Q: When the seller?s Realtor is asked a question about the property by the buyer?s Realtor, is the seller?s Realtor responsible for giving accurate information?
In July of 2011, our Realtor first contacted the seller?s Realtor (X) regarding a seven acre parcel of land that she had listed. On our behalf, he asked X the location of the rural water and the power. She told my Realtor that she would call the sellers and get back to him. When X called back, she said that both the water and the power were in the ditch of the property.
When we began to build our home in January of 2012, we discovered that the power was not in the ditch of our property as X had said, but instead had to be trenched from the highway. The bill was $1,516.00.
When we found out about the unanticipated expense, we called our Realtor, and he immediately contacted X. She told him she would call the sellers and get back to him soon. A few weeks passed, and he heard nothing. He called her again. She told him a second time that she?d call the sellers and get back to him. When he heard nothing from her in way of reply, he called a third time. During this conversation, X said that she talked to her broker and neither she nor the broker was responsible. She had made no attempt to contact the sellers to resolve the problem.
X told my Realtor that she wasn?t responsible for the cost of trenching the power, because she gave us information she had gotten from a conversation with the original seller of the property, Mr. K, when she first listed his 17 acre plot of land. However, several things had changed on the listing since she had this conversation with the seller.
Between the time that she first spoke with Mr. K and my realtor inquired about the power, both the seller and the parcel of land had changed. The elder Mr. K had passed away, and his wife, suffering from dementia, was unable to handle the business of selling the property. So, her new contact became K?s son. Not only had her contact changed, but the listing itself had changed. Originally, the elder Mr. K had listed the land in a 17 acre block. By July, the large plot had been divided into two smaller plots?one 10 acres, and the other the seven acre plot in which we were interested.
Despite all of these changes, X, by her own admission, didn?t bother to call her current contact and ask our question about the location of the power. In fact, it seems that the elder Mr. K was accurate in his answer about the power?s location when the land was one large parcel of 17 acres, because the power was in the ditch of the other 10 acres. If X would have asked this question of Mr. K?s son as she said she would do, he may have informed her that there was no power on our seven acres. It?s become clear to me that when the seller split the land into two parcels from one, X didn?t update her listing or her information.
X may not have intentionally lied about the location of the power, but she made no reasonable attempt to verify the truth. Isn?t that is her responsibility as a licensed Realtor? Do we have grounds to pursue this matter?
?Carrie, Sioux Falls, SD
A: Dear Sioux Falls,
There are two considerations, what the seller actually knew and what you can prove. I strongly recommend that you seek legal counsel.
Ginny Ollis is a Realtor? with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage ? San Diego Mission Hills in San Diego, CA.
A: An agent is only required to disclose material defects in a property that she knows about. We?re not talking about material defects here. You should have had a survey done of the property. A proper survey will tell you where any and all utility easements are located. Ordering a survey is the buyer?s responsibility, and at a minimum, your title company representative should have asked you if you wanted a survey done prior to closing. If you are wondering if you have grounds to pursue anything, talk to an attorney.
Cathy Baumbusch is a Realtor? with RE/MAX Executives in Alexandria, VA.
A: Check with legal council. Seems to me it?s your agent, who usually represents the buyer, who should have confirmed the information.
Ed Tomlinson is a Realtor? with Re/Max Alliance in Arvada, CO.
A: It sounds to me like neither agent did their due diligence. I would seek the advice of an attorney.
Maria Picardi-Kenyon is a Realtor? with Re/Max Tri County Realtors in Hamilton, NJ
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