Buyers afraid to cancel bad deal
Q. While on leave from the military, we bought a home that was totally misrepresented. According to the listing, it was a 2,300-square-foot, four-bedroom, lakeview house. During the escrow, we read the tax documents and discovered the home is actually 2,000 square feet with only three bedrooms. We also learned that the fourth bedroom is an unpermitted addition and the "lake" is a retention pond. When we tried to cancel the sale, the seller threatened to keep our deposit and take us to court. We consulted an attorney, but he said he couldn't do anything in this case. So we closed escrow and now owe more than the current appraisal value of the property. What can we do?
A. It is very disappointing to know that you closed on the property. Once you learned that the listing details were false, you had every right to cancel the sale. The sellers could not have gotten your deposit without taking legal action, and they had no basis for their claim because they were guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation and violation of seller disclosure laws. The same culpability applies to the listing agent, who should definitely have known better. Furthermore, anyone who would abuse members of our military in this way can add "scum-hood" to their other reprehensible attributes.
The fact that your attorney did not advise you not to buy the property is actually astonishing. It's hard to image someone with a law degree being so bereft of common sense. At this point, you need some better advice from a more reliable real estate attorney.
Q. We just purchased our first home. The seller was the bank that repossessed the property last year. On our final walk-through inspection before closing escrow, we found mold. The bank agreed to have it removed, and we were given a report stating that the removal was completed. But after moving in, we found additional mold that was not included in the remediation, and in some places they merely covered the mold with paint, rather than removing it. Do we have any recourse?
A. If the bank hired someone to remove the mold and then reported that the work was complete, then they should be obligated to complete the work, as disclosed. You should also find out who was hired to do the mold removal. Those persons should be liable due to professional negligence. If they are not specifically licensed to do mold remediation, the bank should be additionally liable for having employed them.
You can hire a certified mold specialist to conduct a complete mold evaluation of the property. The findings of that inspection should be the basis for any remediation that remains to be done. When all remedial work has been completed, your mold expert can conduct a final inspection, and this should include the taking of air samples to be evaluated by a certified environmental laboratory.
• To write to Barry Stone, visit him on the web at www.housedetective.com, or write AMG, 1776 Jami Lee Court, Suite 218, San Luis Obispo, CA 94301.
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