We were first time home buyers who ended up buying a home, at full asking price and “comparable market value” which turned out to need over $100,000 in repairs. Our realtor and inspector were long time personal friends, which made the whole situation even worse. The previous owners outright lied on their sellers disclosure. Their realtor engaged in some ethically questionable behavior.
We thought we were being careful. We thought we had people on our team who were absolutely looking out for our best interests. And still, we ended up trapped in a situation where the home we bought had serious issues, including toxic mold.
The extent of the required repairs was so vast that we ended up bringing suit against a number or parties involved in the transaction. The litigation process was endless, ridiculously expensive and in the end, not terribly satisfying.
We know SO much more now than we did when we entered into this home purchase. After all we have been through, it seemed like it might not be a bad idea to share some of our experiences and hope to help others avoid this type of situation.
Of course, all of the information contained in this site is from a layperson’s perspective – we are not attorneys, realtors or home inspectors. All we are doing here is offering up things we learned that would have been so helpful for us to have known as we went through the process!
If we can help just one person avoid even some of the headache, emotional distress and financial nightmare we endured, it would make something positive come out of a long, hard, negative road.