I purchased my first home on November 20. I dealt with Century 21 Harvey Properties, then called Century 21 Parker-Harvey Properties because I thought I could trust a company bearing the Century 21 name. Boy, was I a fool to trust them.
Near the end of October I discovered a MLS listing on Harvey Properties' site. It stipulated that this house had been "updated".in no way did it indicate that the house needed work done to it. It certainly didn't suggest that any major systems needed repair or replacement.
The seller's agent is also the owner of Harvey Properties. Her name: Renee Harvey. She represented her brother in the deal. When I showed interest, my agent (also in the employ of Harvey Properties) told me that the grandmother and mother had been born in the house. She also told me that Renee hated to see the house sold.
When I liked what I saw, I asked for the Seller's Disclosure agreement. Remember the claim that the house was "updated"? Nothing in the disclosure indicated what, if anything, were updated. Nor was I given any information with regards to when anything was updated.in fact, the seller claims he didn't know of any flaws, and yet this had been their family's home for several generations! They didn't even list just how old the house was, other than it was built before 1978. This is a far cry from the "full disclosure" real estate requirements.
I asked my agent about getting the house inspected. She tried to convince me that it would be a waste of money, but I insisted. She gave me two phone numbers. The only one I could reach was Mike Redus. At the time, I had no idea that he worked for Renee Harvey as a realtor; I discovered out this fact this year, from their web site.
I was not present for the inspection of the property. Mr. Redus said he'd write a report, so I waited for it. The inspection didn't sound bad. A number of seemingly minor electrical problems were cited. For instance, he said that the wires coming from the service panel needed to be in conduit. He also said that spliced wires in the attic needed to be put in junction boxes.
My agent prepared an ammendment and the seller agreed in writing to make the changes listed. He had from November 4 until close, which happened on November 20. Upon close, I was under the impression that the corrections had been made. Truth was, he played "sick" at the time and didn't even bother to appear physically during the close! I was not told to do a final inspection to make sure the seller had made the repairs. I was also not warned beforehand that the "AS-IS" clause I had to sign would be based solely on my assessment of the property. Heck, I was a first-time homebuyer. I knew jack about determining what condition a property was in.
On December 25, the 30-gal. Hot water heater (described as a 50-gal.in the MLS listing) ruptured and leaked all over the floor. And yes, the inspector didn't find anything wrong with the water heater prior to close. Around this time, I was also in touch with an electrician. It was concerning a dead outlet (which the seller failed to note in the disclosure and failed to repair as per the contract). The electrician went into my attic and found that the wiring was in various states of decay and that the spliced wires were not put in junction boxes.
After hearing that the wiring was a safety concern, I decided to have the whole house rewired. It's a good thing too. I had an electrician from another company show up to repair a short. He took one look at the breaker box that was outside on the porch and said "Your wiring is old." He also said that it was the first one made by some company beginning with a "Z". He told me that particular breaker box had been recalled because it had been known to cause electrical house fires.
During the rewiring, the electrician moved my propane range away from the wall. The range has electrical igniters. Behind the range was a burn spot that could have been caused by electrical wiring. Now, the seller claimed in the disclosure that he was unaware of any previous fires!
Other safety/health issues include:
* The antiquated wind-up heat detectors were listed as "smoke detectors".
* The front door had a hollow interior. This isn't good in the country when you're a single woman living by herself and your nearest known neighbor is at least 1/4 a mile away.
* Part of the deck had dry rot. Another problem the seller was "unaware" of.
* My agent tried demonstrating how "solid" the kitchen floor was. I can simply walk past the refrigerator and it shakes like crazy.
* I've developed heart flutters and acute sinus congestion since I moved here in November. I'm self-employed, with no health insurance, so I can't go see a doctor.
I've tried my best to find an attorney to take my case on a contingency basis. It must be a congingency-fee situation, because I simply don't have much money left. I've tried getting in touch with Renee Harvey, Century 21 Corporate, the FTC, TREC (Texas Real Estate Commission), the BBB in Dallas, the media, and the Texas Attorney General's office. To date, all of these alleged "consumer protection agencies" have struck out, and the corporate big-wigs won't listen. And the majority of the 20 attorneys I've contacted are useless at best. Those that are in the area (60 mile radius) are under Renee Harvey's thumb, so I have flat out no luck there whatsoever. Other attorneys are too far and they won't take my case on a contingency, even though I have enough proof against the realtor and can get more with an attorney's aid.
If nothing else, if you plan to move to the NE part of Texas, *do not deal with Century 21 Harvey Properties*! They don't know beans about disclosing all the problems with a property. You will get burned. I should know, because in the end, I wound up financially ruined for a grand total of $71,000, and the house still needs work!
At least then you hopefully won't wind up unable to sleep, stressed, depressed, and suicidal. You won't have to deal with attorneys that you're seeking to hire that, instead of helping, rip you apart, belittle you, and make you feel like an idiot. You won't have to go through this humiliation or feel like there's just no hope or justice left. Do *not* let it happen to you!
Mia
Clarksville, Texas
U.S.A.
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