Aboutliznarr Expertise I can answer questions relating to the purchase and/or sale of residential homes and land, including what a really good agent should be expected to do and/or not do; where to turn when problems occur; and questions regarding disclosure. I`m a Licensed Realtor in the Southeast since 1984 with designations of Broker, GRI, CRS, and CBR (Certified Buyer Representative). Current active and Life Member of Million Dollar Club, Certified by State Real Estate Commission to teach Pre-Licensing and Continuing Education courses, specializing in Agency. Currently serving on Grievance and Professional Standards Committees, and Education Committee in past.
Question I just sold a home in Florida which has a problem with the ceramic tile flooring. The tiles are hollowing out and buckling,cracking and breaking in areas. This is a common problem here which I have been told is caused by faulty installation. The damaged tile floor was readily visible to my buyers,no attempt was made to hide the problem. In fact on there first visit to my home their realtor stepped on a buckled tile breaking it in half. I offered all potential buyers a $6000 flooring credit at closing. Prior to my buyers making an offer I did replace a few of the worst tiles. My house was listed at $325,000, they offered $300,000. We countered with $315,000. My realtor told me that their realtor countered with $305,000 saying they did not want to take the flooring credit, they would prefer to just pay less for the house and would not go above $305,000 because of the floor problem. We accepted their offer and closed 1 week ago. They have since contacted their agent saying the floor problem is worse then they thought, that they bought a lemon, and that we did not disclose this problem. They also say that a neighbor told them we had very bad hurricane damage that we did not disclose.This is blatantly untrue, we never filed a homeowners claim after the hurricanes and had no more damage then a few missing roof tiles and one water stain on a ceiling which has remained dry in the 3 years since. They had a home inspection which found no roof problems and did not mention the flooring and the buyers did a final walk through,etc. They are saying that we are liable for the floor because we did not disclose the problem on the written disclosure statement. Our real estate agent did not tell us to do so and since this was a clearly visible cosmetic,not structural problem,we did not even think about listing it on the form. We made no attempt to hide it and offered the $6000 credit that they turned down. We feel we negotiated in good faith and should not be expected to pay for anything further now. Can we be held liable because we did not list this problem on the form? And if so, does our real estate agent share in that liability for not properly instructing us on how to fill out the form?
Thank you.
Answer Hi Cindy,
I understand that you offered a $6,000.00 allowance for the tile flooring and that this was apparently listed in the MLS information. In addition, this Purchaser also had a home inspection done which did not mention the flooring, and neither did the Purchaser ask for any floor correction and/or the allowance you offered.
The fact that you filled out a disclosure form and did not list the flooring problem on the form itself would need to be addressed by an attorney as to whether or not you have any liability for not listing the problem…on the form.
The fact that your agent “did not tell you to disclose this defect” on the disclosure form does not relieve you of your responsibility to disclose. In addition, however, the fact that your agent did not advise you to add the information to the form or DISCLOSE IT HIMSELF (after reviewing your form and having personal knowledge of the defect) does not relieve him of his obligation to disclose, either -- ditto for the selling agent if he/she stepped on it and cracked one buckled tile in half.
The Purchasers obviously knew about the defective flooring; negotiated it out in a lower purchase price; had a home inspection done; but are still unhappy. Hopefully, you have some written documentation regarding the statements between the Realtors about the reason for the lower offer and resulting sales price, without also taking advantage of the $6,000.00 allowance you offered for the flooring. If you do not have this documented, I would be getting statements as quickly as possible from both Realtors involved before this situation deteriorates further.
I hope the above is helpful to you. Good luck to you, and feel free to write again if you have additional questions.
