Practitioners Responsible for Full Disclosure!!! brokers be ware!!

Real estate practitioners have the same responsibility as sellers to disclose information they have that affects the “value and desirability of the property,” a California appellate court confirmed this week.

In Holmes vs. Summers, the seller and the listing associate failed to tell potential buyers about three mortgages against the property totaling $1.141 million. The sellers accepted a buyer’s offer of $749,000, but the deal fell apart because the sellers couldn’t deliver clear title.

The would-be buyers sued the real estate firm and the court found that the real estate practitioner had a greater duty to disclose facts affecting the desirability and marketability of the property than he did to protect the privacy of the seller.

Analysts say this decision will make it incumbent on practitioners with short-sale listings to provide specific information about circumstances surrounding the sales, including approvals required for the sales to close.

Source: RISMedia (10/29/2010)