Couple Sue Associate Over Home Price
Vernon and Marty Ummel, who purchased a $1.2 million home in Carlsbad, Calif., three years ago, will go before a California Superior Court this week to argue that their real estate practitioner Michael Little of RE/MAX Associates, defrauded them. They say he failed to inform them that similar houses on the same block were selling for more than $100,000 less than the Ummels paid.Court papers indicate that the couple had available to them more than 40 comparable sales and that an appraisal priced the home at $1.2 million. Originally included as defendants in the Ummel suit were John Contento, who handled the appraisal for the loan, and Horizon Pacific Financial, the broker for the Ummels' loan. Earlier this year, Contento and Horizon Pacific Financial settled with the Ummels for $10,000 each. Neither was available to comment.George Lefcoe, a professor of real estate law at the University of Southern California, said he doubted this would be a groundbreaking suit. "The real estate [practitioner] has an obligation in good faith to tell the buyers what he knows about pricing information and that there were houses selling for less than what the buyer was prepared to buy. And the buyers have an obligation to wake up and smell the roses before they buy and get as much information as they can,” he said.Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune, Lori Weisberg (03/31/2008)
Vernon and Marty Ummel, who purchased a $1.2 million home in Carlsbad, Calif., three years ago, will go before a California Superior Court this week to argue that their real estate practitioner Michael Little of RE/MAX Associates, defrauded them. They say he failed to inform them that similar houses on the same block were selling for more than $100,000 less than the Ummels paid.Court papers indicate that the couple had available to them more than 40 comparable sales and that an appraisal priced the home at $1.2 million. Originally included as defendants in the Ummel suit were John Contento, who handled the appraisal for the loan, and Horizon Pacific Financial, the broker for the Ummels' loan. Earlier this year, Contento and Horizon Pacific Financial settled with the Ummels for $10,000 each. Neither was available to comment.George Lefcoe, a professor of real estate law at the University of Southern California, said he doubted this would be a groundbreaking suit. "The real estate [practitioner] has an obligation in good faith to tell the buyers what he knows about pricing information and that there were houses selling for less than what the buyer was prepared to buy. And the buyers have an obligation to wake up and smell the roses before they buy and get as much information as they can,” he said.Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune, Lori Weisberg (03/31/2008)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment