In the name of transparency, is a real estate listing agent required to disclose rotten neighbors to prospective buyers or renters? Should a listing agent do it anyway? Would disclosure be in keeping with the fiduciary duty to the seller/client? Rotten tenants are as unzillowable as traffic noise and odors in determining a home’s value and a buyer’s sanity. Just wondering.
Video courtesy of RottenHere (via comment to this post)
Technorati Tags: unzillowable, rotten tenants, fiduciary duty, disclosure, transparency, real estate agent, listing agent
Related Post:
Are the Neighbors Unzillowable? Ask Rotten Tenant.
The information has to be a material and adverse fact pertinent to the actual property. A loud and drunken neighbor may not fall into that category. If it doesn’t and you disclose it to a buyer and the seller finds out, you may get (successfully) sued by the seller. What an agent may think is doing the right thing may not be the right thing afterall.
Seems to be a hot topic these days. This question and similar examples are part of the discussion and curriculum for the new Limited Services Agency class required for CE/PL in Virginia.
Why is the neighbor a problem? Maybe the seller is the neighborhood problem and once gone everyone will be happier.
It’s like poker-there is a sucker at every table. If you don’t see the sucker, you are it.
If you don’t have a neighbor you think is bad, you probably are the bad neighbor.
Oh man. This is so bad. Ill take $20 on the truck driver in the medium shirt. Although, the guy in the white tube socks may be some black belt.
…well..doesn’t it take one to know one? I got a kick out of Edyns’ reply.
Most homeowners have probably found themselves, at one time or another, on either side of the fence-(which also makes a good neighbor!).
As far as disclosure goes, I think this one falls to the buyer - let them beware and walk their neighborhood and check their neighbors out.
Unzillowable, yes - look at all the debate here about who gets to say what about somebody elses’ listing and the issue of privacy.
And always have a poop scooper and earplugs, just in case…
Obeoman
steven.stearns@obeo.com
EDYN
Yes, the problem neighbor line can be fuzzy. But let’s say the neighbor who has been arrested 10 times for disturbing the piece and brandishing a weapon at real estate agents lives down the block. Do you report him to prospective buyers or renters?
Tony,
My money’s on the wife
Steve,
I just heard about a new website called rottenneighbor.com I think that’s what it’s called. Anyways, if you have a problem with a neighbor you can go to this sight and leave a complaint. I’m thinking this will be similar to the Megans Law website. You can refer your buyers and they can search to see what kind of trouble makers their potential neighbors may be.
As far as disclosing a trouble maker in the neighborhood. There’s no way of really knowing who’s at fault and as an earlier poster said, I wouldn’t want to lose a sale over unfounded rumors or bad info and then get sued to boot.
Absolutely true Kathy. As with any online system, you just dont know who to believe. Rumors are not fact.
I frequently suggest buyers check out a neighborhood on weekends or evenings to make sure the community feels as good to them as it did on their weekday viewing. This is common sense due diligence.
We just had a $1.3 million transaction cancel because of pushy and very invasive neighbors. We represent the buyer and are glad the issue surfaced prior to closing. Neighborhood ambiance can be just as important as the home one buys.