Housing News
Homeowners win lawsuit against builder for fraudulent nondislosure
Dream home turned nightmare
In 2005, Mark and Marilyn Hess moved into their brand new Utah home after years of planning and saving. Shortly after they moved in, cracks started showing up in walls and in the concrete and not long after, their home began to separate and sank five inches.
In 2005, the Hess family filed suit against the builder alleging the developer knew of the unstable land. During discovery, they learned of a 1997 environmental report that detailed collapsible soils which was never disclosed to the homeowners.
They tapped all of their financial resources to keep the house inhabitable, believing they would never be able to sell it. When windows broke or ceilings gaped or walls came apart allowing wildlife indoors, the couple maxed out their credit cards and even sold Marilyn’s wedding ring to pay for repairs for the family home. They were able to have the home lifted and leveled, but are unable to pay for many of the internal repairs and cracks.
Their lawyer calls this case the most frustrating of his career as he carried the cost during the ordeal, nearly bankrupting his own private practice.
Fraudulent nondisclosure
In 2008, for their “fraudulent nondisclosure,” a Utah District Court jury awarded $3.2 million for repairs with $2.65 million of that going toward pain and suffering.
Now, the Utah Supreme Court has reduced the amount of the award to $3 million and upheld the fraud ruling. Canberra Development Company, the named defendant, appears to have little money in the bank and the homeowners are unlikely to see any funds soon if ever.
In real estate, it goes without saying that everything must be disclosed. This builder has said they will appeal and the homeowners feel violated and stuck in a nightmare. This is a lose-lose for everyone involved.
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Housing News
Average age of houses on the rise, so is it now better or worse to buy new?
With aging housing in America, are first-time buyers better off buying new or existing homes? The average age of a home is rising, as is the price of new housing, so a shift could be upon us.
The average home age is higher than ever
(REALUOSO.COM) – In a survey from the Department of Housing and Urban Development American Housing Survey (AHS), the median age of homes in the United States was 35 years old. In Texas, homes are a bit younger with the median age between 19 – 29 years. The northeast has the oldest homes, with the median age between 50 – 61 years. In 1985, the median age of a home was only 23 years.
With more houses around 40 years old, the National Association of Realtors asserts that homeowners will have to undertake remodeling and renovation projects before selling unless the home is sold as-is, in which case the buyer will be responsible to update their new residence. Even homeowners who aren’t selling will need to consider remodeling for structural and aesthetic reasons.
Prices of new homes on the rise
Newer homes cost more than they used to. The price differential between new homes and older homes has increased from 10 percent traditionally to around 37 percent in 2014. This is due to rising construction costs, scarcity of lots, and a low inventory of new homes that doesn’t meet the demand.
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Housing News
Are Realtors the real loser in the fight between Zillow Group and Move, Inc.?
The last year has been one of dramatic and rapid change in the real estate tech sector, but Realtors are vulnerable, and we’re worried.
Why Realtors are vulnerable to these rapid changes
(REALUOSO.COM) – Corporate warfare demands headlines in every industry, but in the real estate tech sector, a storm has been brewing for years, which in the last year has come to a head. Zillow Group and Move, Inc. (which is owned by News Corp. and operates ListHub, Realtor.com, TopProducer, and other brands) have been competing for a decade now, and the race has appeared to be an aggressive yet polite boxing match. Last year, the gloves came off, and now, they’ve drawn swords and appear to want blood.
Note: We’ll let you decide which company plays which role in the image above.
So how then, does any of this make Realtors the victims of this sword fight? Let’s get everyone up to speed, and then we’ll discuss.
1. Zillow poaches top talent, Move/NAR sues
It all started last year when the gloves came off – Move’s Chief Strategy Officer (who was also Realtor.com’s President), Errol Samuelson jumped ship and joined Zillow on the same day he phoned in his resignation without notice. He left under questionable circumstances, which has led to a lengthy legal battle (wherein Move and NAR have sued Zillow and Samuelson over allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of trade secrets), with the most recent motion being for contempt, which a judge granted to Move/NAR after the mysterious “Samuelson Memo” surfaced.
Salt was added to the wound when Move awarded Samuelson’s job to Move veteran, Curt Beardsley, who days after Samuelson left, also defected to Zillow. This too led to a lawsuit, with allegations including breach of contract, violation of corporations code, illegal dumping of stocks, and Move has sought restitution. These charges are extremely serious, but demanded slightly less attention than the ongoing lawsuit against Samuelson.
2. Two major media brands emerge
Last fall, the News Corp. acquisition of Move, Inc. was given the green light by the feds, and this month, Zillow finalized their acquisition of Trulia.
…Click here to continue reading this story…
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MH for Movoto
May 3, 2011 at 11:56 am
3.2 million is NOT enough. Horrible.
Lani Rosales
May 3, 2011 at 12:29 pm
I agree. Plus, I hear the builder has basically said they "can't" pay. Industry insiders sometimes forget to look past the framing and into the value of a home to a homeowners- there is NOTHING more personal than where you live. How crushing.