Looking for Attorney to handle undisclosed problems with the purchase of a home
 

Does any one know of a great attorney pertaining to a purchase of a home with many problems not disclosed in contract in TV? Have lots of problems with house inside & out / had inspection but they say 'too bad / real estate agent says: too bad.

Need advice.

Your post seems to say that agents for The Villages do not abide by ethical standards which most people here who have dealt with them would not agree with. Disclosure is based on law.


I wish the OP would clarify if the listing was with The Villages or an undisclosed MLS realtor.

Can you be more specific about what the problems are and how long ago you bought the house?

Yes, more info. please. Was it a new house or pre-owned. If pre-owned, don't the sellers have to fill out a full disclosure statement listing any problems with the house (wet basement, sink hole, roof leaking, etc.) regardless of what a home inspection uncovers?

It doesn't sound like you are going to get much help here on TOTV. Perhaps few have experience with this issue. Why not call a law firm and ask for a real estate attorney recommendation? If you have an attorney of your own, ask him or her for a rec.

It's all well and good for your home inspector to say "too bad", but that doesn't make it so. Inspectors have to uncover defects for you and are bound to that. I would explore more into the inspectors liability.

And I would add to that, if the agent is not a licensed realtor, then he or she is working for a licensed realtor or broker under whose name the sale is made.

If I'm not mistaken not anyone can run around selling houses, other than their own.

Inspection report
 

Read carefully the home inspector report to see what is and is not covered in his report. OP ask for attorney suggestions. You might call Morgan & Morgan they say that they "for the people". They will likely tell you if you have a case worth pursusing.

If the home was sold "as is" it will be difficult to win.

If the listing is with The Villages, new or resale, the law firm of McLin & Burnsed is "the closing department". Their attorneys and paralegals deal with all aspects of closing and they are going to make sure the contract is legally carried out.

Also, to me, it is way off base to say that TV listing depends on "non-realtors" who are supposedly unlicensed. THAT is not the case either, because many of the TV sales reps AND assistants are licensed and TV dba Properties of The Villages (necessarily) holds their licenses. I know sales reps and assistants who are constantly renewing their licenses and doing coursework to prepare for the tests.

OP asked for info on an attorney.
Not a solution to a problem, that was not presented.

:clap2:

It's been my understanding that TV sales people are NOT lisenced realtors. Am I wrong with this info?

There is a difference between "Licensed real estate agent" (licensed by the state) , and Realtor. Realtor refers to a licensed real estate agent that is part of the group of agents called Realtors... The group is called The Association of Realtors. It is a paid membership group amd may have additional fees and associated higher level of rules they may need to adhear to. A normal MLS (Multiple listing service) is generally only available to Realtors. The name Realtor is a trade mark, by the way. Any person selling property for The Villages needs to be licensed by the state to sell real estate, but does not need to be a Realtor. Many people (in error) refer to all real estate agents as Realtors.

Fom Wikipedia : The National Association of Realtors (NAR), whose members are known as Realtors, is the largest trade association and one of the most powerful lobbying groups in North America, having spent more than $99 million between 1999 and 2012. It has over 1.2 million members (as reported November 2008), including NAR's institutes, societies, and councils, involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries

The point: Sales reps selling real estate for The Villages are licensed by the state to sell real estate. But they might not be "Realtors" who are members of the largest trade association and lobbying group in N. America.

I believe that TV Sales people do not have to be licensed realtors but many of them are licensed. We will be closing on a resale home through TV in just under two weeks. Everything that was described above happened just as was described (e.g., disclosure statement, document to sign verifying that we had received and read the disclosure statement, home inspection with written report, etc.). Our primary sales person is a licensed realtor.