How to Avoid Residential Real Estate Purchase Disasters (and What to Do When They Occur)

The current residential real-estate market is clearly a sellers’ market. Houses are barely hitting the market, if they even make it to listing, before multiple bidders vie to snatch them up with offers tens of thousands above the asking prices. To sweeten their offers, hopeful buyers place significant earnest money on the table and may even waive key buyer protections. Among other things, buyers are waiving house inspections contingencies, bidding without reviewing complete disclosure statements, and sometimes even foregoing in-person walkthroughs—bidding on houses sight-unseen. In this market, important red flags are being missed or, worse still, ignored completely. If there are no surprises—a gamble given the age of many homes on the market— everyone walks away happy. But what happens when something goes wrong?

Decisions buyers make on the front end of the home-buying process will have a significant effect on their legal rights and remedies after closing. Buyers may live to regret heeding to the bidding hysteria generated by the current marketplace. The purpose of this presentation is to explain what buyers should be looking for before they put in that purchase agreement. Because things can go wrong even when all reasonable precautions are taken, we then discuss what buyers can do when disaster strikes.

– Bryan J. Huntington; Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren Ltd
– Rob A. Stefonowicz; Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren Ltd

Webcast also included in the following webcast package(s):
June Webcast Extravaganza
Hot Topics in Real Estate Law Webcast Series