Expert: Dick Dennis - 3/31/2009

Question
    My wife and I have been under contract on a home for about a month and a half, we are very close to closing.  The home beside the home we are purchasing just recently went up for sell, and they paid to have a survey done which revealed that their fence and part of one of their storage buildings is on the land we are buying.  The current owner of "our" property just made some sort of deal with the neighbors, which included him giving them ownership of the land that the fence and building is on.  This caused us to have to wait for a survey to be done of the property to close the loan as well as wait on a new deed.  My question is, is it legal to knowingly make changes to the deed of a property while it is under contract?  Could the "profits" that were received by the seller be recouped by the buyer, since our contract was for the original deed?  Could this be considered breech of contract on their part, and would I be able to get my money from them for appraisals, insurance premiums, good faith, etc.?
                               West Virginia

Answer
The seller cannot, should not, must not make any changes to the deed or condition of the property after the buyer has made his offer based on the representation. Yes, yes, and yes!!! This is a case for a good real estate attorney, Ronnie. Absolutely do not, I repeat, do not hesitate. Get your attorney into the picture right away. And if you have a Realtor working for you, complain to him/her, too. And if they do not help, make sure the attorney sues him/her, too. I wish you well.

Dick Dennis