Beware of “As Is” Contracts When Buying a Home in Sacramento

It drives me crazy that when times are tough tends to be when all the creepy crawlers come out to prey on the already-downtrodden. I mean, there’s got to be some seriously bad karma for that, right? I’m so happy to hear that HUD is holding certain entities responsible for breaking the rules and being unethical. Let’s face it, some folks just need to be on HUD’s “naughty list.”

When people lose their jobs, or their house payment jumps to ridiculously high-payments, they might get desperate. I know I might too. After all, who wants to lose their home, ruin their credit and uproot their kids? Not me, and probably not most of the Sacramento homeowners who are currently in a panic to figure out what to do (always try a loan modification before you risk losing your home). So why would anyone in their kind mind want to take advantage of someone in that situation? Well, I don’t know the answer to that, but trust me, those “naughty guys” are out there.

Then, take buyers who are in a different kind of panic to make their long-awaited purchase because there are finally some homes in their price-range. These folks are eager to enter into Sacramento home-ownership and need to slow down and be sure not to be pulled through the “real estate ringer.” When you work with someone (an agent, lender, seller or third party) that isn’t reputable (for lack of a better word, and down right sleazy, if I may say that) you could end up in home-owner hot water. We don’t want that.

Now there’s a new scam from some would be prison-bound pals that says an “As Is” contract is perfectly legal and, comes from the California Association of Realtors (the place I worked for years and the fine creators of our California RE contracts). CAR says, no way, they did NOT create this form and the rumors better stop now. I”m copying the email I received this morning for your reading pleasure, but the bottom line is this: When you go to buy your home in Sacramento, make sure you work with people you trust, AND who you know are COMPETENT. Being nice, is, well, nice, but you want a real estate agent and local lender who know what in the heck they are doing, do it well, are legit, and for heaven’s sake, ETHICAL.

STANDARD FORM “AS IS” CONTRACT FRAUDULENTLY CLAIMS TO BE C.A.R. APPROVED

Members have reported that certain investor buyers use a standard form “As-Is Contract for Sale and Purchase” which fraudulently purports to be approved by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.).  This standard form agreement has been used by Greenhills Financial Investment, LLC, among others.  C.A.R.’s Legal Department is vigilantly pursuing this matter, which includes issuing cease-and-desist letters against anyone using the form.

The “As-Is Contract for Sale and Purchase” form, which is referenced at the bottom as “FAR/BAR ASIS,” has apparently been patterned after Florida Association of REALTORS®’s purchase agreement.  In any event, the form purports to be approved by C.A.R., when in fact, C.A.R. has not reviewed or approved the form, and C.A.R. has no business affiliation whatsoever with Greenhills Financial Investment or the form’s publisher.  C.A.R. currently has no standard form with the words, “As Is,” in the title.

REALTORS® who come across the form are encouraged to report the matter to C.A.R. by contacting our Strategic Defense Counsel, Nicole Briggs, at nicoleb@car.org.

C.A.R. provides REALTORS® with many legal articles covering a wide range of topics of interest.  Some of the new or newly revised legal articles available at http://qa.car.org are as follows:

• 2010 New Laws.

Sales Disclosure Chart. 

STANDARD FORM “AS IS” CONTRACT FRAUDULENTLY CLAIMS TO BE C.A.R. APPROVED

Members have reported that certain investor buyers use a standard form “As-Is Contract for Sale and Purchase” which fraudulently purports to be approved by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.).  This standard form agreement has been used by Greenhills Financial Investment, LLC, among others.  C.A.R.’s Legal Department is vigilantly pursuing this matter, which includes issuing cease-and-desist letters against anyone using the form.

The “As-Is Contract for Sale and Purchase” form, which is referenced at the bottom as “FAR/BAR ASIS,” has apparently been patterned after Florida Association of REALTORS®’s purchase agreement.  In any event, the form purports to be approved by C.A.R., when in fact, C.A.R. has not reviewed or approved the form, and C.A.R. has no business affiliation whatsoever with Greenhills Financial Investment or the form’s publisher.  C.A.R. currently has no standard form with the words, “As Is,” in the title.

REALTORS® who come across the form are encouraged to report the matter to C.A.R. by contacting our Strategic Defense Counsel, Nicole Briggs, at nicoleb@car.org.

C.A.R. provides REALTORS® with many legal articles covering a wide range of topics of interest.  Some of the new or newly revised legal articles available at http://qa.car.org are as follows:

• 2010 New Laws.

Sales Disclosure Chart.

ta ta for now,

Tamara