The Listing Sheet Says the Condo has 1,800 Square Feet; the Appraiser comes back and says only 1,350 can be counted: The Purchase price is $287,000; the Appraisal comes in at $275,000. I am Interested in hearing What You would do!!!

This is a real situation, and the final story has not been completely told. The Listing Realtor wants to give my client her deposit back and place the Unit back on the market, still indicating that there are 1,800 square feet. My sense is that no Appraiser will buy into this approach, and the Seller is just delaying the inevitable by trying to move on and ignore plain facts.

Then, there are the ethical considerations. Massachusetts is a "Buyer Beware" state as least to the extent of unknown states of condition or other material information. Once the Seller, or the Seller's selling representative, knows facts, it is my belief that they must be disclosed. That is the reason I always suggest my Buyer share the Inspection Report with the Seller and the Seller's representative. I then suggest, usually to the Seller's attorney, that the devil you know, who is pretty far into the mortgage process, is a heck of a lot better than that phantom purchaser, who is out there, but certainly not identified.

I am writing this post with the hope I can elicit some feedback from you, my group of national, very motivated and successful, real estate professionales. How would you handle this? Is a square footage issue different in your mind than a faulty plumbing system? Please make comments!!