Question for Realtors and the Public

[miky]

I have a friend whose brother had purchased a farm in Surrey about 5 months ago. They discovered the listing of the farm on the newspaper. They were planning to grow blueberries and figs on the farm.

There is a 2 floor house and a huge 2 level barn about 3000 - 4000 sq ft on the property. They were told by the realtor that everything is fine, by mouth.

The realtor, acting as the buyer and seller's agent, he gave my friend's brother a *good deal* taking off almost a hundred grand of its listing price. Without hesitation, my friend's bro bought it instantly.

After they bought the farm, they started to discover problems everywhere. The Barn's roof are leaking, many places of the property buildings' load bearing walls are rotten.

On the property disclosure form. The realtor had crossed out the whole yes/no questions such as "Are there any leakage in the buildings?"
And the realtor did wrote "Buyer would take the property as is"

And the most ridiculous thing is, my friend's brother did not took the time to hire an inspector to come for an inspection... Also he had signed the disclosure form in order to commence the purchase.

Question to Realtors: Is it realtor's duty to fill out and find out the questions on the property disclosure form? Would this be a case of negligence towards my friend's brother? The Realtor obviously knew the problems were occuring in the farm and chose not to inform my friend's brother.

Who would be liable for this? Would this be a legal issue?


Thanks

[miss_crayon]

Double post

[miss_crayon]

Will reply back to this later but fyi, it's the original owner that's suppose to fill out the pds (because you had to have lived in it) with some circumstances like power of attorney or if there's a tenant and owner is unaware of what is wrong/right with the property. And really, realtors aren't suppose to say shit like "I'll give you a good deal etc"..at least I don't because how you word certain things can often get you in troubs. and yeah..negligence on his part because he didn't qualify his answers to the buyer before the sale. But I mean...why didn't the brother hire an inspector? Was the title free of any problems/liens when everything went through at the lawyers?

The best person will be to talking to a lawyer imo at this point in time. It's not like you'll be able to get out of the contract or anything though since the title is officially now the brothers...

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[miky]

miss crayon: thanks for replying!
Yes we will soon speak with a lawyer about this case.

Also, being unable to get out of this contract; what are the chances of being compensated even though the brother is on title..?

[Bonka]

First things first, do not take any of my information as advice; you should consult independent legal advice on this matter.

In a market that we've been riding for the last long while, there's no such thing as a "good deal." Just because the Seller knocked off $100k off the list price doesn't mean it wasn't overpriced to begin with. Also, based on the information you provided the buyer acted pretty hastily. Was he in a hurry to buy?

While a Property Disclosure Statement (PCDS) is mandatory, the Seller can choose to not fill it out at all and cross it out and while it would be prudent for the listing agent to convince the Seller otherwise, as long as the buyer signs and initials the PCDS there is little recourse on behalf of the buyer if something is contradictory. It's almost like a worst case scenario here; the fact that the brother didn't insert an inspection clause into the contract passes on the liability to the buyer.

What does the brother want to prove? That the listing agent knew of the defects against the property and withheld them to potential buyers or that the Seller knowingly tried to sell a property that had significant defects and didn't disclose? It doesn't help that the buyer used the listing agent to represent them either.

You can file a formal complain against the listing agent to the Real Estate Council of BC but if the brother is looking for compensation, he'll have to sue to Sellers too. The buyer definitely needs to see a lawyer.

[6793026]

to tell you the truth, the realtor probably have the contract black and white and it's really your responsibility to really read the contract. However, if you do go to the real estate board and go to the office of "sutton" "century 21" or whatever it is the realtor is at, their manager would have to look into this for you.

again, it's more like the buyer didn't read the contract but if you raise a fuss, they'll have to look into it for you. it does seem the buyer wasn't told the full truth.

[ziggyx]

I don't even know if this information will help you or not but when a realtor is representing both parties (the seller and buyer) aren't they supposed to have both parties sign a paper stating that it is okay for the realtor to do so?

My family just bought a house and didn't have a realtor representing us so the seller's agent was working for both parties. The paper states that the realtor must represent both parties fairly.

[TheNewGirl]

I honestly can't imagine what he was thinking, purchasing the property with out getting an inspector to look at it.

Independant legal council is his best option at this point. A lawyer can assess the paper work and see if he can find a cause to pursue it in court.

[taylor192]

Originally Posted by TheNewGirl

I honestly can't imagine what he was thinking, purchasing the property with out getting an inspector to look at it.

That has been the norm in the sellers market that was Vancouver since 2002. If the buyer added a condition, the seller took the offer from the next guy since they'd have multiple offers.

Buyer made a mistake, and will pay for it. Don't waste more money on legal fees.

[6793026]

lawyers cant' do shit. it was signed black and white, it's the buyer's fault 100%. the only thing you can do is complain to the company the realtor works for.