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The Buyers are Suing Me ! cried the former Short Sale Seller

By
Real Estate Agent with EXP Realty 414-525-0563 57026-90 Broker

. Our purple envelopes keep us in touch with Buyers and Sellers..they know hoUpsdie down housew to find us and very often the continued communication results in continued business.

     This time...the former distressed seller told us that she was being sued by the buyers of the home she short saled...TWO YEARS AGO !

    The suit lists :"defects" in the house allegedly that the Seller knew about and chose not to disclose.

  We have closed hundreds of short sales and one of the things about which we are always careful about...regardless of whether theHome inspector home is "short" or not...is the protection of our Sellers.In additiom to the literature we give the Selling agent...and the MLS explanation...we also had a lawyer write a special addendum ...signed by both Sellers and Buyers basically explaining in part that this was an "as is" sale. Buyers are welcome to do an inspection of course...and that can be their "out" if the inspection reveals something that they decide is not acceptable.  We had a copy of the addendum signed by all parties and forwarded it to our Seller letting her know that if she needed us to appear in court, provide an affidavit...be deposed...we were there for her in any way we could assist her in this action.

       To our minds...the Buyers have a "conscience and ethics" problem....and we feel the same way about the lawyer who would take on such a case,  We always say, if there was one legal opinion, there would be one lawyer...this io us is certainly an abuse of the system by both the Buyers and the lawyer pursuing such an action.

         We are required to keep records for seven years...and  hope that the documentatioin we provided causes the judiciary to dismiss the suit as being frivolous.  Stay tuned...the legal system does not move quickly.

      This has been a cautionary post...for agents to keep careful records..for Buyers not to pursue legal action that has no merit...and to the people who represent them to think twice before taking on such an action.

      Amen and Women, Sally K. & David L. Hanson, Broker Associates with ExP Realtors honored to be of service for all things real estate in southeastern Wisconsin.

Posted by

Sally K. & David L. Hanson, ABR, CDPE, CSS, e-Pro,ILHM, REDS


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Comments (34)

Jay Markanich
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC - Bristow, VA
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia

Maybe they should sue their lawyer... for suggesting something without value, except his fee, of course.

Just sayin'.

Jul 19, 2018 09:44 AM
Sally K. & David L. Hanson
EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI
WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

Exactly Jay Markanich  ! 

Jul 19, 2018 09:50 AM
Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

Sally,

Wow, how low people stoop!  We had a similar thing happen where the attorney drafted the same type of document with all the parties signing...The judge threw it out of court like James Dray said.  The sad part is that it cost$ to defend yourself.  

Jul 19, 2018 10:15 AM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Thank you very much for telling us about this situation. Home sellers need to be very careful with their disclosures.

Jul 19, 2018 10:19 AM
Sally K. & David L. Hanson
EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI
WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

The Sellers were extra careful Roy Kelley , the Buyers signed an "as is" agreement and are not being reasonable or to our minds, ethical.

Jul 19, 2018 10:23 AM
Brian England
Ambrose Realty Management LLC - Gilbert, AZ
MBA, GRI, REALTOR® Real Estate in East Valley AZ

I always emphasize the disclosure to my Sellers and hopefully the truth will always set us free!  If your clients didn't know, then it will be impossible for the buyers to prove otherwise.

Jul 19, 2018 11:15 AM
George Souto
George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages - Middletown, CT
Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert

Sally and David people are litigation crazy, and there is always a shyster who will take on the case.

Jul 19, 2018 11:28 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Sally and David- good for you for making sure that you had everything documented! Some people like to put blame or cause on others and can't accept that sometimes things just happen. 

Jul 19, 2018 06:36 PM
Lynn B. Friedman CRS Atlanta, GA 404-617-6375
Atlanta Homes ODAT Realty - Love our Great City - Love our Clients! Buckhead - Midtown - Westside - Atlanta, GA
Concierge Service for Our Atlanta Sellers & Buyers

Sally K. & David L. Hanson 
Yes, truly a wonderfully thorough cautionary post.

Not just get the documents signed but keep them the seven required years!!! I made a longer comment to our wonderful Jay Marcanich above at #12.
All the best - Lynn

 

Jul 20, 2018 09:58 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Sally and David, funny I have a draft post about a similar  subject I will have to write it sooner than later:)Endre

Jul 20, 2018 10:31 PM
Anonymous
Cheri

Purple Envelope?

Jul 21, 2018 06:17 AM
#25
Terry McCarley
Coastal Real Estate - Cape Coral FL - Cape Coral, FL
REALTOR, SRES, CDPE - Cape Coral, FL

I will be very interested to see how this turns out.  I handled numerous short sales and also did “as is” and had a hold harmless agreement signed.

Jul 21, 2018 06:27 AM
Sally K. & David L. Hanson
EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI
WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

We are too Terry McCarley ...knowing that the law is not always what we anticipate it to be !

Jul 21, 2018 06:29 AM
Marti Steele Kilby, CRS
Steele Group Realty - La Mesa, CA
Broker/Owner, San Diego, CA

What a completely frivolous suit!  I hope your sellers prevail.  However, I'm actually surprised you weren't named in the suit!  In CA the lawyers tend to name anyone and everyone who touched the transaction.  

Jul 21, 2018 07:29 AM
Anonymous
Marvin Shelley

Most lawyers everywhere sue everyone. Cast a big net, catch the big fish!
Let the defendants point their fingers at each other and solve the case.

Jul 21, 2018 12:42 PM
#29
Anonymous
Marvin Shelley

One more note - I graduated law school waaay back in the middle of the past century. I am getting more paranoid as time goes by. I have a lengthy disclaimer that covers everything from the cat buried in the back yard to the roof. When I show a house, I let the sellers do all the talking because I don't know nuttin' about nuttin'.

Jul 21, 2018 12:51 PM
#30
Jeff Dowler, CRS
eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Carlsbad, CA
The Southern California Relocation Dude

Hi Sally and David

2 years seems an awful long time to wait and I wonder if that will come up as an issue? Sounds like your seller is well-protected along with your willingness to help. But what a shame to have to go through this.

Jeff

Jul 21, 2018 05:39 PM
Debe Maxwell, CRS
Savvy + Company (704) 491-3310 - Charlotte, NC
The RIGHT CHARLOTTE REALTOR!

Just WOW! I will say that, in my opinion, the buyers are idiots - surely their inspector didn't miss ANYTHING that would be equivalent to the cost of an attorney. Ridiculous, Sally!

I look forward to hearing that this one was thrown out and that the buyers have to pay the cost of the seller's attorney too!

Jul 21, 2018 10:55 PM
John Wiley
Fort Myers, FL
Lee County, FL, ECO Broker, GRI, SRES,GREEN,PSA

So sorry to hear that your clients are going through a legal battle that never should have taken place. It is frustrating and costly to defend.

Thanks for sharing and may we all make sure we have provided the proper guidance and documentation to assist in these times.

 

Jul 23, 2018 06:18 AM
Woody Edwards
First Choice Realty, Inc - Chesterfield, VA
A Realtor® Who Answers His Phone!

It takes all kinds to make the world go round!

Jul 23, 2018 01:37 PM