My question involves real estate located in the State of: Tennessee
I have a close friend who is about 84 years of age who sold real property in December 2013. It was a For sale by owner. The property was sold as is with no warranties and a floor covering allowance was in place for about $5000. Buyer inspected property, expressed his desire to raze the residence and rebuild a new home in it's place. A construction company was consulted shortly after sale concerning tearing home down. Home inspection was refused. After closure, my friend and his wife vacated premises and shut off utilities. The buyer did not immediately move in and failed to winterize home after he took possession. In June of 2014, the buyer attempted to move in but found that when water was cut on, that the pipes had frozen during the winter and burst resulting in substantial damage to the home. The buyer felt it wasn't his responsibility to winterize the home and that the seller should have took this precaution. The seller did not know the buyer was going to delay moving in for 6 months so he doesn't see how burst water pipes is his problem since buyer took possession and the weather wasn't cold enough to cause damage until the middle of January of the following year. Fast forward to September of 2014, buyer approached my friend for a substantial amount of money to repair damage caused by frozen pipes. During this time, my friend had a daughter who was recently diagnosed with a serious illness that was similar in nature to an illness that took the life of his first wife some 25 years earlier. The buyer of the property KNEW my friend was in emotional distress and clearly took advantage of this when he approached him and his wife for a 'settlement' to satisfy damages resulting from buyer failing to winterize the home. The buyer was very belligerent to my friend, calling him names and threatening him with a lawsuit, stating, "If you don't settle with me today, I'll sue you for what you got and I guarantee I'll get it." He further told my friend that suing people is what he did and it's how he got what he has. The original request was for over $100,000. After a back and forth heated meeting, he agreed to accept $30,000 to settle all claims against the property, present and future, and both parties signed a notarized document stating such. My friend just wanted him to go away because he couldn't handle the stress of his daughter's illness and this extortionist as well. Last week, my friend was served with papers of the buyer's intention to sue him for the purchase price of the home, in spite of the fact he agreed to settle these claims for $30,000 the previous year. My friend is concerned he may get a judgement against him and lose everything even though it seems clearly cut and dried that the buyer has no legal basis for a lawsuit and his real estate attorney assures him that no relief can be awarded to the buyer since (A): Property was sold as is and (B): He signed an agreement to settle for $30,000 a few months prior. Does anyone here have a take on this situation? Should he be worried? Buyer is claiming my friend failed to disclose certain faults with the home even though his real estate attorney says no disclosure is required when buyer refuses an inspection and it's a FSBO.
I have a close friend who is about 84 years of age who sold real property in December 2013. It was a For sale by owner. The property was sold as is with no warranties and a floor covering allowance was in place for about $5000. Buyer inspected property, expressed his desire to raze the residence and rebuild a new home in it's place. A construction company was consulted shortly after sale concerning tearing home down. Home inspection was refused. After closure, my friend and his wife vacated premises and shut off utilities. The buyer did not immediately move in and failed to winterize home after he took possession. In June of 2014, the buyer attempted to move in but found that when water was cut on, that the pipes had frozen during the winter and burst resulting in substantial damage to the home. The buyer felt it wasn't his responsibility to winterize the home and that the seller should have took this precaution. The seller did not know the buyer was going to delay moving in for 6 months so he doesn't see how burst water pipes is his problem since buyer took possession and the weather wasn't cold enough to cause damage until the middle of January of the following year. Fast forward to September of 2014, buyer approached my friend for a substantial amount of money to repair damage caused by frozen pipes. During this time, my friend had a daughter who was recently diagnosed with a serious illness that was similar in nature to an illness that took the life of his first wife some 25 years earlier. The buyer of the property KNEW my friend was in emotional distress and clearly took advantage of this when he approached him and his wife for a 'settlement' to satisfy damages resulting from buyer failing to winterize the home. The buyer was very belligerent to my friend, calling him names and threatening him with a lawsuit, stating, "If you don't settle with me today, I'll sue you for what you got and I guarantee I'll get it." He further told my friend that suing people is what he did and it's how he got what he has. The original request was for over $100,000. After a back and forth heated meeting, he agreed to accept $30,000 to settle all claims against the property, present and future, and both parties signed a notarized document stating such. My friend just wanted him to go away because he couldn't handle the stress of his daughter's illness and this extortionist as well. Last week, my friend was served with papers of the buyer's intention to sue him for the purchase price of the home, in spite of the fact he agreed to settle these claims for $30,000 the previous year. My friend is concerned he may get a judgement against him and lose everything even though it seems clearly cut and dried that the buyer has no legal basis for a lawsuit and his real estate attorney assures him that no relief can be awarded to the buyer since (A): Property was sold as is and (B): He signed an agreement to settle for $30,000 a few months prior. Does anyone here have a take on this situation? Should he be worried? Buyer is claiming my friend failed to disclose certain faults with the home even though his real estate attorney says no disclosure is required when buyer refuses an inspection and it's a FSBO.
Purchase Contracts: Buyer is Suing to Rescind a FSBO Home Purchase
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