legal advice about filing a complaint against a realtor
hello every body and thanks for reading my question.
I was about to buy a property in Glendale California. The property is presented by the sellers agents in MLS website as three units. We also gave the seller an offer for three units. The property in fact has three units but in title it says it is two legal units we went to city and verified that it is two units. It means one of the units is not legal. The seller never told me anything about this problem and initially they were saying that I can easily fix this problem in title. How ever people in city said that there is no guaranty that the problem is fixable and they may force the owner to change the property into two units any time.
Now the seller says either back up or buy the property as it is. I already opened an escrow and paid for inspection and appraisal.
I wonder who is in charge here I called California board of realtors but they said you must be an agent to file a complaint against another agent and we don’t provide legal advice to public. My agent does not like to go against another agent and believes I should forget about the money I spend which is almost 1000 dollar and also the amount of time I put for this property.
I don’t know what to do. I appreciate if somebody can help me with this issue thank you very much.
2006-12-07 05:07:02 · 4 answers · asked by Mike 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
by the way if you think I need an attorney would you mind introducing me one or at least tell me where can I find one who is expert in these matters I don't want to go to general attorney.
another clarification of the problem since some body asked about it. I was trying to buy a property which is three and it is presented as three units. the problem is I realized one of the units does not have a permit (that what is called not legal unit) and the seller did not let me know about it and said that it is an error in the title and I can fix it easily.
2006-12-07 06:08:47 · update #1
It seems that the seller converted a duplex to a triplex without the permits from the city. If that's the case, (at least in Texas) the seller's disclosure should have stated this. The seller's disclosure does survive closing, so if you had closed, you could have sued at that point. Since you found out the problem prior to closing, I'd say you either have to get it resolved, or don't close.
Ask the seller to go back and get the needed permits so you can operate a triplex there. If they cannot, then tell them you want back the money you've invested into the deal. This is what to do if you're purpose is to own a triplex.
If instead, your purpose is to see if you can get rich suing someone, then hire an attorney.
2006-12-07 06:09:28 · answer #1 · answered by teran_realtor 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Forget about the realtor at this point. You need to get an attorney to represent you now. The way I see it your options are: (1) send the seller a letter by certified mail saying that you will close as long as they deliver title for 3 legal units; or (2) send the seller a letter by certified mail saying that the seller has defaulted under the terms of the contract and that you want a complete refund of the deposit and reimbursement for all of your costs.
You really should have an attorney handle this for you now. Once everything is resolved your attorney can file a complaint against the realtor on your behalf.
2006-12-07 05:51:27 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What does the title company say about all of this? I'm not familiar with California real estate laws but here in Texas it would have to be fixed before you could close. This is not a minor problem. The seller needs to fix the issue and your Realtor is in violation of some major ethics laws. She is not working for you as she is supposed to. I would tell her broker if she has one and I would get a real estate attorney, sorry don't know any in CA. I would contact the BBB as well. Don't go through with the deal until they fix this problem.
2006-12-08 02:44:20 · answer #3 · answered by CHERI S 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not sure what you mean by "not legal" in reference to one of the units. Are you buying three and showing two or are you buying two but it's really three, or you thought you were buying three but it's two for the price of three? Did you not get a seller's disclosure before spending money? Title insurance won't cover any future problems?
Don't know Cali law, but I am a realtor in Texas.
2006-12-07 05:16:39 · answer #4 · answered by mickeyg1958 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋