Crystal L. Cox
Real Estate Whistleblower
So the Realtor drives you in on one Road, and after the Closing you find out that the "Easement Paper" work that you were given was actually on a different road, and was not even filed at the court house. At this point you will have to right like heck to get what you thought you had. If it has already happened, get as much proof as you can, the buy-sell agreement, all paperwork and disclosures, any advertising about the property, mls sheets and emails and go talk with a real estate attorney.
Tips on Interviewing a Real Estate Attorney
Remember they work for you, if they treat you like the criminal instead of the victim, move on. You deserve to be respected, make the right choice the first time. Talk with other clients if you can, have a couple conversations to see how the dialog will be. Remember this attorney could be a part of your life for months to years. It does not hurt, in my opinion to take a few weeks, just take some time, because if you find out after you choose, pay a retainer or agree to a share of the settlement or judgement it is too late to go back. And if you go on an hourly rate then fire them for treating you bad, lying to you or not doing what you thought they would for you, then you will look unstable, you will be made to look fickle when really it is the real estate attorney that was the problem. So push the communication boundaries, before you sign the contract, odds are if they are short with you, make you feel bad, talk down to you, lie to you or treat you like the criminal then this can come up before you sign if you engage in enough conversation to get a feel for what they are after, their integrity and respect level and how they feel about your case.
About the Same Easement Issue Before You Buy:
Have the Realtor and or Seller show you the easement, have them show you an easement agreement in writing that has been recorded, hire a surveyor to tell you where this easement really is, have it flagged (this could even be a contingency that you ask of the seller).
Make the Title Company give you a copy of the "Legal Easement" that is recorded and have them sign that they gave it to you and in reference to what property.
The Easement to your property may not show up on your title insurance, in my state it does not. Here it is on the property that the easement crosses, so make sure the title company digs it up, if this matches what the Realtor gave you then get your surveyor. This is Time and Money Well Spent and is very important.
Find out what you can and prove this legal access, way before your closing, check the legal description, talk to the owner whose land it crosses and turn over every rock you can Before your Closing. You want to make sure that the road you drove on is really the road you will have legal access on. You want to make sure that the land owner is not adverse to you being there, better to know now, before it is a future - stressful drama.
Believe me if this is not all proven absolutely and Not just the Realtors word, the Seller or Title agents word and not just because the "buy sell" says so, this could cause you a huge amount of stress for years, put you in a huge - never ending neighbor fued and cause your real estate value to plummet. If you get a loan, your lender may not know, the appraiser may not know. I have seen these situations folks, find out more.
Knowledge is Power.
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