Here's the deal or what may have actually been the deal! I have several acres of land listed for sale. An agent asked me to walk the property with her and her clients.
No problem, while we were doing so it was talked about them possibly considering subdividing the property in the future. Their Realtor, nor myself, thought that there would be an issue with this and further thought that they would be allowed to deed the property with it having ingress and egress via the other parcel.
OK, so long story short, which is extremely difficult for me. On Monday, I called the Zoning office and asked questions about the possible subidivision of this property. I found out that the county no longer allows them to have a common drive and that each property has to have its own dedicated driveway.
Since I knew that this was a possible concern, I informed the other Realtor of such. She told me that they were planning on making an offer, but she would have to contact them about this information and let them know. Well, needless to say, they is no offer forthcoming.
I look at this several different ways & would like your take on such. Some will think that it was not my responsibility to let the other Realtor know what I had found out, since it was most likely her duty to do such for her clients. Others will say that once I found out this information, it was my duty to inform all parties of such. I can also see others saying that I should not have called at all & that was my fault for doing such.
Again, your thoughts!
Till next time - Marc It Sold!
I think it is wise to go ahead and disclose this information. The buyers will most likely find it out eventually, and you don't want them to think you are hiding it from them. I have found that with vacant lands that I have listed in the past that you need to try and get as much info as you can from the city/county because the buyers are going to ask these questions anyway.
You probably do not have a legal duty to disclose because the Johnson vs. Davis on applies to owner occupant properties and not commerical, vacant land, or rentals. I least that is how I understand it.
Marc...
IMO...It's always best to find these things out and share them ASAP.
Sure beats the heck out having the deal close and get stuck in the middle of a mess that could have been avoided.
Til next time...Marc your self honest :)
TLW...ROAR!
We always disclose and the exact same situation happended to us yesterday. One of my BA wrote and offer, and when she called the LA found out about the township making a paved road go in. So she added it to the PA. We'll see, but yes disclose, it might come back to bite you and it is relevant to any sale.
Rob, TLW & Missy - I wouldn't have done it any other way. I try to be very honest and because of such I sleep well at nights. It's not that I'm so altruistic, but...
TLW & Other Bloggers - am going to post a funny I just read in the paper.
Because the potential buyer asked and you gave an answer:
Their Realtor, nor myself, thought that there would be an issue with this and further thought that they would be allowed to deed the property with it having ingress and egress via the other parcel.
I think if buyer settled and then learned what you learned; you would be sued and if they could show that they relied on your statement when they bought the property, I think they would win.
You had no choice but to check with the zoning office and tell the buyer what you learned.
Paul - Well thank goodness, at least I'm not in with the likes of Rumsfeld!
Do you not have option periods there? If you do, and the concern had already been mentioned by the buyers, this would almost certainly have come out during that period in any case. Better to come out before the offer is submitted rather than when your seller thinks they have a contract and mess up the deal. I like to do my best to make sure that nobody (especially my client) has any unpleasant surprises after an offer is made - makes for much smoother sailing and a better possibility of the deal coming to pleasant fruition.
Besides, as someone said, it's a material fact and once you know it, you're required to disclose.