There is something that gets under my skin a bit with the inspector saying that the realtor might hate him. Why would a realtor hate an inspector that tells the truth? That inspector needs to be a little more professional himself and talk openly about every defect. Any ethical realtor would want every defect revealed and would work to get the seller to either repair the deficient items or reduce the price of the house to cover it. That is something that we deal with on every sale.

I always point out every defect I can see when the buyers make their first trip to the property. I don’t want any of my buyers to waste any inspection money on houses with defects. NEXT!

I don’t think that Realtors are any less ethical in Georgia than anywhere else in the country. There are some that are unethical in every market, that is the unfortunate reality in every industry, from car repair to financial consulting, in just about any industry.

I have a question regarding my home and disclosure statements. We purchased a home a year ago for our soon to be growing family. My wife was pregnant with twins. Anyways, on the disclosure statement, the previous owners only noted that there was “puddling” in the back/side yard and that the drains sometimes get full. Since we have moved in, there hasn’t been “puddling” when it rains….there is literally waist high water in the back/side yard. The drains completely over fill and fill into our yard within a matter of an hour if it’s sprinking. We have contacted our city for drain issues and other residents who have lived here for many years have been fighting to have the drain issue fixed. The water gets so high that a police officer sometimes must close off our street because cars cannot drive through it. If we would have known this….we would not have purchased the home with two new infants. I watch my kids but 3 inches of water and fast moving water are STILL concerns for any new home owner. We cannot ever use a swing set in our backyard because it would rot from the rain or get swept away. Our basement has never flood though, thank god as far as the inseption goes. But other neighbors have had their basement flood 3 times. Is there anything we can do? Can we sue the previous owners for not disclosing? From what I’ve read, we can only get back for damages which we don’t have any as far as the home but we will never be able to sell the home ourself because we would be honest on the disclosure of the flooding not “puddling” issue. We are looking at moving but I doubt it with this issue. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Robert

Is it an adverse fact? I could imagine that since it is on the back of your property and covered by brush etc. the Seller may make the argument that he didn’t see it as an adverse condition. Interesting but not necessarily detrimental. It would be a problem if you wanted to build a pool or something like that, obviously, but I am on the fence about whether has to be considered adverse by everyone. Really not sure how a judge would look at that if you went to court over it.

I would talk to the attorney who closed it if you are in a state that closes with attorneys or with another real estate attorney if you are in a title state. I understand why you are upset, but I am not sure how the law would look at this.

In any case someone lied and may have some responsibility. You should find a knowledgeable attorney in your area to advise you on your rights. If the statute of limitations hasn’t passed, you may be entitled to some compensation, IMHO!