Can I Sue Seller/Agent?? (commission, property, attorney, inspector)
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OK. I purchased a home about 5 months ago. It has been a disaster since the day that I moved in. The house was advertised as "Completely Renovated". Much to my chagrin, I did not get a home inspection, but opted for a home warranty. My agent saw no problem with this. Yeah, she sucks! Well, the first day that I moved in, I noticed that there were no phone jacks! I was floored! After speaking to the agent via my agent, the seller/agent stated that there were never phone jacks in the house. She failed to disclose this info. She also stated that the only way she would get phone jacks in the house is if I signed a not stating that I would go after her for anything else. I signed the note and she wrote a check for the phone jacks. Well, the disaster insued. Water started leaking from the upstairs bathroom into the kitchen... I mean pouring. The phone lines had been cut, the roof is significantly damaged and it rains in the house. Moreover, I returned home to see a HUGE hole in my house! The siding had blown away and the rain was just pouring in! There was nothing behind the siding!!!!! OMG!! That's not all. The house was advertised as having wood floors. Turns out, it's cheap laminate that's unlevel. On top of that, she failed to disclose that the house was infested with termites and that the house had significant fire damage! I have been overwhelmed and profoundly angry. She kept telling me, "The home has been inspected...The home has been inspected." I want to contact a real estate attorney. I also want to file a complaint with the Louisiana Real Estate Commission. Can I sue?? Anybody know anything?? HELP!!!
I had troubles when I moved here; it got so bad that even the real estate agent wouldn't return my calls when I discovered that no closing date had been established. I had to put my family up in a motel for four months while the attorney I hired got things straightened out. Even then, the problems we discovered were not completely fixed.
I'd hire an attorney if I were you, but understand that the LREC is a joke.
So, you bought a house without getting your own inspector to look at it? Then you signed a document absolving the previous owner and selling agent of any further issues you may discover in exchange for some money to install phone jacks?
Well, let that one be a lesson to you.
I don't know what state you live in, but at least here in NJ, your only recourse would be to get a real estate attorney and pursue the seller for failure to disclose the issues with the house. The trick is you have to be able to prove that they knew that the issues existed prior to you purchasing the property and that they purposefully hid the problems. At this point the only advice anyone can give you that is worth anything is to go consult a real estate attorney.
The answer to your question is: YES, you can sue. You will not likely win, but you CAN sue.
You are a poster child for why people should get their own home inspection. I'm guessing you signed a form somewhere that said you waived your "right" to have your own inspector.
I'm not even sure that you must disclose if there are phone jacks or not. Not sure how thats the Realtors fault.
As far as the other stuff goes, you might be able to go after the sellers of the property, but when you gave away your right to have your own inspector, you may have lost a good portion of your "case".
Good luck.
I think the only case you'd have against the listing agent is failure to disclose a material defect. So many people don't even have landlines anymore and I have some clients building a house and they were planning to leave phone jacks out.
As for the seller, you would have to prove that they had knowledge of the defects in order to prove misrepresentation. Remember the burden of proof is on you. The seller doesn't have to prove their innocence, you have to prove their guilt.
I am not familiar with the laws in Louisiana, you should try to get in contact with some one that is, preferably a something like the legal clinic of a Law School. I doubt that you will be able to get much satisfaction, but maybe there are some consumer protection angles to pursue...
In the future you might want to not just consider the value of having an inspection, but perhaps shopping a bit more closely. Things like lack of phone jacks and flooring that is laminate kind pop out at folks that care to get even a little education...
In the future you might want to not just consider the value of having an inspection, but perhaps shopping a bit more closely. Things like lack of phone jacks and flooring that is laminate kind pop out at folks that care to get even a little education...
I don't think they'll get anywhere with the hardwoods thing because laminate is obviously laminate and not hardwood. You can see the difference.
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