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I feel a ton of empathy for salespeople who find themselves stuck in the middle of a buyer-seller disclosure dispute. The situation is inherently stressful. It creates tension with referral partners. And agents who handle it poorly risk dissatisfied clients and bad reviews. At the very least, even if the salesperson did everything right, it risks becoming a time sink. In fact, I once handled a disclosure case another lawyer referred to me. Initially, the clients contacted the

“Mom, I want to be a property manager when I grow up!” – said no kid ever Have you ever noticed that most people that end up in the property management business do not do so intentionally? Almost everyone I have met over the years in this business has said they “fell into” the business. This can present a real challenge when it comes to trying to find new employees. Since it’s not a “destination profession,” I’m not expecting to be overwhelmed by potential employees coming o

Most buyers facing disclosure issues turn to their own agent first. One of the most common questions I get from agents is how to help clients who are asking those types of questions. The most important thing you can do for that client is properly and promptly get them into mediation. Everyone in the industry knows that the standard Arizona Association of Realtors® contract includes a dispute resolution provision that requires mediation. And most mediations are successful. Man

One of the number of common misconceptions I’ve seen handling real estate fraud cases relates to the duty to disclose past defects on a property. Sellers must disclose anything material related to a property. And, in general, a history of problems or a prior need for repair fits the bill. Arizona’s general disclosure obligation leads to that result. For example, a history of roof leaks is relevant to the quality of a roof. If a roof has leaked and required repair in each of t

Any real estate licensee will encounter clients wondering whether a condition in their property should have been disclosed. And the tough part of answering that question often turns on whether the seller knew about the undisclosed condition. Here are seven key places to look for evidence of knowledge. 1) Documents Left In The Property. Often sellers leave behind documents that prove they knew about problems they deny. For major problems in a property, sellers usually obtain r

When you find out your seller has been accused of non-disclosure, you may be understandably worried. You may find yourself replaying key moments from the transaction in your mind wondering whether you did the right things to protect the client or yourself. You may be worried about complaints (especially bogus ones) against your license or even getting sucked into a lawsuit. This article will help you navigate that problem, maintain a good relationship with your client, and mo

Think about the last time a client contacted you with a concern about disclosure. How much better would it have gone if you could have told him that he can recover a large enough lump sum to get a bigger, better house with a lower monthly payment. In this current environment of rising interest rates, now you can. Let me explain. When Sellers tender bogus SPDS forms, buyers are entitled to recessionary damages. These awards exist to make a buyer whole again. In other words, th

One of the most common problems I see Realtors® facing is trying to evaluate a SPDS with hindsight. Your client contacts you about an undisclosed issue, and you point him to the SPDS. You or he read it and notice something related to the problem, and you wonder whether that prevents the Buyer from recovering. The Realtor® in this situation may begin worrying about the relationship with the client? Will the client blame me for not catching this? Will it trigger a negative revi

“Should that have been disclosed?” It’s a question that real estate licensees often hear when they’re following up with clients after a closing. In fact, clients often call their agent to ask whether something should have been disclosed. Answering it takes quite a bit of work. In this article, you’ll learn the first three things my firm looks at when vetting these cases, plus the “rule of thumb” that helps simplify the process. First, look at the SPDS. I can’t tell you how ma

Any real estate licensee will encounter clients wondering whether a condition in their property should have been disclosed. And the tough part of answering that question often turns on whether the seller knew about the undisclosed condition. Here’s seven key places to look for evidence of knowledge. 1) Documents Left in the Property. Often sellers leave behind documents that prove they knew about problems they deny. For major problems in a property, sellers usually obtain rep

“Within every adversity is an equal or greater benefit. Within every problem is an opportunity. Even in the knocks of life, we can find great gifts.” –Napoleon Hill Most brokers I know have an initial instinct to treat buyer disclosure inquiries as a risk management problem. But if it’s handled correctly, you can alleviate the risk and help the buyer become a raving fan who gives multiple referrals back to the brokerage. First, keep in mind that most buyers are good people si

One of the most common questions I get from buyers discovering a material seller non-disclosure or false disclosure is what they can do about it. One option is rescission. If the buyer chooses rescission, he gives the house back, and he gets back his purchase price. But it doesn’t end there. Obviously, someone simply getting the purchase price back wouldn’t be whole without more, and there’s a lot more a buyer can receive. In addition to rescission, a buy can claim: -Lost...

One of the most common questions I get from Buyers dealing with disclosure problems is whether it’s worth it to pursue the Seller. In most cases, the answer is resoundingly yes, because it comes with benefits that most Buyers don’t know about. First, Buyers considering a false, misleading, or incomplete SPDS need to know how effective the Arizona Association of Realtors dispute resolution process is. The first step in the process is mediation, and those mediations are overwhe

I feel a ton of empathy for salespeople who find themselves stuck in the middle of a buyer-seller disclosure dispute. The situation is inherently stressful. It creates tension with referral partners. And agents who handle it poorly risk dissatisfied clients and bad reviews. At the very least, even if the salesperson did everything right, it risks becoming a time sink. In fact, I once handled a disclosure case another lawyer referred to me. Initially, the clients contacted the

his article is designed to help you protect your clients from fraud. Protecting your clients in the way I recommend will also get you more referrals. It will also likely help you generate positive reviews and avoid risk associated with disclosure claims. And it’s a simple, easy, and fun thing to do. You just need to pick up the phone. Check in on your clients after close to show you care about them, offer service after the sale, and generate referrals for yourself. You’ll do

One of the most common errors people make when handling disclosure disputes is getting the initial notice wrong. The Arizona Association of Realtors Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract requires a specific procedure for providing notice of disputes relating to the transaction and mediating or litigating them. These procedures are technical, and one of the most common mistakes I see among people handling these disputes is a failure to properly follow procedures. Th

Arizona’s disclosure requirement is broad enough that most real estate transactions include some form of non-disclosure liability. Sometimes sellers give into the temptation to lie. Other times they fill the form out in a hurry and don’t adequately disclose everything they know. Either way, the seller is failing to honor the warranty to disclose every known material defect. The list below is based on a checklist my firm uses to thoroughly find all evidence of non-disclosure w

Any business coach will tell you that referrals are the best source of new business. And the best two ways to get referrals are to give your clients exceptional service after the sale and make good referrals to trusted partners. This article will help you accomplish both in a single call. Last month’s article covered the 7-day check-in call. You should also check-in with your clients at the thirty-day mark. During this call, you’ll again ask about any surprises or unexpected

In SPDS fraud cases, one of the most common concerns I hear from buyers is whether they can win if the Seller claims he sincerely thought the problem had been repaired. Often, this comes after slipshod repairs concealed a problem just through closing. For example, a Seller may attempt to deal with a mold problem by simply cleaning up the visible mold. But he didn’t realize that there was a need to check for mold throughout the rest of the house, and that mold remained. In

Would you be willing to make 16 phone calls to a prior client in order to get an additional listing? These would generally be fifteen-minute phone calls, so this would be four hours of networking effort, zero cash spent, and a new listing and would be generating potentially 10k, 20k, or more in commission. There is a consistent, predictable, reliable way to generate that result, especially for salespeople who are willing to invest in their long-term success. You do that by ma