real estate fraud

[Rose Haven]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maine

I need real estate case law for fraudulent appraisal. Serious misrepresentation. Yr built was 1908. Appraisal docs list as 1964. Appraisal also states house as full partially finished basement, it has crawl space under half of it, six foot deep basement with concrete floor for utilities under half. Also states house had no structural deficiencies or signs of deterioration. House is condemnable due to electrical or plumbing system. Floors are rotted, sills are rotted, Electrical inspector stated not able to pass any type of inspection for several years and unable to be sold without provisions made in contract for remediation prior to closing. Plumbing- no back traps, system antiquated and minimally functional. I was injured in the house due to collapse of stairs which town life and health code enforcement officer said did not meet minimal codes, and required surgery. Due to roof leaking and running between the walls, plumbing leak from bathtub drain, etc. the house became infected with toxic mold and I have lost nearly everything I own. Attorneys in my area tell me, file for bankruptcy. I am fighting foreclosure as well. I got behind when I was out of work for several months due to surgery and then issues with house requiring emergency repair.

[tranquility]

What was the appraisal for and who hired the appraiser? How long ago was the appraisal? It seems like alot of the problems were obvious, weren't you aware of them before buying?

What is the difference between the house's value and the amount it was appraised at?

[Rose Haven]

No, I am a single woman and this was my first time buying a house. If I had any clue the house was in this condition I would have run away from it as fast as I could. I also would not have bought it if I had known the age of it as I did not have money to insulate the property and houses up here of that age and size (nearly 2000 sf) are notoriously hard to heat. The house I had rented previously was built in the 40's and that was hard to heat so I was looking for something newer. My understanding when I purchased the house was that it was structurally sound, in good condition, all systems work, the roof and windows were recently replaced and the house needed only cosmetic work such as removing the camoflauge and plaid shag carpets to refinish the wood floors underneath, painting and papering, landscaping the yard with flowers as there were none, etc. I only purchased the house in 2006 and had ruptured my achilles tendon three months after purchase when the stairs into the den came detached from the wall. Three weeks after that the furnace quit working and had to be replaced, then a few months later there were issues with the electrical system. I also noticed the floor was damp around the toilet and found the floor was rotted when my brother in law, who is a sheetrock subcontractor, removed it to replace the toilet seal and the screwdriver went through the floor and into the cellar.

The appraisal company is bank owned. I paid for the appraisal inspection from their company as they advised me they would not accept a report from any other company.
In some of the discovery documents I found interoffice emails between the bank and the loan officer advising that the roof needed to be replaced, the siding needed to be replaced and there were issues with settlement of the house which needed to be further investigated by a subcontractor. None of this was disclosed to me. Also, in the interoffice emails, is a comment that the appraised value of the house is 80k with that work completed. The appraisal was for 88k. Per my realtor, with the condition the house was in once I had a contractor go through it and the inspectors, AFTER I restored the hardware floors, the value of the property was about 20k, which is less than I have in it. She advised it would be worth more if I tore the house down and sold it as a house lot, and the value might have been about 25-30k when I purchased it.

Also, the income on the application in the application packet is different than the income I reported by 300 (a 1 was changed to a 4) and a savings account with a balance of 2900 is listed as an asset with a bank I have never had an account with. I did not qualify for the loan but the documents were changed so that I would.

This whole thing is a mess and it is appalling that a bank can do this to someone and never be penalized for it. I think the appraiser/inspector etc ought to lose their professional licenses. It is equally frustrating that the advice I get from lawyers is file bankruptcy. Why should I have to lose everything I worked for, plus have a permanent injury and restrictions on activities I use to enjoy just because the bank was greedy and the whole loan was founded on deception, without which the loan never would have processed. It is so insane. With the mold that is now in the house, due to the roof leak, I literally lost nearly everything I own except for those items which could be scrubbed such as glassware, pots and pans, etc. The insurance didn't even cover my expenses for loss of use fully and they issued the bulk of the check to the mortgage co. A 10k limit on mold, which is the mandatory limit they are required to offer in Maine, and all that was offered is not very much.