My client was buying the home of a family friend. She assured me that no home inspection was required, and whatever the seller’s attorney put in the contract would be fine with her.
While I assured her that I didn’t want to cause ill feelings, the very fact that her friend was hiring an attorney to draft a contract meant that this was a business deal. So could we please approach it that way?
My client refused, so I had her sign a lengthy CYA letter, and then she signed the contract. After poo-poo’ing the very notion of doing a pre-closing inspection, the buyer closed with the seller at the full listing price.
Two days later (you know where this is going, I can tell) my client sent this e-mail: You said this wasn’t about friendship and now I know why. The hot water heater is toast, the windows are warped shut, and there’s either one very fast mouse or a whole family running around. I called Mrs. Shady to ask if we could get together about the problems, but she said, “Sorry. Our business is done.” There’s no way that I can sue for fraud, is there?
I replied, “You can certainly sue, but you’ll definitely lose.”
While I assured her that I didn’t want to cause ill feelings, the very fact that her friend was hiring an attorney to draft a contract meant that this was a business deal. So could we please approach it that way?
My client refused, so I had her sign a lengthy CYA letter, and then she signed the contract. After poo-poo’ing the very notion of doing a pre-closing inspection, the buyer closed with the seller at the full listing price.
Two days later (you know where this is going, I can tell) my client sent this e-mail: You said this wasn’t about friendship and now I know why. The hot water heater is toast, the windows are warped shut, and there’s either one very fast mouse or a whole family running around. I called Mrs. Shady to ask if we could get together about the problems, but she said, “Sorry. Our business is done.” There’s no way that I can sue for fraud, is there?
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real_lawyer- LitaWrites
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