What’s Their Broker Doing?

Posted by Jim Kimmons, Broker/Owner • January 15, 2010 • Printer-friendly

In the article "Housing Market: Buyer Really Beware," Time.com states that today's market causes desperate sellers to omit material facts, or even lie, to get their home sold in a buyers' market. Items mentioned include:

mold
incorrect taxes
lot size mis-stated
home size mis-stated
no or under-stated utility bills
not disclosing pest problems, noise issues, past damage, etc.

The article suggests that the buyer ask to see utility and tax bills, get inspections, etc. It's interesting to me, as there's no way one of my clients will get close to closing with mis-stated square footage or lot size, or any major problems in the areas discussed in the article. It's my job as a buyer broker to get this information and all disclosures to them as quickly as possible. And, by the way, in our long days on market, a disclosure a year old isn't going to cut it. I'll want a new one.