What is a realtor liable for post-closing?
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What is a realtor liable for post-closing?
We just purchased a home and a month later the pipes stopped draining. The real estate agent said “don’t worry, the insurance will take care of it”. The insurance did not take care of this and we had to pay $1500 to fix it. The real estate agent also said she would help us get that money back; that was a month ago. She also said she would have an inspector confirm the repairs we asked to be fixed would send us a report, but all she did was tell us the day she gave us the keys “sign these papers saying the work was done, you can see the work yourself”. The realtor was great at the beginning but the last steps were so confusing, this is our first home and we didn’t know a lot about buying. Now we got hit with a supplementary tax and we don’t know why. Do we need to hire a lawyer to try and get the money back? Is this how it is when you buy a home? What should we do?
Asked on June 26, 2012 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
Cameron Norris, Esq. / Law Office of Gary W. Norris
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
You probably can't sue for the supplementary tax, because that is something so beyond the realtor's control. However realtor's remain liable for misrepresentations and fraud after closing. If the realtor misrepresented the condition of the property, the quality of the repairs, etc. then you have a good lawsuit. The problem is that you are talking about a relatively small amount of money here (2-3k) and filing fees in civil lawsuits are quite big $400+, while paying an attorney to go after this realtor will probably cost another 2-3k, unless you can find an attorney to take this on contingency. I would read the contract you had with the realtor. File a small claims case for fraud/misrepresentation and breach of contract. The realtor will most likely settle with you.
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