Realtor Lied -- Any Recourse?

What is the name of your state? Michigan

Hi, and thanks for reading.

We relocated from another part of the state for my husband's job at the end of January this year. The house we bought is very nice -- lots of private land on a bayou. I thought the selling price was pretty low and wondered why it had been on the market since August.

The realtor explained that the housing is cheaper here (from what I can tell, this is true) and that it's a seasonal sort of place (also true) and people don't usally look for property in the winter.

Prior to us owning this house, it was a pretty expensive rental property. ($2500/week in the summer. Which I think it steep.)

Anyway, there is a large amount of land not only next door, but across the street and across the bayou. We asked several times who owned the land... could we buy the land.. etc.

Our realtor (and his counterpart which was always with him) insisted that the land across the bayou was DNR Protected land and couldn't be built on. He also told us several times that a provate owner had the land next to us and across the street and there were NO plans to build on it.

Come to find out, it's not DNR land. Come to find out that they are also building a park *right* next door and a 35 house subdivision across the street. This will force some septic prolems, and will force us to have to build a fence and endure lots of noise an pollution problems. The first public meeting on this was last September. We had no way of knowing, since we were living so far away. Shouldn't our realtor have told us about this?? He wasn't the selling agent on this property.

My husband found out about this last Thursday. He personally talked to the contractor and the contractor said that our agent and the selling agent knew about this.

At the very least, someone owes us a fence. However, I am livid due to the lies from the realtor. I would never have bought this house if I knew the whole story. Also, our lawyer made us sign an agreement that we wouldn't work with any other realtors.

What do I do? Is this something that we should've looked into? When we bought the house, I was still living several hours away and he was working full time at the brand new job. If the realtor had said that he was unsure about the land, then he shouldve looked into it -- or I could've looked into it. He seemed sure.

This is a very small town and I'm not sure if I could get the developer to sign anything. Mostly, I want answers from our realtor. Also, I would like to look into damages.

I'm not sure if we want to move, but I know that, with a fence, I will not be living in the houe I thought I was buying.

Please help!!

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

You never asked any questions, and your Realtor didn't have to tell you anything about the adjacent land.

Now, prove otherwise.

IAAL

My response is that I asked three separate realtors in that office and they all told me the same thing.

My understanding is that, when signing a buyer's agreement that he should be looking out for my best interests and helping me make an informed decision.

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally posted by jeepgirl74
My response is that I asked three separate realtors in that office and they all told me the same thing.

My understanding is that, when signing a buyer's agreement that he should be looking out for my best interests and helping me make an informed decision.

My response:

You never asked anybody any questions, and the issue never came up.

Now, prove otherwise.

IAAL

Prove that I didn't. Prove that I wouldn't when looking at all of the vacant land surrounding my property.

So, this is an issue of conscience and karma?

There were about 4 other houses that we were also willing to buy. Why did they have to pawn off this one?

I guess I had an option. I could've followed the realtor around with a pad and paper and had them sign every statement that I wrote down that they said. This is an absurd idea to me.

I have to think that there must be an implied set of questions that a rational homebuyer would ask. I think that "burden of proof" in this type of question should lie with the agents.

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally posted by jeepgirl74
Prove that I didn't. Prove that I wouldn't when looking at all of the vacant land surrounding my property.

So, this is an issue of conscience and karma?

There were about 4 other houses that we were also willing to buy. Why did they have to pawn off this one?

I guess I had an option. I could've followed the realtor around with a pad and paper and had them sign every statement that I wrote down that they said. This is an absurd idea to me.

I have to think that there must be an implied set of questions that a rational homebuyer would ask. I think that "burden of proof" in this type of question should lie with the agents.

My response:

Then you don't understand the concept of litigation. As a potential Plaintiff, it is YOUR burden of proof to prove that YOU DID ask these questions and that YOU were misled. They, as potential Defendants, DON'T have to prove anything. Simply, once they deny that anything ORAL took place, the ball gets thrown back into your court.

Now what?

There is no such thing as an "implied set of questions". No one can know what was in your mind, or what you would have liked to have asked.

Look, you want to undo the deal. That means money. It's their job to keep the money - - and since you want to take the money, you have an uphill battle.

IAAL

Okay okay. Burden of proof, yada yada.

Do you have any tips on what I should've done differently?

Do you think it's even worth pursuing?

Thanks.

[jimmler]

What you should have done is taken a day off work and gone to investigate at the local zoning office and subdivision office all aspects of the property and surrounding properties. You could have found out about the hearing, any subdivisions in progress and other information that is public knowlege.

It is not a realtors job to find all of these things out for you. It is yours as the buyer. While I don't think they should have told you what they did, because they did not know what they were talking about, it happens all the time, because they are trying to sell you the house.

If you have no proof, there is no case. Even if you have proof, I don't know if you would have a case. I am not a lawyer, I work in surveying and have heard stories of what realtors told people in order to sell properties.

[Souix]

If this was me and you were my client and I knew what was going in on that piece of property (as you stated they knew), then I would have disclosed what I knew to you in writing. I do this all the time when I know something about the property. Its called misrepresentation for mistating facts and Realtors do have a duty to disclose any material facts that they know about. My advice to the OP is to call the agent's principal broker and your state regulatory agency and see if you can file a complaint.

Sioux --

Thank you.

Your response makes me feel better... but after reading the other responses, I am doubting if there is much I can do.

As they said, my agent can lie and say that we never discussed it .

I'll definitely call the principle broker tomorrow.

[HomeGuru]

Can you say due diligence?

I guess by hiring my buyer's agent, I thought I was ensuring that he'd find these things out for me.

"Due diligence is the level of judgement, care, prudence, determination, and activity that a person would reasonably be expected to do under particular circumstances."

It's my position that he would reasonably inform me of a 35 house subdivision being built next door 5 months from when the contract was signed.

Again, we relied on him. I wasn't in the area and my husband was working long hours at a brand new job that was started after the first of the year.

This is what he got a commision for.

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally posted by jeepgirl74
I guess by hiring my buyer's agent, I thought I was ensuring that he'd find these things out for me.

"Due diligence is the level of judgement, care, prudence, determination, and activity that a person would reasonably be expected to do under particular circumstances."

It's my position that he would reasonably inform me of a 35 house subdivision being built next door 5 months from when the contract was signed.

Again, we relied on him. I wasn't in the area and my husband was working long hours at a brand new job that was started after the first of the year.

This is what he got a commision for.

My response:

You see, that's where you're wrong.

You seem to believe that your agent had some sort of duty to tell you what was happening to someone else's property. Simply, unless something PHYSICALLY impacts your property, or rights thereto, no one has to disclose anything to you.

The other property owner could have been preparing to build an 80 story skyscraper on his property and no one was legally obligated to tell you. That's because you have no legal right to sunshine, to a view, or to the airspace above your property.

Simply, you're out of luck.

IAAL

I suppose I was wrong in thinking that since I point blank asked the realtor, I should've assumed he'd tell me a truthful answer.

Anyway, when they build the park next to my house, I am also concerned that in order for a park goer to get to the water they will have to cross my property line to get to the water. This is due to the water levels being low right now. If you can imagine, I'm on a sort of cul de sac. There is nothing presently in the middle lot. This is where the park will be built.

Certainly, anyone could go into the water without my permission now, but I would like a fence built as part of their development. The water will be more tempting for fishermen and children when the property is park of a park, I think.

Do I have a right to ask the developer to build that, or am I out of luck there, too?

(And no, the shoreline is not an easement. My property extends some 20 feet into the water.)

I really do appreciate everyone's help. It's really helping me sort things out in my head. (Even if it *is* making me more annoyed at the realtor.)

[Souix]

Originally posted by jeepgirl74
I suppose I was wrong in thinking that since I point blank asked the realtor, I should've assumed he'd tell me a truthful answer.

Anyway, when they build the park next to my house, I am also concerned that in order for a park goer to get to the water they will have to cross my property line to get to the water. This is due to the water levels being low right now. If you can imagine, I'm on a sort of cul de sac. There is nothing presently in the middle lot. This is where the park will be built.

Certainly, anyone could go into the water without my permission now, but I would like a fence built as part of their development. The water will be more tempting for fishermen and children when the property is park of a park, I think.

Do I have a right to ask the developer to build that, or am I out of luck there, too?

(And no, the shoreline is not an easement. My property extends some 20 feet into the water.)

I really do appreciate everyone's help. It's really helping me sort things out in my head. (Even if it *is* making me more annoyed at the realtor.)

***It sounds to me like this park does PHYSICALLY impact your property. Call the PB in the morning and see what they have to say***