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I'll try to explain this as simply as possible but want to give all the facts...
I closed on a townhome Oct 19 of this year thinking I'd be there for a good number of years. After all the hassle of packing/moving/unpacking, paying a painter to paint the ENTIRE place, and buying new laminate flooring (which I haven't put in yet, thankfully!), I was informed by a neighbor about 5 days ago that I should come to the board meeting on Saturday b/c they were talking about the commercial developers that are interested in the property (which I've heard NOTHING about until now), and that it was VERY likely that within 2-4 years the complex would be sold and our places torn down and we'd be paid simply according to our square footage. And this has been in the works since before I bought...
So, I'm already a little upset/stressed out about the fact that I was never informed about this - then at the meeting Saturday (which i couldn't make but got the info from my neighbors) they said the sale is looking more like June/July 2008!! It has to be a 100% agreement by owners before it happens but it's looking like this is what everyone wants to do, as most of them have been there a while now and stand to make a really good profit compared to what they paid years ago.
Now, I stand to make a little more money than if I'd sold it myself and will be able to avoid closing costs and realtors' fees and all that, but it doesn't seem right to me that I wasn't informed about this before making the decision to buy there. For one, I HATE moving and avoid it at all costs. Plus it's expensive. Also, I just spent money on improvements with RESALE value in mind. I obviously would never have done that had I known the place would be bulldozed in less than a year and I'd only be paid according to square footage. Heck, I wouldn't have even bothered moving in.
So, my question is: Was it anyone's responsibility to inform me about this before my purchase? Since there is no contract yet and the place wasn't actually 'on the market,' does that mean no one had to tell me anything and I'm out of luck? It's not like it was just talk though -- I think the commercial developer had already made their initial offer (and I THINK the homeowners had already been informed and started voting -- have to check on that) before I actually bought. And here's the kicker -- the girl I bought the place from was on the HOA board and DEFINITELY "knew all about the plans" as I was told by another HOA board member, but never mentioned it....
.....So what gives? Any input would be appreciated!!
I'll try to explain this as simply as possible but want to give all the facts...
I closed on a townhome Oct 19 of this year thinking I'd be there for a good number of years. After all the hassle of packing/moving/unpacking, paying a painter to paint the ENTIRE place, and buying new laminate flooring (which I haven't put in yet, thankfully!), I was informed by a neighbor about 5 days ago that I should come to the board meeting on Saturday b/c they were talking about the commercial developers that are interested in the property (which I've heard NOTHING about until now), and that it was VERY likely that within 2-4 years the complex would be sold and our places torn down and we'd be paid simply according to our square footage. And this has been in the works since before I bought...
So, I'm already a little upset/stressed out about the fact that I was never informed about this - then at the meeting Saturday (which i couldn't make but got the info from my neighbors) they said the sale is looking more like June/July 2008!! It has to be a 100% agreement by owners before it happens but it's looking like this is what everyone wants to do, as most of them have been there a while now and stand to make a really good profit compared to what they paid years ago.
Now, I stand to make a little more money than if I'd sold it myself and will be able to avoid closing costs and realtors' fees and all that, but it doesn't seem right to me that I wasn't informed about this before making the decision to buy there. For one, I HATE moving and avoid it at all costs. Plus it's expensive. Also, I just spent money on improvements with RESALE value in mind. I obviously would never have done that had I known the place would be bulldozed in less than a year and I'd only be paid according to square footage. Heck, I wouldn't have even bothered moving in.
So, my question is: Was it anyone's responsibility to inform me about this before my purchase? Since there is no contract yet and the place wasn't actually 'on the market,' does that mean no one had to tell me anything and I'm out of luck? It's not like it was just talk though -- I think the commercial developer had already made their initial offer (and I THINK the homeowners had already been informed and started voting -- have to check on that) before I actually bought. And here's the kicker -- the girl I bought the place from was on the HOA board and DEFINITELY "knew all about the plans" as I was told by another HOA board member, but never mentioned it....
.....So what gives? Any input would be appreciated!!
I am not a realtor, but it seems to me that you have a case of "negligent misrepresentation" here. Basically, this sounds like something your realtor should have reasonably known about. I would contact the Broker in Charge that your realtor works for immediately. If you get nowhere there, take your concerns to the NC Real Estate Commission. Best of luck.
Editing now...I misread you up above. You didn't have a realtor???? Now you really are screwed - a realtor could have protected you from this. The homeowner has no legal responsibility to tell you anything - it is "BUYER BEWARE". Sorry.
Oh, I DID have a realtor. I'm not sure what implied that I didn't but sorry for not being clear. I already spoke to him about it though, and he said it was crazy and that the LISTING agent should have known (from researching or something) and disclosed it. He acted like it was her reponsibility to find out that sort of thing about the property she was selling. But, he said he wasn't sure about the laws right off-hand b/c the seller may not have told the agent (which is likely) and it may be different since there was (is) no actual contract yet. He said he would look into it -- I just wanted to get what info I could from anyone else.
Oh, I DID have a realtor. I'm not sure what implied that I didn't but sorry for not being clear. I already spoke to him about it though, and he said it was crazy and that the LISTING agent should have known (from researching or something) and disclosed it. He acted like it was her reponsibility to find out that sort of thing about the property she was selling. But, he said he wasn't sure about the laws right off-hand b/c the seller may not have told the agent (which is likely) and it may be different since there was (is) no actual contract yet. He said he would look into it -- I just wanted to get what info I could from anyone else.
Please clarify - why is there no contract yet you closed on the deal?
I do believe the lising agent bears a lot of the responsibility to have disclosed this to your buyers agent, BUT, your agent is not off the hook. I am telling you, contact the NC Real Estate Commission - with two realtors involved this should have NEVER happened to you. If your agent doesn't know the laws better than this, you got a really bad realtor.
There is no contract yet with the commercial developer.
The deal I closed on was the purchase of the townhouse.
Thank you for clarifying...I don't think a contract with the developer would have to have been in effect yet - as long as this is what was being planned and was well known by all living there the lising agent should have reasonably discovered and disclosed this. But really, both realtors seem negligent to me. Yours did not do his best to protect your interests. Again, the best place to have this question answered is with the real estate commission (which I believe is in Raleigh). I would not delay in contacting them, no matter what your realtor tells you now.
baileyblue444 and lovesMountains: Perhaps this link will answer your question about disclosure laws in NC. I have made two sales and two purchases down here and learned that, if you don't take lengths to protect yourself, "caveat emptor" applies (Let the buyer beware).
http://www.beachrealtync.com/pdf/sales/buyingtips/disclosure.pdf (broken link)
Last edited by RuralCoastalGuy; 12-03-2007 at 02:48 PM..
Reason: corrected spelling of both posters' names
BaileyBlue444 and Lovesmountains: Perhaps this link will answer your question about disclosure laws in NC. I have made two sales and two purchases down here and learned that, if you don't take lengths to protect yourself, "caveat emptor" applies (Let the buyer beware).
http://www.beachrealtync.com/pdf/sales/buyingtips/disclosure.pdf (broken link)
Thanks for trying Mikey, but the link says "page not found". From what I understand the listing agent has the greatest responsibility for disclosing what are considered "material" facts. Sure sounds to me like what is happening to BaileyBlue's townhome complex would qualify as a material fact. What do you think? Any of the realtors here feel like chiming in???
Thanks for trying Mikey, but the link says "page not found". From what I understand the listing agent has the greatest responsibility for disclosing what are considered "material" facts. Sure sounds to me like what is happening to BaileyBlue's townhome complex would qualify as a material fact. What do you think?
I agree with you 100%. One of the reasons we use realtors is for protection, in addition to having them use their extensive resources to help buy or sell homes and property. We pay them the 5-6% to know everything we do not and do everything we cannot. In my last instance where we sold a home our realtor was sharp as tacks...no flies on her...but the buyer's agent was kinda sorta out to lunch. I will take another look at that link to see why it wouldn't open and said page not found.
ok, here's another link. I tried it twice and it opened up. This is a source where you can ask questions for free when it comes to the seller lying to the buyer or not disclosing information.
Understanding Seller Disclosure Law - Real Estate Advice - Seller Lied (http://www.thinkglink.com/Understanding_Seller_Disclosure_Law.htm - broken link)
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(broken link)
