February 10th, 2008Caveat Emptor, Stupid
But that feeling you get when you realize just how much your hasty decision cost you can often last much longer than the rewarding benefits of the intial expenditure. Most of us can shrug this off and learn from the experience but, in the ever-litigious United States, there is another option available: call the lawyer and make a run for the courts.
And why shouldn’t people do this? Our idiocy can often be blamed on others so long as we have the cash and time to back up our rage, and this is certainly the case with Marty and Vernon Ummel.
The couple recently purchased their California home during the height of the housing boon and, now that the market is cooling, they feel they paid too much. So, in absense of common sense and reason, they’re suing the real estate agent that sold them the house, claiming everything is his fault.
Stupid Is As Stupid Does
The charge, you ask? He didn’t tell the Ummel’s that similar houses in the neighbourhood were selling for less because he didn’t want to lose the $30,000 commission. What about the appraisal that’s required before every mortgage? They feel that was manipulated, too.
Oddly enough, it seems that Marty, a fund raiser for California State University, and his wife, an administrator at Dominican University, has never heard the term “caveat emptor” (or buyer beware, in English). So they had no trouble dropping the $1.2-million for their home located on the outskirts of San Diego, but after hearing that the place down the street sold for $100,000 less a few weeks later, they want blood.
I wonder if they would complain so much if their house had appreciated by $100,000. Heck, if houses appreciate, can an agent come knocking on your door and demand a little more commission? As far as I know, no real estate agent has ever tried something so obviously stupid, so why is the court even entertaining the reverse?
They Say One Is Born Every Minute
The lawyer representing the Ummel’s makes a pretty strong case against the real estate agent when you look at it from the perspective that customers have no free will or need to conduct an independant investigation of the area, but what ever happened to due diligence? This is no different than buying a cell phone off sale, then seeing the same phone go on sale a month later for half the price. Who’s to fault? The salesperson for not telling you to wait a month, or you for wanting something without conducting a reasonable amount of research?
Heaven forbid we open a book with house prices.
I have very little tolerance for people who get their lawyers on the phone every time they’re too stupid to take appropriate precautions to protect themselves. The Ummel’s mentioned that they trusted the real estate agent, but just how much can you trust someone who’s sole income is based on what he sells? I learned the hard way that when something seems too good to be true, it usually is, so why are these people who are close to retirement so trusting of a salesman? Heck, what kind of car do they have? Is it yellow and have a scent of citrusy goodness?
It’s situations like this that make me wonder if it’s legally safe to do anything in this world. When you look at some of the crap that people have sued for, it can leave you dumbfounded. Heck, I kow it leaves me speechless at times.
Putting piping hot coffee between your legs while driving. Slipping on the floor in a house you’re robbing and injuring your back. Buying a house during the height of a market boom from a man who is paid according to what he sells. These aren’t things that should be settled in a court system. These are things that people should instinctively realize and stay away from.
The poetic justice of cause and effect is something we should understand efore our 16th birthday. How this couple managed to evade the lesson for 60+ years is well beyond my reasoning.
I hope the judge throws the case out.
I’m not a huge fan of real estate agents but I would definitely agree with your position Jason! People just don’t want to take responsibility for their own actions and this is just another case of that.
In America, you never have to take responsibility for your actions. That, my friends, is the American Dream.
With all the cluelessness going on in that country, I’m surprised that more illegal immigrants aren’t trying to cash in on the foolishness of the many who actually think this way.
That said, I do feel sorry for all the hard working individuals that always try and do the best thing, only to get taken by the cleaners with taxes, deductions and other financial difficulties