Buying or Selling a Home/seller disclosures

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Expert: John Hendricks - 9/23/2008


Question
Hello there,
Three years ago we sold a home in Northern California to a real estate agent. She represented herself and we had no agent. She had the home inspected and the purchase was completed within a week. Over the past three years she has continually harassed us and accused us of "knowledge" of everything that happens in the house. A couple of years ago they had a leak in the roof (it is a 35 year old house) and said we knew the roof was leaky- she harassed us for months until she finally dropped the issue. Next she called and harassed us because she found a paper towel sheet behind the dishwasher- saying we put it there intentionally (no, I'm not kidding). Now- three years later- she has found that the deck has dry rot and she has to replace it. The home inspector says they could not get under the deck to inspect (it has 3-6 ft of crawl space) therefore it is not their responsibility. She is claiming she can find an old neighbor to confirm that we suspected the deck to develop dry rot (no conversation ever occurred). She is threatening to sue us for $8500 to replace the decks. We feel like she is beyond her bounds, using the fact that she acted as both buyer and agent that she even has our phone number and is trying to bully us into paying for something that we have no responsibility for. Does she have a leg to stand on or can we tell her she is overstepping her bounds?
Thank you for your time.
Ashley

Answer
Dear Ashley;

Thank you for your question... I am sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I have just returned from a business trip, and just getting to my emails for AllExperts.com

Unfortunately, there is not a clear answer to your question. During a conversation with an attorney regarding your situation, it was mentioned even though there are statutes of limitations for such issues, that depending on the situation, if she able to prove you defrauded her, the statute does not apply. If she discovers a non-fraudulent problem (such as a negligent repair), the statute of limitations may start from the day of the close of escrow, or it could start from the day of discovery by her depending on how the attorney's present their position.  

The good news is since she is a licensed real estate agent in the State of California, she is considered a real estate expert. With her background and knowledge of selling properties, there is little excuse for her not taking the proper precautions to review and question any concerns that were related to your home prior to completing the purchase. Disclosures are designed to provide any and all KNOWN facts that may affect the desirability of the property to the buyer directly from the seller. The buyer may have to prove through this documentation that you knew of the questioned conditions and did not disclose the problems accordingly. This proof would be needed to collect any compensation. You may want to review your contract to get acquainted with how disputes are resolved and the responsibilities of the seller when completing disclosure statements.

The first thing you may want to do to protect yourself is to contact a real estate attorney for consultation. After reviewing the contract, inspections, disclosures and her reported issues, the attorney can easily advise you of your position in this matter.

Second, you may want to ask your attorney if you should issue a complaint with her real estate broker (the company she is associated with) to explain the problem, since the broker is the responsible party for her actions. You may find that the broker would like to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and if her requests lack substance, the broker may recommend her to drop the problem immediately.

Thanks once again for your patience in waiting for a response. I hope this was of some help to you. Best of luck in resolving this problem…

Warmest Regards;
John Hendricks

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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

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