inc., in Aptos, Calif., says it\u2019s best to be painfully honest with sellers about the importance of a disclosure form at the start of the business relationship. \u201cI tell them that this form can be used in court to prosecute them,\u201d he says. \u201cIt could be used to prove fraud, which could be criminal. I encourage the seller to do an inspection of the property before we list<\/a> and allow buyers to get their own inspections.\u201d Most buyers will do their own inspections anyway, which likely will reveal whatever issues sellers may want to hide and possibly lead to a termination of the offer or a large negotiation on the home\u2019s price, says Nancy Wallace-Laabs, SFR, co-partner at KBN Homes in Frisco, Texas. Therefore, not being upfront about property issues quite literally eats away at the seller\u2019s bottom line. \u201cThe headaches that ensue with a dishonest client are not worth the price of any commission you might make on the property,\u201d Wallace-Laabs says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a9National Association of REALTORS\u00ae
Reprinted with permission<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When clients deceptively skirt their responsibility to disclose property defects, it could spell trouble for you, too. When Kristen Martinez and her family bought a home in the Seattle area two years ago, she specifically asked about the electrical wiring. \u201cWe had been told [by the seller] when we bought the house that there was … <\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,8],"tags":[5,32,4,9],"class_list":["post-23135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-real-estate-tips","tag-anthony-didonato","tag-news","tag-real-estate","tag-tips","item-wrap"],"yoast_head":"\nYou Could Be the Fall Guy for Your Seller\u2019s Lies - Real Estate Agent and Sales in PA - Anthony DiDonato Broomall, Media, Delaware County and surrounding areas in Pennsylvania<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/you-could-be-the-fall-guy-for-your-sellers-lies\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anthonydidonato.net\\\/wordpress\\\/you-could-be-the-fall-guy-for-your-sellers-lies\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anthonydidonato.net\\\/wordpress\\\/you-could-be-the-fall-guy-for-your-sellers-lies\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.anthonydidonato.net\\\/wordpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/964792b6994e8cc4cbddc36ad4824908\"},\"headline\":\"You Could Be the Fall Guy for Your Seller\u2019s Lies\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-10T16:16:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-10T16:16:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anthonydidonato.net\\\/wordpress\\\/you-could-be-the-fall-guy-for-your-sellers-lies\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":983,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.anthonydidonato.net\\\/wordpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/964792b6994e8cc4cbddc36ad4824908\"},\"keywords\":[\"Anthony DiDonato\",\"News\",\"Real Estate\",\"tips\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Real Estate Tips\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anthonydidonato.net\\\/wordpress\\\/you-could-be-the-fall-guy-for-your-sellers-lies\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anthonydidonato.net\\\/wordpress\\\/you-could-be-the-fall-guy-for-your-sellers-lies\\\/\",\"name\":\"You Could Be the Fall Guy for Your Seller\u2019s Lies - 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