Seeking legal advice on a home purchase

[Mizzimba]

Hello Forum Members,

I recently purchased a home in Dearborn, Michigan.and have encountered several concerning issues that were not disclosed to me during the purchase process. Firstly, upon inspection, I discovered that there are no subfloors in the home, which was not mentioned prior to the purchase. Additionally, despite the assurance of freshly painted walls, the paint is now peeling off in large chunks throughout the house. And where the paint is coming off in the bathroom, there are water stains. Moreover, the seller was supposed to have the home exterminated due to signs of rodents in the attic, but this was not carried out as promised.

I feel that my real estate agent failed to adequately represent my interests in this transaction, as they did not ensure proper disclosures were made and failed to address these issues effectively. Despite repeated requests over the past year, I have yet to receive receipts for the extermination that was supposed to be conducted.

Given these circumstances, I am seeking advice on whether I have grounds to pursue legal action against the seller for failure to disclose the absence of subfloors, the poor condition of the paint, and the unfulfilled extermination agreement. Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you. Mizzimba

 

[adjusterjack]

It was up to you to verify all this stuff before close of escrow. Having had a home inspector miss a bunch of things is even worse because I am guessing that, by closing, you agreed to everybody's disclaimers of liability.

All I can suggest is that you have a consultation with a real estate attorney about these issues and decide whether it's worth the many thousands you will pay in attorney fees to litigate.

 

[quincy]

Hello Forum Members,

I recently purchased a home in Dearborn, Michigan.and have encountered several concerning issues that were not disclosed to me during the purchase process. Firstly, upon inspection, I discovered that there are no subfloors in the home, which was not mentioned prior to the purchase. Additionally, despite the assurance of freshly painted walls, the paint is now peeling off in large chunks throughout the house. And where the paint is coming off in the bathroom, there are water stains. Moreover, the seller was supposed to have the home exterminated due to signs of rodents in the attic, but this was not carried out as promised.

I feel that my real estate agent failed to adequately represent my interests in this transaction, as they did not ensure proper disclosures were made and failed to address these issues effectively. Despite repeated requests over the past year, I have yet to receive receipts for the extermination that was supposed to be conducted.

Given these circumstances, I am seeking advice on whether I have grounds to pursue legal action against the seller for failure to disclose the absence of subfloors, the poor condition of the paint, and the unfulfilled extermination agreement. Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you. Mizzimba

If the seller failed to disclose known defects in the house - and you are able to support your claim that the seller in fact hid these defects or failed to disclose them - you often have an option of suing the seller for fraud, and collect damages.

https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-Act-92-of-1993.pdf

When buying any house, it is important for a would-be purchaser to personally inspect the property and have the property inspected by a professional. Much of what you describe should have been discovered on inspection.

Waiting too long to act on these failures to disclose or misrepresentations could now limit the legal relief you seek, however I recommend you meet with an attorney in Dearborn for a personal review. The rat extermination issue could be an area to pursue.

 

[STEPHAN]

I feel that my real estate agent failed to adequately represent my interests in this transaction, as they did not ensure proper disclosures were made and failed to address these issues effectively.

What relationship did you have with him? Was he your agent (single agent)? Did the seller have his own agent?

 

[quincy]

In Michigan, unless a broker/agent acted in concert with the seller to violate the seller’s disclosure Act, the broker/agent “shall not be held liable” for any violation of the Act.

 

[zddoodah]

Firstly, upon inspection, I discovered that there are no subfloors in the home, which was not mentioned prior to the purchase.

Why would that be mentioned? Did you ask about the existence of subfloors? Did you receive a completed copy of this form before you bought the property? Didn't you have an inspection done before buying the house?

despite the assurance of freshly painted walls, the paint is now peeling off in large chunks throughout the house.

Those two things aren't necessarily inconsistent.

the seller was supposed to have the home exterminated due to signs of rodents in the attic, but this was not carried out as promised.

Why did you go through with the sale if this hadn't been done as agreed?

my real estate agent . . . did not ensure proper disclosures were made

How so?

and failed to address these issues effectively.

If you're referring to the issues mentioned in the first paragraph of your post, why would your agent have been aware of the lack of subfloors, etc.?

I am seeking advice on whether I have grounds to pursue legal action against the seller

Probably for the cost of extermination. As for the rest, you'll need to answer the questions I asked.

 

[quincy]

As a note on the absence of subfloors: Many old houses - commonly homes built on slabs or with crawl spaces rather than basements, and historic (100-year-old) homes - were often constructed without subfloors. This is not a defect in these houses and would not have to be disclosed.

 

[Mizzimba]

It was up to you to verify all this stuff before close of escrow. Having had a home inspector miss a bunch of things is even worse because I am guessing that, by closing, you agreed to everybody's disclaimers of liability.

All I can suggest is that you have a consultation with a real estate attorney about these issues and decide whether it's worth the many thousands you will pay in attorney fees to litigate.

It was up to you to verify all this stuff before close of escrow. Having had a home inspector miss a bunch of things is even worse because I am guessing that, by closing, you agreed to everybody's disclaimers of liability.

All I can suggest is that you have a consultation with a real estate attorney about these issues and decide whether it's worth the many thousands you will pay in attorney fees to litigate.

Hello I hope you're doing fine adjuster Jack Hello I'm doing well thank you for asking How can I assist you today. First may explain this was my first large purchase There were a lot of things that I did not know I did not even know that I was supposed to do a walkthrough of the home before closing Because the seller removed a door I did not move directly in after closing I did not move in to about three months later And I think I only came by twice I really dropped the ball because this person I purchased a home for from he's a shady character I've done my research online and I found some disturbing things about him as long as I've been alive I've never been in a house where you can be on the 3rd floor talking or walking and the other person in the basement and can hear everything With the house not being exterminated I kept asking my real estate agent to make sure she got the receipts For the extermination it slipped my mind because he had the house looking really nice But this is a **** money pit And on top of that I realized that the duck work in the basement which was painted black by it being running for a year or so Is duct tape holding it up Because the heat is running making the adhesive melt off I will be getting an attorney well II already have one now and another thing the paint is coming off the walls And there's a bathroom over one bathroom and where the pain is coming up the ceiling it's water stains And my real estate agent did not go over anything with me all she wanted was that check and I did not even know that I was not supposed to pay her the seller was Supposed to pay her Purchase through for sale by owner was the worst mistake of my life I did not know the house had asbestos in it if she would have done her job like when my kids did bought his home He had a real good real estate agent she I sat there and watched her go over everything and all this with him I don't know how I let it all slip my mind i'm thinking this lady had my back and she did not So I'm having someone come to the home and see if there's actually leaks in all that going on because that shady character hit things I went over the appraisal report and he's mentioning things that will in the report that is not in the home saying there's humidifiers and all that no there isn't so I will hopefully be able to get this resolved But if my real estate agent would've did her job and represented me correctly and went over everything with me I would not be here And I believe the square footage that he has on this home is not accurate I believe it's Hundreds of square feet under what he has i'm also having that done forgive me I did not mean to vent it just got out of control but I pray I win this because whatever the attorney cost it's gonna come out of his pocket not mine

 

[Mizzimba]

What relationship did you have with him? Was he your agent (single agent)? Did the seller have his own agent?

Hello Steven this was a for sale by owner purchase He did not have an agent he represented himself Truth be told I didn't have one either because that woman did not do her job because if she did I would not be here I don't have time right now but I asked the seller Because he removed all the listings and stuff off of the Internet the photo so I couldn't find them and I'm telling him he removed the door in the back of the house because it was red in the inside he gonna send me some photoshop images that he claimed that was on the listing but it wasn't But when I get time I'm a put them on there and you can see for yourself this man is shady and full of you know what and I pray God is with me Because this is not no nickel and dime purchase There's a lot of other weird things going on since I met this man But I don't want to get into all that right now I will chat back later thank you

 

[STEPHAN]

Hello I hope you're doing fine adjuster Jack Hello I'm doing well thank you for asking How can I assist you today. First may explain this was my first large purchase There were a lot of things that I did not know I did not even know that I was supposed to do a walkthrough of the home before closing Because the seller removed a door I did not move directly in after closing I did not move in to about three months later And I think I only came by twice I really dropped the ball because this person I purchased a home for from he's a shady character I've done my research online and I found some disturbing things about him as long as I've been alive I've never been in a house where you can be on the 3rd floor talking or walking and the other person in the basement and can hear everything With the house not being exterminated I kept asking my real estate agent to make sure she got the receipts For the extermination it slipped my mind because he had the house looking really nice But this is a **** money pit And on top of that I realized that the duck work in the basement which was painted black by it being running for a year or so Is duct tape holding it up Because the heat is running making the adhesive melt off I will be getting an attorney well II already have one now and another thing the paint is coming off the walls And there's a bathroom over one bathroom and where the pain is coming up the ceiling it's water stains And my real estate agent did not go over anything with me all she wanted was that check and I did not even know that I was not supposed to pay her the seller was Supposed to pay her Purchase through for sale by owner was the worst mistake of my life I did not know the house had asbestos in it if she would have done her job like when my kids did bought his home He had a real good real estate agent she I sat there and watched her go over everything and all this with him I don't know how I let it all slip my mind i'm thinking this lady had my back and she did not So I'm having someone come to the home and see if there's actually leaks in all that going on because that shady character hit things I went over the appraisal report and he's mentioning things that will in the report that is not in the home saying there's humidifiers and all that no there isn't so I will hopefully be able to get this resolved But if my real estate agent would've did her job and represented me correctly and went over everything with me I would not be here And I believe the square footage that he has on this home is not accurate I believe it's Hundreds of square feet under what he has i'm also having that done forgive me I did not mean to vent it just got out of control but I pray I win this because whatever the attorney cost it's gonna come out of his pocket not mine

You might want to go back and edit this text to add proper punctuation and maybe a few linebreaks, as it is almost impossible to read and understand this.

 

[STEPHAN]

Hello Steven this was a for sale by owner purchase He did not have an agent he represented himself Truth be told I didn't have one either because that woman did not do her job because if she did I would not be here I don't have time right now but I asked the seller Because he removed all the listings and stuff off of the Internet the photo so I couldn't find them and I'm telling him he removed the door in the back of the house because it was red in the inside he gonna send me some photoshop images that he claimed that was on the listing but it wasn't But when I get time I'm a put them on there and you can see for yourself this man is shady and full of you know what and I pray God is with me Because this is not no nickel and dime purchase There's a lot of other weird things going on since I met this man But I don't want to get into all that right now I will chat back later thank you

Who is "SHE"? Did you have an agent?

 

[quincy]

What you are saying is confusing. See the following quoted statements below:

“I kept asking my real estate agent …”

“… will be getting an attorney well II already have one now …”

“Purchase through for sale by owner …”

“He had a real good real estate agent …”

“… this was a sale by owner purchase … He did not have an agent he represented himself … “

With a “for sale by owner (FSBO)” sale, a real estate agent can approach the seller and ask to show the FSBO house to one of their clients. However the agent is not working for the home seller and to collect a commission on the sale (a percentage of the sales price) will require the agent secure an agreement with either seller or buyer.

Regardless of how the sale is being conducted, a seller still must provide a buyer with a Seller’s Disclosure Statement, detailing all known defects in the house. The disclosure statement is not a contract between the seller and buyer but misrepresentations or deceit by a seller on the statement potentially can support a legal action after a sale (e.g., for fraud).

With that said, it is the buyer’s responsibility to obtain professional advice and inspections to determine the condition of the property. And a buyer must have evidence to prove any claimed deception or misrepresentation if buyer intends to file suit against the seller.

What I have bolded above is important. You say you have an attorney. You should be addressing all of your questions and concerns to this attorney.