House Bill 1787 May Kill Creative Real Estate

This bill is likely to shut down the creative selling market. It has already passed the Senate and is under consideration by the House. I have included the link from Dwan Twyford about it that you should read and send to everyone you know ASAP. Please take action immediately to stop it.

http://theieu.com/blog/?p=391

I have just experienced a situation where the attorney seems to have behaved unethically since it served his own interests. The home was for sale subject to probate court, and the selling attorney is the executor. There seem to be no other heirs. My client is a first-time home-buyer who does not speak much English, but is very hard-working and is looking to buy a home for his wife and children. We found a rehab that needs work, but he is willing to do the work and it fits his budget. We submitted an offer with 10% down payment. My client was fully qualified for a mortgage. The seller attorney said that we needed to go to contract immediately and it would go to probate court for approval. My client gave a check for the down payment, the contract was accepted, and we were moving forward. Unfortunately, my client transferred funds in to the checking account 1 day too late. The check was returned to the selling attorney's escrow account.

My client called me as well as his attorney in a panic, because he tried to rectify it with his bank and the bank gave assurance that his deposit would allow the check to clear. The bank lied and the check was returned. His attorney, while not happy about the situation, indicated that it shouldn't be a problem if he could provide the funds as a cashier's check and pay for the bank fees.

The selling attorney became belligerent and abusive to my client's attorney. Ultimately he refused to accept the contract, even though my client presented a certified check and offered to pay all bank fees. Apparently, after my client signed the contract, the selling attorney received two other offers, one a cash offer and another higher offer. It seems that he used my client's mistake to back out of this offer in order to accept either a cash offer or a higher offer, all the while knowing that this is a first time home buyer and that the buyer had paid almost $700 in home inspection, termite inspection, and radon inspection fees (yes, it's expensive in Connecticut), which he would now lose.

My client's attorney was very surprised, having done many deals with the selling attorney and didn't understand his hard stance in this matter. When I explained the other offers, it was realized that the selling attorney seems to have his own agenda and was willing to compromise ethics for a "better deal" even though it has hurt a family trying to buy their first home. 

While recognizing my client's error in this situation, I believe in behaving ethically and feel that the selling attorney should have honored the contract with my client, especially since my client sought to make restitution by bringing certified funds and was willing to pay all bank fees.

Constructive comments are welcome...