Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Disclosure

If you had been approved for a loan before the disclosure but that approval was removed on account of what later was disclosed, then it seems the seller had failed to inform you of material facts which would void any agreement. On the other hand, if you would have put down the deposit and then tried to get the information to see if you could qualify for a loan, you would not seem to be entitled to a refund. But it seems that they probably quoted a price for the purchase of the house and knew you would rely upon that figure to your detriment, so they negligently mis representated the fees to you. Overall, there are more arguments in your favor than theirs. Find out from your broker why she thinks you can not recover the deposit [demands facts and a legal, logical analysis]. At worst, you can sue in Small Claims Court for up to $7,500.

Re: Disclosure

I agree with Attorney Shers. First, your agent should be in your corner, and not defending the Seller's position (unless she is representing both sides, in which case I wouldn't listen to a word she says). First, financing is almost always a contingency until it funds if the offer was written up on, and accepted in the standard-form CAR contract. Read the agreement, and if the correct boxes were checked making financing a contingency up to close of escrow, then you almost certainly have the right to get your money back. Second, Attorney Shers was pointing toward a second issue here which is were the property taxes readily discoverable by you had you exercised due diligence in your review of matters of public record during the inspection time-frames set forth in your contract? The answer is that they were probably available to you even before you received the Disclosure Report, and therefore there is a chance that you could be legally deemed to have had prior knowledge of the taxes, but failed to object to them (in other words, you could have done your own inspection of public record to determine that there were other taxes, but didn't). Further, in support of the Seller's position, your Preliminary Title Report should have disclosed the tax information as well - not in a format like the Property Tax Disclosure, but at least you may have had notice that there was a problem. Ultimately, I agree with Attorney Shers - you are probably going to have to fight in court over this, and small claims court is probably the correct forum as it is inexpensive, quick and easy.

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