the wasserblawg

It has long been a standard operating practice in my office to make immediate inquiry with Sellers and in the public records to try to ascertain the status of a seller's mortgage liens at the outset of every Chicago area short sale transaction I work on.  Buyers certainly want to know information like this as they determine how much (or whether) to make an offer in a short sale situation. If the deal is unworkable, why bother putting up earnest money or wasting time, right?  Do listing agents have a duty to disclose this, even without a specific inquiry? According to one appellate court in California, the answer seems to be yes. RIS Media reported today on a California appellate court decision earlier  this week ( Holmes v. Summers )  to the effect that r eal estate practitioners (Realtors)  have the same responsibility as sellers to disclose information they have that affects the “value and desirability of the property.”  In that case,...

A cautionary tale for all my friends and colleagues who represent buyers in real estate transactions. I had the good fortune to help a long time client close on her purchase of a three flat last Friday. In a year that has been replete with difficult transactions, this one was pretty easy. An all cash purchase of a bank owned property. Clean title to boot. (What can possibly go wrong, right?) The deal came together pretty quickly. We closed in just three weeks. It is a lovely building  (purchased by a delightful client). The bank that was selling had foreclosed on a developer who (like many others) had apparently run out of money before he could complete a conversion from a rental to condominiums. Overall the place was in good shape. The first floor unit lacked finish plumbing, fixtures and  appliances on the first floor, but the second and third were pretty much rent-able and ready to go. The purchase price seems a bargain. My client is v...