How to Avoid Seller Misrepresentation When Buying a Home - By: Brandy Coffey

Due to the struggling market, some home buyers are finding that seller dishonesty is on the rise; although it has always been a factor to be aware of in home sales, the troubled market is resulting in some sellers trying their best to convince potential buyers to buy their home, even if they have to fudge a little on the details.

Common lies are often financial; sellers may mislead prospective buyers about the cost of their monthly utilities or annual taxes so that they think that the home is more affordable. To verify costs, ask to see the past few months utility bills and take a trip down to the tax assessor’s office to see for yourself what the tax situation is.

Some home sellers exaggerate the dimensions of a home or lot to make it look more appealing or because they actually don’t know the exact dimensions. Unfortunately, when the lender’s appraisal comes in and the dimensions that were previously quoted are wrong, some home buyers might decide that their offer is too high or that the sellers could be lying about other things as well.

Another type of lie—probably of omission—might include the neighbourhood dynamic particularly in regards to the families that live in the houses surrounding the home for sale. If you were selling your home due to an unbearable next door neighbour, you probably wouldn’t tell anyone who was coming to look at your home about that. The best foil for this type of lie is to do a little footwork on your own and talk to the surrounding neighbors to get an idea of the community atmosphere.

Bank-owned homes often aren’t required to come with a full disclosure so be very wary when buying foreclosure homes. While most states have laws about disclosure, some lack of disclosure is likely to come from the seller just not knowing about a particular issue. Unless there is physical evidence, a seller might not know about an issue ready to become a big deal like a leak about to form or a termite problem in the making. Your best way to protect yourself against problems like this is to invest in an extensive home inspection that covers mold, pest, and radon testing.

To help protect yourself when you buy any property, you should always hire a buyer’s agent to represent you; your best interest is protected in particular when you hire a Realtor® who is held to a higher standard of ethics than a real estate agent. Always be a bit skeptical when you’re buying a new home anyways, and assume that the costs are going to be a little higher so that you can avoid any nasty surprises.

About the Author

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