More Closing Time, Less Courtroom Time

By Robert Freedman, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

It’s a tough market and you’re trying to put bread on the table, but don’t cut corners on disclosures to get a deal done—it will come back to haunt you.

That’s the message a real estate legal expert left with me yesterday after a conversation about something no one wants to talk about: the increase in lawsuits as unhappy buyers look for someone to blame.

The legal expert also sells real estate. Her sales are down this year, as you would expect, but her time spent in the courtroom is up—not because she’s being sued. She’s frequently called upon by courts to be an expert witness. It’s these calls that have shot up, and what she’s seeing in the courtroom is a jump in cases in which sales associates are charged with insuffiently ensuring all property conditions are disclosed. Read more