To disclose, not to disclose. It is always much easier, in hindsight, to have disclosed. This article, on the front page of the Arizona Republic has the headline, “Home sale lawsuit is over neighbor’s odd behavior“. At issue is whether the neighbor’s behavior constitutes a nuisance that should have been noted on the residential seller’s property-disclosure statement. “She screams and yells at people that are passing by” ,”When my daughter’s in the backyard, the neighbor’s yelling at her and making verbal threats” are a couple of quotes from the current owner. In the Arizona Republic article, according to a police report from days before close of escrow, the former neighbor and seller heard noises in his backyard, and when he went to investigate, found the neighbor throwing potatoes into his yard and screaming obscenities. She accused him of stealing from her freezer. He called police. Yet later when he was selling the house he did not think this was a disclosure issue.
Now I understand that simple carbohydrates are not supposed to be “good” for you, but I like potatoes.
Cheryl Johnson says:
… And when making a disclosure of this sort, one also has to tread cautiously to avoid making a libelous statement.
We have sometimes suggested something like “Seller has had personal disagreements with neighbor which resulted in police investigation. Refer to LAPD reports dated …..” in the hope that the police reports will represent a neutral, third party recital of the facts.
April 2, 2008 — 4:15 am
Wayne Long says:
Our property disclosure does not ask that question so I don’t think the seller has the obligation to note personal differences with a neighbor. In fact in the Georgia contract says that it is the buyers responsibility to inspect the neighborhood which would include the neighbors.
April 2, 2008 — 5:23 am
Rebecca Levinson says:
I imagine if disparities like that had to be disclosed regularly nationwide, the paperwork would look like Mount Everest. Of course, in California, it already does.
I guess if McDonald’s has to disclose that it’s coffee is hot and might burn you if you don’t take precaution when sipping, then potato throwing could be a disclosure issue.
Good Grief.
April 2, 2008 — 5:56 am
Barry Cunningham says:
Hello Russell..we have a big piece coming out on this today..It’s much more involved than this and we have talked to a number of the parties involved.
We will highlight a lot of the facts and if you have not heard them they are quite revealing and damaging to the realtors involved.
Arizona has a pretty clear statute on disclosure which this seems to be covered under.
April 2, 2008 — 8:11 am
Russell Shaw says:
Barry, I’m sure you are correct – there is WAY more than I had in my post. For example, after posting it, I found this: http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2007-11-08/news/hot-potato/full, New Times reported on this – in more depth – last November. Also, both the buyer and seller are executives for real estate companies.
If an agent knew about this and did not insist the buyer receive that disclosure prior to closing – I can only ask, “wouldn’t you want to know?”
I understand that some mental health types might think otherwise, but do they want to live next to a nut?
April 2, 2008 — 9:41 am
Dave Phillips says:
Russel,
Although VA law does not require you to disclose issues that fall outside the property line, I generally answer this disclose/don’t disclose question as follows: if you have to ask, disclose. If you don’t want to disclose walk away from the listing.
This situation is not a question of what you should do; rather, it is a question of what you want to be known for in the community. You would be better off referring this listing to you biggest competition and letting them take the hit to their reputation when it hits the fan.
April 2, 2008 — 10:27 am
Landflip says:
I will need to check the real estate laws, but I would think that it is the buyers responsibility to check out the neighborhood and neighbors. I think this is a private matter and subject to opinion, therefore, the seller is under no obligation to disclose this information. I suppose all states are different.
April 2, 2008 — 10:41 am
Wayne Long says:
” if you have to ask, disclose”
That is the point – if you have a good contract based on the laws of your state – you won’t have to ask. 🙂
April 2, 2008 — 11:31 am
Diane Cipa says:
I confess that I’m not a sales agent, however, disclosure of mental health disorders or neighbor disputes that go beyond the characteristics of the real property, I believe, would lead into dangerously subjective conclusions. I would hope that courts would recognize that you have to draw the line somewhere and not disparage the marketability of a homeowner’s parcel just because you think the neighbor is a fruit loop.
What other subjective items can we add, their dog poops on your lawn or you don’t like the music they play on the back porch?
I mean, come on, people need to get real.
April 2, 2008 — 1:21 pm
Thomas Johnson says:
One potato two potato three potato four….
April 2, 2008 — 2:29 pm
Sue says:
Seems like that would open you up for a lawsuit as you probably don’t know the entire situation to comment on the behavior of a neighbor. Even if you did, it would be a matter of opinion. What if a potential client has family or relatives with the same “perceived” disorder. I don’t know for sure, but it doesn’t seem like it would be the realtor’s place to get involved in something like that. Reminds me of Megan’s Law.
April 12, 2008 — 11:59 am