Thoughts on this? Did this realtor violate anything?

Thoughts on this? Did this realtor violate anything?

!! · Member since 2015 · 17 posts · 1 vote

Long story short, I am from a small town in a rural area. Small town big shots sometimes make their own rules and that's the type involved here. They worked as a team in this entire thing.

So here we go...A person sold a piece of land 3 years ago, reiterated in the deed "this conveyance is made subject to the restriction that no mobile or manufactured homes shall be placed upon the subject property." as the restriction had been in a previous, distant deed. It was very very important to the seller as its next to their home.

The property was then chopped, sold 1 time  but all deeds still carried the restriction, but by referring back to previous restrictions. 

All lots stayed legal but one got a manufactured home shoved on it and sold immediately, before even in place.  

All sales of the property involved the same realtor, the same lawyer, all within 3 years.

The realtor pretends to not have known about the restriction, the lawyer is sort of playing dumb but talking about mediating as I point out they missed the restriction that they themselves originally put in. I have not yet notified the buyer who clearly has no idea of the restriction. I'd love to but I don't want to get myself into trouble. 

Is the realtor liable for anything here? Are they responsible for knowing the deed? They are absolutely involved more than just being the realtor but some of that seems back door. They even financed some of the deal....according to public docs.

I hate the idea of getting a lawyer involved. Any other course of action? And did this realtor violate any codes?


Who enforces these restrictions anyway? The county said they don't.

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Russell BrazilBusiness Member
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Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
2y

Realtors/Agents don't have anything to do with, or interact with the deeds. That's under the preview of the attorneys. 

See this reply in the discussion

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  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    2y

    Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:
    Quote from @Craig Janet:

    I'm assuming they had to get some kind of permit to move the mobile home and connect utilities. So how did they get the permit? You can start there, but I know small town politics very well and I'm sure they "omitted" to see the deed restrictions. 

    Is it an old piece of junk mobile home or is a newer nice home. If it's the latter what's your issue with a mobile home? It's not your land and the person who put the restriction is dead. 


    Cities and Counties do not regulate deed retrictions .. they regulate Zoning.. period.
    Thank you for your comments on the topic.  

    Who does enforce these restrictions? 

    Is hiring a lawyer the only option? 

    yes would be a civil matter.. and ajudicated if you needed to. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Malvern, PA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 936 votes
    2y

    @Justin W.

    I see at least 4 options for you:

    1. Hire a lawyer to at least get your questions answered. It could just be a simple consultation that doesn't cost much.

    2. File your own lawsuit and guess at what should be done. This is not at all recommended.

    3. Inform the buyer, seller, agents, title company, etc of the restrictions and back away. If nothing else, the title company will likely include a note in the title insurance excluding anything related to the restrictions. You don't need a lawyer to do this since you are just sharing publicly available information.

    4. Do nothing and let it go.

    #1 And #2 will require someone with standing to file a lawsuit. The way you are writing, I am getting the impression that one or more close relatives could have standing, but might not want to get involved that way and you do not have standing, but are far more passionate. You need to recruit someone with standing. The lawyer could clarify that for you.

  • Specialist · Winter Springs, FL · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 747 votes
    2y

    I think your threshold question is who can you look to for failing to enforce the restrictions i.e. seller, real estate agent, attorney, title agent/insurer?  In my opinion, none of the above.  Since they don't have any kind of relationship with you, they don't have a duty to you, and you'll be lucky to get any one of them to talk to you.

    As to the enforcement of the restrictions, assuming they are still valid and enforceable, as written by some of the posters above, anyone who has standing under the restrictions should be able to enforce them.  As also written above, figuring out who has standing can get complicated.  Based on what you've written it appears you not going to get the mobile home voluntarily removed so you'll probably have to pay an attorney to look into it and give you options.

  • Investor · PA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 602 votes
    2y

    if it's a manufactured home on a permanent foundation then it may not be an issue

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