The Husick Couple Selling Strategy

I've seen some great real estate sales techniques, but this one ranks up there with the best. A couple in Pennsylvania has offered to sell their house with a special covenant: the money will be returned to them when the couple dies. What's more, there's another option for the buyer--take care of the couple and you get a bonus. A home in Arizona.


For us probate minds, one must wonder: what if the buyer elects to rescind for some reason, the sellers fight this election, and the sellers both die before the court rules on the rescission?

A Transfer Disclosure Statement Example

I wrote about the TDS, or transfer disclosure statement, yesterday, and I'd like to provide an example, just one example of many in my mind, of why it's important to follow-through on these.

I was involved in a case a few years ago where the seller didn't properly list the items in the kitchen which weren't properly. In the lawsuit against the seller, the buyers added this failure to disclose to their laundry list of fraud causes of action.

The case primarily centered on fraud in non-disclosure of inadequate support for the house (an older house) and pest problems. When that part of the case essentially fell apart a few months later, the buyers were faced with whether to proceed or not. Lots of money in attorneys fees were at stake. Their case didn't support this risk. BUT, they also had this failure to disclose in the kitchen, which, if they took to trial and won, they may get their attorneys fees, or some of them, back. They could take a chance on the big one, and if they lose, they can still fall back on the small ones. The buyers ended up settling with my clients (the sellers) on the eve of trial, for very little money. But it was touch and go for awhile there, and their attorney kept harping on these small items.

If I remember correctly, the dishwasher didn't work properly, the stove didn't work properly, and there were some exposed wires in the kitchen. Items that sometimes are overlooked in the TDS process.

Transfer Disclosure Statements: Document Your Efforts

Your client's house is in escrow and the clock is ticking on the close. The TDS i still in need of attention. The seller is not cooperating, for one reason or another.

How do you represent a seller that won't focus on the TDS? Make documented efforts to schedule a thorough walk-through. Make sure your client knows that you've placed a great importance on disclosure. Make sure your client knows that you want to disclose anything and everything that might be an issue to a reasonable seller.

Remember, if there is a problem with non-disclosure, the agent/broker is usually brought into the dispute. That's where a solid collection of notices and memos may protect a Realtor who has done his or her job.

Should the Housing Industry Solve the Housing Mess?

I respect Jim Jubak and enjoy reading his columns. I also respect any writer who, with reason, thinks outside the box. Jubak's latest column echoes what many experts and leaders in the real estate and finance industry have been saying: let's have the lenders, brokers, and builders fix the housing mess. To me, that makes little sense. First, the fact that an industry finds a way for a consumer to buy a product easier than he or she would otherwise, is not new, and goes on everyday. Look at car dealers!

Second, the regulatory oversight of builders and of lenders makes it realistically impossible to craft and implement a solution that benefits troubled consumers, and thereby fixes this "mess". This reasoning actually flies in the face of what many others believe, that we simply need more regulation and less discretion for the lenders, brokers, and builders.

A refreshing approach: why not treat housing like other products and commodities, and accept that there will be highs and lows, and inventory swings in both directions? Do we really need to make an industry (in this case, housing) pay extra for making its product more accessible to the consumers?

Memories of a Malibu Fire

The Malibu fire brings back some memories. It was October 1985. I was a sophomore at Pepperdine, living right near the convergence of Malibu Canyon and the coast. I've never seen a fire tear through the landscape so quick. This brutal wilderness which sits behind the mountain range overlooking the beaches, has been the site of many fierce firestorms in the past, not just this one or the one I experienced. (BTW, the school was closed for four days!).

Who owns this land? I don't know. Most of it will never be developed so the owners aren't too worried. It's the homes, expensive homes, next to the wilderness, on top of the hills or looking over the water from the side of the hills, that are the real victims of these fires. All you can do as a homeowner in these areas is get lots of good insurance and keep lobbying for more controlled clearing of brush and trees in your area.

Another Disclosure Example

Does a seller of property have to list defects that are subjective in nature? Usually, they should, since the seller often must assume that the buyer is an arbitrary person. The subject of my last post, the haunted house, got me thinking. What if, for example, your neighbors around the corner have loud parties until late in the night? May not bug you. You've been there, done that. But if you think it is something that would decrease the value of your property in a material way, you may want to let the other side know. If they have reason to know of this already, perhaps they have heard about these neighbors or expect that type of behavior in this particular neighborhood, you probably do not have to disclose it. I've been involved in a matter with this "factor" before and in our case, I can recall that it was difficult to show that the loud noise affected the value. This is especially the case if the buyers start throwing their own late-nighters!

Boo! Your Listing is Haunted!

I expected the article to say that ghosts in the house would decrease the value of the house, possibly cause the broker to disclose this "defect". What I didn't expect was that, in some cases, haunted houses are a good thing? Good or bad, folks, this is something you need to disclose. Question is, when does this "factor", good or bad, cross the line from fairy tale to real. Happy Halloween!