About John Hendricks Expertise As a California Realtor for 23 years practicing in Marin and Sonoma Counties, it is now time to provide counsel through AllExperts.com to those who need advise in real estate. My knowledge and experience includes a wide range of resale residential real estate purchases, new home sales, income related investment properties involved in 1031 exchanges, and land. Let me help you in any of these areas...
Experience John Hendricks has established himself as one of Marin & Sonoma Counties premier Realtors. A native Californian, John is a well-known and respected Realtor in both Marin & Sonoma Counties who has resided in the Northbay since 1976. John began his real estate career in 1986, and since then has distinguished himself as one or Northern California's top producing Realtors. Before joining Frank Howard Allen Realtors, John was an associate of the Prudential California Realty from 1990-1992 where his outstanding sales achievements earned him one of the company's highest honors, the prestigious "President's Circle Membership", presented to the top 2% of associates for sales and earning excellence. Since his association with the highly regarded Frank Howard Allen Realtors in 1992, John has once again established himself as one of his company's Top 10 Producing Realtors in Marin & Sonoma Counties for the years 1993 through 2007 and now in 2008. Five continuous years of outstanding performance has now allowed John to join 15 other Realtors in the prestigious "Lifetime Hall of Fame" for Frank Howard Allen Realtors.
John established a group of professional individuals who specialize in a variety of areas in real estate called, 'Lundmark-Hendricks Fine Homes' This group of professionals are dedicated to the success of representing clients with the greatest amount of care and service when either buying or selling real estate.
Organizations California Association of Realtors
National Association of Realtors
Education/Credentials Upon Request...
Awards and Honors Frank Howard Allen Realtors "Hall of Fame Member"
Chairman's Circle for 10 consecutive years
Past/Present Clients Joe Louis & Sharon Sigurdson
We want to thank you again for your excellent representation of interests during the recent purchase of our home in Petaluma as well as the sell of our home in Mill Valley. We had the unusual pleasure of working with you during the last year both as sellers and buyers.
We felt that our interests were always paramount and that we received a very fair price for the sale of the Mill Valley house as well as our purchase of our new home. This speaks particularly well of you, because of the recent unstable and chaotic real estate market.
Will Finke
"Quite frankly, we came out of a very difficult situation, which time does not allow elaborating on. This was one of the greatest experiences of our lives as clients. John Hendricks is one of the top businessmen I have ever met."
Bruce & Nancy Rosentreter
"I chose John Hendricks to sell my house. I picked him because I thought he was professional, aggressive, and that he could get top dollar for my house. He fulfilled my expectations completely."
Joy Schuelke
"Since we were trying to sell a high end home in a very tough market, and in the middle of a very rainy winter, the prospects seemed quite bleak. I was convinced at the time, and am even more so now, that without John's tenure, patience, and tenacity, we would have not been able to move the property."
Lynn McCarthy
"I cannot stress strongly enough how impressed I was with the service provided to me by John and his group. Throughout the entire transaction, John was always available, always forthcoming with excellent advice based on his years of experience, and always willing to put in the extra effort to make this a positive experience for me. I feel lucky to have had the experience of working with him."
Lea Lieurance-Turk
"Thank you John for your outstanding real estate services for the past 5 years I have known you. You have made my dreams come true as far as selling and buying property."
http://www.LundmarkHendricksFineHomes.com
I just bought a home and a week later, I found out that the basement was built without permit. At the settlement, there was none disclosure for that information. I wonder if my realtor and my settlement company who represented us would have some kind of responsibility for this matter. The county people want me to break the wall of the basement for inspection purpose. Who would be responsible for fixing this now?
Thanks,
Eric
Answer Dear Eric;
Thank you for your question… I am sorry for the delay, but I just got back and reviewing my email and saw your question. Your patience is appreciated.
You did not mention to me what state your property is located, so the only thing I can pass onto you is your options if your home was located in the State of California.
California has strict laws and regulations regarding disclosure statements. It is the responsibility of the seller to disclose as to their knowledge all known items related to the condition of the property and that would affect the desirability of the property to a potential buyer without exception. Some exemptions to this condition is if the property is foreclosed upon, or an estate sale. The real estate agents in the transaction are not exempted from disclosures as well. Regardless of the type of sale, they are required to report any known conditions that would affect the desirability of the property.
Now that we reviewed that, here are your options.
1. First contact your Realtor’s Broker/Manager. It is alright to bypass your agent immediately to eliminate wasted time. The Broker/Manager is ultimately responsible for your agents actions in this transaction. You would want the Broker Manager of the Real Estate Company to review your file, specifically the disclosures from the sellers, plus the both buyer and seller agents inspections. You would want to provide them with copies of any reports of violations the city or county has attached to your homes file. Also include contractor reports, bids to complete the work, photos of the affected area and any other supportive information to help qualify your complaint. It is also important to keep good notes on all your conversations and meeting that may take place. Include dates, times, parties who are involved with the conversation or meeting, and location where it took place.
2. Prior to your meeting with the broker, you may want to seek out the best real estate attorney in your area to have a 1 hour consultation to review all your documents. The attorney will advise you on your various options, and provide you a business card you can give the real estate broker/manager. This information can only strengthen your presentation when you meet the Broker/Manager.
3. You may not want to agree to any proposal prior to having legal counsel review any and all documentation provided for your approval to resolve the problem.
I would recommend to a client to do the repairs, pay for the repairs; keep accurate documentation of the reasons why these repairs took place, pictures and all receipts. In California, these problems don’t go away for some years, so even though the work was performed, the seller or real estate company may still be held accountable for fraudulent information or lack of information.
I am not a real estate attorney, just a Realtor who practices real estate in California. I would highly recommend contacting legal council to review and advise you, based on the laws in the state, county, and city in which you own this property prior to taking any action.
Thanks for your patience once again, and I hoped this helped you with your problem… Good luck with resolving this issue…
