All Forum Posts by: Ben I.

That last part: "Until then, be cool" is very hard to do. Maybe because this is the first time someone has threatened to sue me. I'm stressing out over here because I really don't want to deal with something like this. I guess even writing all of this isn't a good idea as all of this can be used by their lawyer. Maybe I need to call in a favor with some of the moderators to shut this down?

 Got it. I believe he did well, but it definitely isn't a bad idea to have them dot their i and cross their t's as well. He definitely documented for me very well the dates he sent the letter with the issues, how many days they had to reply, how they needed to reply and how they failed to follow the proper procedures. I believe my agent is competent but I've been laying off of them because I really didn't believe the sellers would continue pursuing this after realizing nothing illegal took place. 

 Yes, this is in Wisconsin. Sadly, the agents got out of this entire thing. It turns out that the sellers never actually had a signed contract with their agency. So the entire thing is off of the agents' table. Right now the seller has the house back on the market but is still pursuing a lawsuit. 

 Thank you, sir. I'll try calling some tomorrow. 

 do you know if lawyers will typically answer these types of questions without charging or do you pay even for asking these questions? 

I know Brie. She's awesome! I did some work for some of her clients.  I might even give her a call tomorrow about this. 

I completely understand what you are saying and you are right that you should be willing to buy when you put an offer. I definitely was willing to buy it. I'm not the type that even cares about most things because I know I can fix them and take care of them. It was when I was on the video call with the inspector and I saw water flowing out of the wall on a brand new remodel and the electricity being shut off that I had a gut feeling that I was being played, that something was fishy and hidden. Had they promised to make the repairs that concerned me using a qualified company, I still would have bought it. From my understanding, they mostly just said, spend more money to prove that the structure isn't good but it was evident the foundation is cracking. I am a licensed EIT with an emphasis in structural engineering so it was even more apparent what the issues were there. 

Hiya all. Well here's my situation. 

I wanted to buy a second rental property after we moved to Hawaii for work and became bankable again. I was planning on using the HELOC money from our first rental as the downpayment. I found an agent here on BP from Wisconsin because I wouldn't buy in Hawaii and I wanted to get out of Illinois because the taxes were too high.

So I found a gut rehabbed 2 flat in Milwaukee Wisconsin. I put an offer and it was accepted. I sent the earnest money in time and scheduled the inspection. During the inspection, we found out much of the work was done poorly, including plumbing that didn't lead anywhere. We weren't able to inspect the electrical system because it was turned off from the main. There were other little things, but once I saw the basement walls I knew I didn't want it. Signs of water intrusion, shear wall cracks and a horizontal crack on all 4 walls. So I told my agent to let them know that unfortunately there were too many things wrong with the property and I have to use my inspection contingency to get out of the contract. 

The agent told me the sellers don't want to cancel and have a right to make repairs. So I asked him to make a list with all the mistakes on the inspection. He did and we sent that over. Apparently, the sellers had three days to get back to us about these repairs but didn't until 8 or 9 days later. At that point, they said we need a structural engineer to inspect the property if we wanted them to address the structural issues. They said they'll fix the rest. I'm not sure if they did or didn't because they took too long to even reply. When my agent told them that the contract is void because they didn't have the standard 10 days to reply, but 3 according to our contract, they said they are going to sue us. 

They dragged out the threats for two months. In the meantime, I ended up buying a rental in Chicago. I found out that the sellers and the selling agent's firm didn't have a contract signed so the agency sent me my earnest check back. I thought it was all done until I got a call from the agent today asking if he can give the lawyer my number. 

I really don't have money to hire a lawyer right now and am unsure what to do. I always thought that if you operated fairly and honestly you wouldn't need to lawyer up and try to protect yourself. What do you think I should do? Should I hire a lawyer to speak with this lawyer on my behalf? I am honestly thinking about representing myself if this turns out to be a real lawsuit. If you have a good lawyer for Wisconsin, please let me know. 

All in all, our next step into real estate wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Bad things can and do happen. I will keep you updated on how this turns out because this can honestly happen to anyone. 

Thank you.

I'll have to attend the next one*

@Robert Goldman

Where do I find these posts

@Season Price

Listen to bigger pocket money podcast on becoming a signing agent. Actually costs just around $500 to start.