Bisendra Melaram: [00:00:00] Welcome back Castle Dwellers to Keys to the Castle. Today we're diving into the latest updates shaping New York's real estate scene. With a special focus on the recently revamped Property Condition Disclosure Statement.

Joining me as always are Jason Kleiger, our Real Estate Attorney, and Jason Marcus, the Mortgage Pro. Hey!

Let's unpack the biggest update. The mandatory PCDS, Property Condition Disclosure Statement. Previously, sellers could opt out by offering a 500 credit to buyers. Effective March 20th of 2024. That option is now gone. Completing and delivering our detailed PCDS is now mandatory for all residential property sales.

He's already shaking his head, except for a limited number of exceptions. Gentlemen, welcome back. 

Jason Kleiger: Thank you, Bisendra. I, I think, uh, I would like to start this off. He didn't wait. He didn't wait. Oh boy, yeah, it's like right out of 

Jason Marcus: the gate. I was strapped into the Bull and I just opened that fence. 

Jason Kleiger: Here we go.[00:01:00] 

Now, this is the attorney's worst nightmare. Maybe not for a buyer's attorney. But why? Okay, so the PCDA, uh, Property Condition Disclosure Act, came into play. And, you know, basically in New York State, you had the option as a seller of giving a 500 credit to the buyer in order to not disclose anything you may or may not know about your property.

Now, that may include the foundation crumbling, abandoned oil tanks, radon, lead, you know, it runs the whole gamut. And As an attorney who would represent a seller, I don't want my client to fill that out. Why would I want my client to fill that out and say, Hey, buyer, please rely on this, uh, itemization that I'm doing here.

And say, hey, there's no, you know, foundational [00:02:00] problems. Okay, well what happens six months, uh, from today? What happens six months from today and there's a giant storm that we've never had before and let's face it We've had giant storms that we never had before. Okay, we've had Sandy. We've had Irene We've had the floods and Queens.

Okay, and now all of a sudden your buyer who you said, thanks for the money Goodbye to maybe what six months ago six months maybe even a year ago and says hey you never told me about this And you were supposed to that doesn't make sense. You know, everything deed crosses the table. That's it. That's my liability.

You give me the money deed crosses the table, I give you ownership. But now I have to tell you everything about my house. And that means, you know, easiest Thing would be I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Okay, there are different options. I don't know. Yes. No, 

Bisendra Melaram: hold [00:03:00] on It's 50 some odd questions. It's I've read it.

I mean, I've read all of them, but I'm just saying it's 50 something questions, right? I don't mean to cut you off. I know you know you got you're heated up. So

Jason Kleiger: And, yes, go ahead, Bisendra. Yeah, I just 

Bisendra Melaram: had a question, So, I'm looking at, because I have notes specifically for you, which I don't normally have. You're ready, you're ready. I'm ready for you today. 

Jason Marcus: We need this info. Right. The 

Bisendra Melaram: world needs this. so, the seller has to, for those that don't know, the property condition disclosure is something that an agent normally gives to a seller when they're selling their house.

Okay, and the seller has to fill this out, to the best of their knowledge. Of anything, anything wrong. Let's just call it anything wrong that they know of with the property that they are selling. if they don't want to disclose anything, their attorney advises them, don't fill it out, we'll give them a 500 credit, and it all goes away.

Right? That's what you were just talking about. At the closing table, you get your [00:04:00] 500, you wash, the seller washes their hands, and everybody goes about their merry old business. That's right. Okay, so now they're changing it. Yep. That the seller is no longer allowed or a seller is no longer allowed to do this.

That's 

Jason Kleiger: correct. That's correct So why is it a dagger into my heart? 

Bisendra Melaram: Oh, yes. Tell us why it's turning the dagger slowly 

Jason Kleiger: so If I'm representing a seller, all the seller has to do is give 500 to the buyer and not have to fill it out. And the liability action, and, and, and this is, you know, as an attorney, we always have to focus on the liability.

Bisendra Melaram: Right. Because your job is to protect 

Jason Kleiger: your client. Right. And how I protect my client is I say, you give that 500. And I've had clients say, oh, I don't want to give that 500. Oh. And then I say, well, I'm not representing you. I've done that before. Really? Yep. I have refused to represent clients. Who will not give that 500 in order to not fill out that statement [00:05:00] and they've always gone back They've always said, oh, okay.

You know what you heard it out. Yes that's how important it was to give that 500 and not fill out that statement and You don't want to get into court into the battle of okay. What knowledge did you have? Okay? What actual knowledge did you have? Okay, you saw that at one point during your 45 years of ownership You had water coming in.

So why did you not disclose that? Okay, maybe that person is somewhere else in an estate. Or maybe that person is, you know, has a power of attorney. And that person just either doesn't remember. Well, wait, 

Bisendra Melaram: how are we supposed to get, in the case of something you just said, in the case of an estate? REO,

Specifically, in those situations where the owner, the actual physical owner is an entity, who is responsible for signing that and how will they be held [00:06:00] accountable in the event that the disclosure is not completed? Well, 

Jason Kleiger: luckily, with estates, especially, okay, because with estates you don't 

Bisendra Melaram: Wait, before you continue, I'm going to read our disclaimer.

This episode is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Always consult with qualified professionals for specific guidance. 

Jason Marcus: I'm not signing nothing! 

Jason Kleiger: It's, it's, it's a scary time. You know, since I've been practicing law, there's 500 and not having to fill out the PCDA.

And Um, you know, I have, I'm also licensed in Jersey, um, I'm doing two New Jersey deals right now and there is no, uh, law like that. And people fill out the, that form, a giant form that says, you know, they don't know about anything. But at the same time, you're talking about the, and, and I brought it up before.

Do you really want to go to court and [00:07:00] say, no, I didn't know about this. And how are you going to prove 

a 

Bisendra Melaram: negative? Well, isn't that what the whole, I don't, I'm going I don't want to assume logically, knowing what I know, there is really no benefit to the seller to complete this form because if they fill it out, honestly, to the best of their ability, they don't know the condition of the property is in because the average homeowner does not know until something breaks 

Jason Kleiger: and you know, that's the trap.

Okay. It's kind of like a trap because You know, some brokers say, you know, fill out just, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, but that's the trap. Because But where does the, 

Jason Marcus: where does the, like, the home inspector get involved in 

Jason Kleiger: this whole thing? You know, the home inspector Who's the professional 

Jason Marcus: who's actually 

Bisendra Melaram: looking for these things?

Oh, that's a good point, Mr. Marcus. Right, because if I represented a buyer in a transaction, I would, [00:08:00] I wholeheartedly, I've said, we've said, we've discussed this at length. I would encourage them to get a home inspector, a home inspection, a very good home inspector to come in and go top to bottom. They do that.

They get a report and anything that any findings that are abnormal get addressed at the signing of the contract before any good faith down payment is made before any contract is signed. So how is that still an issue for the seller? Mr. Marcus has made a very good point. Because there's a third party intermediary saying there's nothing wrong.

This is wrong and it's addressed. So in the case of I'm playing devil's 

Jason Kleiger: advocate So recently and in New York deals I've had two deals Okay. Same inspector. I won't name the company. Didn't do a termite inspection. Didn't do radon. Some of those guys aren't licensed for 

Jason Marcus: those things. Yeah. Exactly 

Jason Kleiger: that reason.

Exactly. 

Jason Marcus: And, and So, lesson learned for that audience, uh, listening out there. Make sure these guys are certified in [00:09:00] the things you need them certified 

Jason Kleiger: in. They, they call them WTI, uh, um, wood, uh, no, I'm sorry. WDI. Wood Destroying Insects. And always make sure that your inspector, um, has that certification. Or if not, that you get An inspector, in addition to your engineer, inspector, that does have that certification.

Jason Marcus: Because some loans require it, but a lot, the conventional loans will not require it unless it is very obvious and evident that there's damage to it. And as we know, a lot of times it's not that 

Bisendra Melaram: obvious. Yeah, a lot of the, 

Jason Kleiger: it's covered. Yeah, but you know what though? An inspector will only do so much and is on the side of the buyer.

Okay. So if the buyer says, Hey, you know, I have this whole report. And it shows me X, Y, and Z. They're not going to say, Oh, the electricity is fine. Oh, there's no radon. Okay, a lot of inspectors on Long Island especially don't care [00:10:00] about radon. It's upstate, okay? Upstate, you know, Rockland County, Orange County you know, they love, well not love, but they hate radon and they will inspect for radon.

And what do you know? That's on that form that we now all have to fill out. You gotta be shitting me. It is. And unfortunately, our, if I'm representing a seller, okay, I actually have to go through that and make sure that if they know that they did have a radon problem, or they currently do have a radon problem, that they have to disclose it.

Because if they write that they don't know, okay, then they're liable in the future. If the new buyer. finds that there's a radon problem. Okay. And here, you know, as you know, as an attorney, what I've been thinking about is, is an exculpatory clause for me, [00:11:00] because this is a big liability issue for me.

Because if I have a seller who lies on that statement, or doesn't fill out that statement, truthfully, I guess that's the same thing. Okay, I have to now say, Okay, Seller, my client, you are filling this out to the best of your knowledge. I know nothing about the house. Okay, if you get sued because you lied on this form, I am not liable because I told you to truthfully fill out this form.

And it's scary for me because I know that what are the, if a seller gets sued after a closing, which is the worst nightmare for a real estate attorney, if the seller gets sued after a closing, they're coming after me. I got 

Jason Marcus: multiple questions, multiple. First, I want to know. Where attorney client privilege comes in, in regards to them telling you something and you [00:12:00] still being liable, but under that umbrella.

Of that privilege? 

Jason Kleiger: Well, it, it, you know, it's a, it's a privilege that can be waived. Um, it can be waived in the sense that now I have to defend myself. Okay? I can't say, you know, if, if someone, you know, if I'm in a civil lawsuit and they say, you know, did you know about this? And if I'm being sued by my former client, okay, I have to defend myself.

What am I gonna say? Uh, you know, I'm, I'm not going to answer that question for attorney client privilege and they're going to say, oh, okay. So, you know, we got a judgment against you. What? Now my 

Jason Marcus: second question, how long is the statute of limitations for the seller after they close? Like when does it end?

It can't just be forever. 

Jason Kleiger: You know, my belief is that it is, you know, and like I said, everything is fluid right now. Because they just, you know, this is something that New York State [00:13:00] and the legislature thought was a brilliant idea. Um, so everything is still fluid. No one has been brought to court. No one has really interpreted that much of the law.

But, you know, I would assume that it's the same, uh, statute of limitations for torts. Because this would be a suit in torts. You could claim that it's a suit in contract because you could say, okay, well, When they filled out that form that it actually is part of that contract but Again, because it's so fluid.

Do we know 

Bisendra Melaram: that is part of that contract actually? Yeah, I don't think I agree that it's all the Legal aspects of it are still fluid, but that is technically from The guidance I've been given about this form is other than I give no guidance on the form, right? I'm not allowed and I should not give directive as to how to fill it out only but to fill it out Okay, [00:14:00] but it's being filled out before there's the existence of a buyer Before the existence of a contract, 

Jason Kleiger: but if I'm right, so I don't 

Bisendra Melaram: understand but actually let's let's not go too far that way Because that's after 

Jason Kleiger: the fact.

But, but listen to this, if I'm buying your house, and I'm relying on your assertions, on, and, and, I'm relying in my detrimental, uh, you know, not capacity, but, you know, to my detriment, on your assertions on that sheet, you know, obviously I have some recourse if you deceived me. But then, oh. The burden of proof, though, like, 

Bisendra Melaram: it's gonna be really hard.

I love playing devil's advocate, you know, right? but in this instance, I want to take the pro position. I'm a seller, I'm selling my house, I listed [00:15:00] it with Bisendra and, right? That guy's awesome. That guy, I love that guy. Oh my god, what a great agent. He's 

Jason Kleiger: the best. 

Bisendra Melaram: He always uses the best.

He's the best. His team is awesome. His mortgage guy and his 

Jason Kleiger: attorney. What a team. What a team. The looks. Yeah. 

Bisendra Melaram: Stunners, those three. So. He's the only 

Jason Kleiger: one that has hair. 

Bisendra Melaram: Hopefully for a while. So, and to the best of my ability as a seller, I fill out this form to the best of my knowledge. There's nothing wrong with this property at the time of sale.

Say they moved in and they hit something or they did a renovation and they, and it happens all the time. People do reno because they watch all this great reality TV and they want to do all these phenomenal repairs under budget cause they're now DIY wires. Of course. They do something with an AC line for their, , AC condenser.

Now the AC is not working. Now that's leaking. Now they have a mold problem. [00:16:00] And they said, you know what? That's the seller's fault. How is that my fault? Because it's going to happen. Because they're going to say mold happened and that mold was preexisting. I'm just giving, you know, I'm trying to make this worst case scenario.

As 

Jason Kleiger: we discussed in previous podcasts, anyone can sue anyone for anything. And that still happens without having to do away with the PCDA form. And the 500 that still happens. What do you think is gonna happen when you open that floodgates? And you say, there it is right there. I did not know about form.

What if they did not know about mold? Okay, but here it is. They should have. Okay, they they hide it. It's a latent defect, and what a latent defect is, is basically that this is a defect that should have been known or was known to the seller, and they did something [00:17:00] to hide it. Now, in New York, you could still be sued for a latent defect, alright?

Even if we hand the deed over, we give the 500, we don't have to fill out the form, you could be sued for the latent defect. But the form will just give more ammunition to sellers for that, to sue upon a latent defect. This is 

Bisendra Melaram: nuts. Yeah, I want to cry right now. Yeah, no, no, no, because we're all in the position of protecting our clients.

Correct. 

Jason Kleiger: Yes. Well, do you want to, you want me to hit it from the buyer's side? 

Bisendra Melaram: One second, one second, I gotta, I gotta wrap my head around this. Full transparency, I've never filled out one of these forms for my seller. Because my mentor told me, all you do is put the property address in there.

Do not even put the seller's name. Put the property address on the form and hand it to them. Tell them, fill it out. This is way before this whole act. [00:18:00] Tell them, fill it out to the best of your ability. If anyone asks, if there is ever a time someone asks you for this, go to the top of your fridge, take it off after you've completed it, and hand it to them.

The only person that should be asking you for this is your attorney. Right? But always hand it to them and let them fill it out. Never do it. And, and I'm saying to myself, But why? Why can't I just sit there? I'm holding their hand through everything else. So my mentor was my father so he's telling no he's like no you don't do it No, it's not your job.

Your job is to provide them with the documentation required and then you walk away Let the attorney handle it after that Look where we are today. Yeah, so now these 50 some odd questions. I did I Didn't read the radon part. So that's especially concerning because radon Requires a special test 

Jason Kleiger: It's on test.

Yep. That you leave there for like a 

Bisendra Melaram: week, right? Listen to this. So most homes now have a combination [00:19:00] smoke alarm, carbon monoxide detector, a radon detector is a completely separate item that you have to purchase. How? I can almost guarantee no seller is going to write that they know that the property has radon because they don't have the necessary equipment to detect it.

Jason Kleiger: And that's completely true. And, you know, you mentioned the 50 some odd questions, and Radon is just one of them. Um, you bet that sellers don't think or know or have the means to know about 15 other, 20 other questions. And which is scary, because it does expose them to that liability. And, you know, you read, like I said, Radon is just one of them and someone like an elderly person who's lived in the same house for 50 years, okay, she might not, he, she or he might not know there are other problems there just because they [00:20:00] haven't been to the basement in 20 years.

Yeah, because 

Bisendra Melaram: probably they're physically unable to do so. 

Jason Kleiger: Exactly. And they still have to fill out the same form as everybody else. Investors. Ah, we build from the ground up. Okay. The only thing that's there is the, is the foundation. The foundation. Okay. And you're expecting, you know, memaw to fill out the same form accurately as an investor.

You know, it to me that just, it doesn't make sense and it, it. You know, opens exposure and, you know, the, the litigation people are probably, uh, you know, licking their chops right now. Um, but Yeah, 

Bisendra Melaram: they're getting ramped up. They're like, wait a second, this is gonna hit the floodgate and then we're all gonna 

Jason Kleiger: But I'm gonna have to do a cover your rear end letter every single deal when I'm representing a seller.

I'm gonna say, you filled this out. I had nothing to do with this. You're filling out to the best of your ability and the best of your [00:21:00] knowledge and, and that's it. I did not advise you on how to fill it out. And, and, you know, that'll at least give me some protection, you know, I 

Bisendra Melaram: feel bad. Okay. So on riding those feelings, right?

Yes. So my primary focus when I deal with seller clients with my, cause I'm a listing agent, seller agent, however you want to phrase it. And I walked them through the process. They're going to come back to me after I hand them that document 

Because They're gonna ask me, why do I need to fill this out? Question one, why? Oh, my cousin's uncle's daughter's best friend told me that I can just give I don't have to fill this out, I'll just give them a 500 credit.

No, that's gone. When has it gone away? You know, like, um, well March 20th? is the date so all active listings on that date that are not in contract prior to the date of March 20th will have to [00:22:00] yeah complete this form and everything that on or thereafter correct. Mm hmm. So wait, so as a seller's agent, do I need to see CYA too?

You know, should, 

Jason Kleiger: see, you know, when, when you're practicing law in a small firm and, or in your own solo firm, Um, you know, things get a little bit more risky, I guess you could say, um, not risky, but you know, there's more at stake, um, as a seller's agent, I would make it clear. And you know, I would say, you know, this is based on your knowledge, not my knowledge.

I don't know this house from a hole in the wall. However, I have to give you this form. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Uh oh. 

Bisendra Melaram: Wait, you, you just made the most sense. I've been talking about this thing for a week with people in my office. I will physically have previewed the property and [00:23:00] physically been there.

You will never go there. Neither one of you will never appear. You will never touch that block.

Jason Marcus: they say they're going to invite me to the barbecue. I never get the invite. Dude, you get invited. I never get the invite ever. Okay, I'm going to make sure. They always tell me I'm coming. I'm going to make sure. They're always fired up and they're always like, Jay, you did awesome. Where's my invite? I want the steak.

Okay, I got 

Bisendra Melaram: it. I want the steak. I'll remind them. 

Jason Kleiger: Get the 

Jason Marcus: good meat. Don't get, don't get like that. 

Bisendra Melaram: Oh, I don't want to, I wanted to, I was just going to say a store, but I was like, wait, no, 

Jason Kleiger: don't do that. No, no, no. We could all read on key food. 

Bisendra Melaram: No, no, no. Actually, key food has some good 

Jason Kleiger: cuts, man. Not key food on Queens Boulevard and Forest Hills, no way.

I will 

Jason Marcus: drop an address on this. And if you want to talk to Tony, he's the 

Jason Kleiger: manager. Let them come after me, man. 

Jason Marcus: It's like, you're not worried about that liability, but you're worried about this? Like, what? Come 

Jason Kleiger: after me 

Bisendra Melaram: He's gonna wind up with a whole rump roast on his doorstep [00:24:00] 

Jason Kleiger: Here's your pork shoulder

Bisendra Melaram: Yeah, that won't be kosher Okay While I try to compute this Mr. Marcus, please tell me there's some benefit to the lender in all of this Yeah, the benefit 

Jason Marcus: is that Jay has to deal with this and I don't. That's the benefit to the lender. It's like I have no worries in the world. I, I literally am representing the buyer.

They have all the leverage in this situation. It's like, I'm on the right team. Yeah, finally. Finally 

Bisendra Melaram: on the right team. Yeah, so he's actually clean on this. Yeah, I'm great. 

Jason Kleiger: I mean, 

Jason Marcus: well, I'm pointing the finger. Yeah, you wish you had radon. Nobody in Long Island had read on you. 

Jason Kleiger: Mr. Marcus, what happens if you get contracts?

Okay. We're in contract. I give you the contract. You know, you drop the deal, you know, you get a contract and let's say this is attached, uh, you know, as a [00:25:00] rider, as a side agreement, whatever. Okay. And you see that the seller filled in basically everything that's wrong. Would that affect your ability or would you kind of say, all right, well, this is the new norm.

This is where 

Jason Marcus: this gets interesting. Okay. So in my world, everything is really about what the appraiser is pointing out up until the point where there's specific language inside a contract that the attorney is, uh, forcing the hand of the bank to basically almost follow up on. So just bear with me and I'll walk you through it.

Like if all of a sudden there is a rider on this contract, which requires five things to get fixed, the bank is going to need something in writing from their client that [00:26:00] these things have been rectified before they're allowing that to close. So a lot of times, like That makes me on that's the only part that kind of makes me like unhappy where it's like, okay, now I'm at the mercy of something that needs to get repaired.

That has to be validated before we're able to close. And now I'm at the mercy of whether or not the sellers are going to do it. And sometimes it might be so simple that I'm getting held up on something ridiculous like A cracked window, but if it's, if it's listed, my underwriter is going to come back and it's like, where is the confirmation that these things have been repaired?

So that's the only time where something like this can kind of start getting into my wheelhouse. 

Bisendra Melaram: So, you know, with you saying that I'm going to see a lot, I'm projecting a lot more escrows for repairs. So how would banks handle 

Jason Kleiger: that? 

Jason Marcus: Generally, when it comes down to it, it's like if there is going to be escrows for repairs, it's been [00:27:00] in my experience that the bank usually calls for one and a half times the amount of what that repair is.

And then I go down a different road. Now I'm going to have to get a licensed professional that actually repairs these things to give me a invoice to show me what this is going to do. So that way I can bring it up the ladder to get that escrow. So it does get more and more convoluted, uh, on my side when that's not handled or it's being handled inside the contract of sale.

Jason Kleiger: And that kind of brings me to, uh, and now, Bisendra, I don't know if you've, uh, had some schedule on your agenda here, but, uh, that kind of brings me to representing a buyer. And how I feel with the, you know, the PCDA and the 500 going away on my side as, as representing a buyer. Now, if you kind of think about this, it's kind of like an inspection report, [00:28:00] but it's also filled out by the seller.

So at the same time, you kind of have to. Take it at face value and as the buyer's attorney, I would say, you know, yes, you know, take a look at this, take it at face value, you know, you can't really trust what they're saying a hundred percent because I mean, what are you going to buy from Mr. Good guy? Like, you know, Mr.

Rogers in his neighborhood. There you go. So, you know. So it's not an inspection. It's not a, you can't treat it as a Certification from the seller to the buyer. You can't treat it like that and in part of me You know would say this is a business decision on a client's part If I show you this, well, I will have to, uh, when I show you this, this is what they fill out.

Remember, they're trying to sell a house for a top dollar, but this is a business decision. [00:29:00] Take a look at this and, you know, if you would like to move forward, we can move forward. And what that gets me is a sense that if they do move forward, If they say, Hey, you know, you put this out there, you gave me the disclaimer of what to expect, what not to really, you know, trust in this, I have my inspection report.

Okay. And I'm going to go through with this. I don't make that decision for clients. The client makes that decision for the client. And 

Bisendra Melaram: that's key. Because a lot of people try to skimp out on the inspection. Oh god. Don't know they really try to go cheap on it I see it day in and day out. Do you have someone cheaper?

I called the three that you get and I give them three call them work out that let's tell them what you want What you're concerned about they're gonna come do a full inspection and then they're gonna address all your specific concerns Right, and they still [00:30:00] want to cheap out. Yeah, but when you're using Qualified professionals that will give you all these things hit all the nails on the head that you want single largest Purchase that most people will ever make you want to worry about 50 60 70 even let's just even call it 200 difference I'm prepared even before this whole PCDA thing.

I'm prepared to pay the extra money Because when I get that report, I want everything, like Bridget, inspection boys, you weren't here that day, but we'll bring her back. She runs her business like a well oiled machine. She wants every nook and cranny done, every outlet done, she wants every Okay, and that's what you want and I think if I correct me if I'm wrong She said that she does termite inspection with every inspection.

Yep So we'll bring her back to discuss all the other finite things like [00:31:00] radon because I'm really curious about that radon thing But people just remember do not skimp out of the home inspection, you know, do your research get everything done So wait that reminds me. Okay, so should I get an exterminator to do my termite inspection?

Would that be more beneficial you think just forget about what we know professionally just from a from an educated 

Jason Marcus: standpoint I mean we live on Long Island and we know that like basically it's just It runs rampant. So like, if the first thing I'm if I'm buying a house in Long Island, I'm talking to the seller about like treatments, because there has to have been a treatment at some point in time, time done.

If they're not treating, I'm not going to be surprised if termites are popping, like, it's just we live in that place. But just to kind of counterpoint what you're talking about, we know that we're not going to have Radon sitting in the bedrock because just the way that Long Island is so like you're not going to see that So like you were talking about we're talking about Rockland County and when I'm doing upstate like that's more [00:32:00] It's just really comes down to the earth itself and like what you're sitting on But we know it's just like if there wasn't some sort of treatment done on termites.

It's almost a foregone conclusion There's gonna be wood damage From some sort of, be it a carpenter ant or a termite, something's poppin But I have a couple of other things where I gotta ask you as a buyer's attorney. What would you say the amount of times you actually review a home inspection? Like, like, how often does that happen?

Um, 

Jason Kleiger: in the 

Bisendra Melaram: past two days. He took a deep breath for that one. 

Jason Marcus: If you didn't see that, like there was a reason I was a little late today. 

Jason Kleiger: In the past, uh, two days, I've actually reviewed with clients, uh, five different, um, you know, uh, inspection reports. Now that may seem like not too much, but, uh, they're, they are detailed and, you know, we're talking [00:33:00] about like 70 pages here and there.

And each client wants something different. And. When you have a client, you might have the client that wants every single thing in that inspection report fixed. Okay. And then you might have a client that says, you know what, I can take care of that. I'm pretty handy. So just the first two things, and when I say the first two things, they're usually like in red and bold saying, you know, this needs to be fixed right away.

There's a cracked window. Okay. But when it comes down to it, you kind of have to remind yourself that it is a business decision. Okay, just like I was talking about earlier. These are business decisions for clients to make saying, Hey, well, you know, here are the issues. Do I want to lose my credibility with the seller and claim that I want 25 different things repaired?

Or do I want to say, Hey, it's a tight market right now. Okay, there's [00:34:00] no inventory. I want to make a strong offer. I just want these two things fixed. Okay. And those are the items that, that generally are important to people and it doesn't lose your credibility. And it's a business decision. I will never say to a, to a client, eh, that's not important.

Don't worry about it. Or, eh, you know what, that's only going to be 50 bucks, okay? Because I'm only an attorney. I'm not a handyman. I'm not a painter. I'm not a, an appliance repair person. Okay? So these are business decisions that you leave up to the client. And yes, if a client wants me to go over, um, a, a inspection report, I will go over it, to a degree.

I will not go over the pile carpet having, you know, one piece missing. Or, you know, a little dent in the side of the house, okay? I will go over the main things with them. But now 

Jason Marcus: you're gonna have, [00:35:00] in your right hand, the home inspection report. In your left hand, now you have this seller's disclosure. Like, I'm guessing that you're gonna have to sit there And almost crisscross to check boxes on each side to get to a point where it's like, okay, here's something that's popping in this inspection report that the seller saying they didn't know about.

So, like, that's where and the other question winds up becoming is like, what is the things that the home inspector basically puts on their form? In conjunction to what the sellers are saying, like, where is that line get drawn where it's like, okay, this is where that person is liable and not liable and is the home.

It's just, it gets so convoluted. I just don't know how you're going to be able to have hours to do your 

Jason Kleiger: job anymore. I can answer your question in one sentence. Go with your home inspector over the PCDA [00:36:00] by the seller. Easy. 

Bisendra Melaram: Easy. 

Jason Kleiger: Just that easy. Just that easy. Okay. If they, you know, here I go over one sentence.

Bisendra Melaram: No, no, no, no, no, no. But I'm going to, I'm going to incite you to go over. So in some cases I accompany as the buyer's agent, . When the buyer is my client I will attend with the buyer to the home inspection and be present.

Mm-Hmm. . In some cases the buyer is not able to attend physically, and I am still there. I feel like that's gonna be a problem for buyer's agent. Well, because now. I'm putting myself in the line of fire. You're not. 

Jason Kleiger: When everything comes to push and shove, and there's a contract out there, okay, it's up to the actual buyer, okay?

There's a exculpatory clause for agents out there that there is no representation about the house, there's [00:37:00] no representation about any setups, there's no representation to anything about the house. And that goes for all realtors. Okay. That just, you know, now buyers can't make inspections a lot. And you know what?

Inspectors love that. They like going around. And they shoot through it. Yeah. Cause they, well not only shoot through it, but you know, a lot of times you have buyers that follow the inspector around and the inspector will miss something. And Bridget, you know, spoke about that. And, and, you know, so it's, it's.

While it's disheartening and almost kind of like discomforting that you're the only representative of the buyer there there it's still exculpatory in the contract. And to be honest with you, whatever's in the contract, whatever it says, and whatever someone signs, kind of cuts off any, I guess, assertions liability, no, not liability, if there's a defect, but assertions, [00:38:00] any kind of representations made by anyone else.

Because all that's consent contained in the contract, they call it the four corners rule, anything that's in the four corners of the contract is what rules and what The court will look at is 

Jason Marcus: another great question. And I'm saying that because I'm asking it

if the inspection report points out something. That's damaged. Okay. The seller has no has put on this disclosure that they're not aware of this. But now this deal hasn't commenced yet. The buyer's aware that this exists. Does that now take the liability off the seller? Cause it's like, okay, I might not know about it, but it's on the table 

Jason Kleiger: now.

And that's, that's one of the strange things that, you know, attorneys are going to have to kind of try to [00:39:00] figure out. Um, you know, like I have the Jersey deals in, in a New Jersey, they actually all fill out that form and it actually becomes part of the contract that's, you know, signed by the buyer and the seller.

So. You know, the fact that, um, you have on one side, the seller saying, I don't know about that and the other side, the inspection report saying, you know, this is broken, like the, let's just call it the dishwasher. Okay. The dishwasher is broken, you know, at the, at one point you can say, all right, well, the dishwasher is broken.

Is the seller going to do anything about it? You know, generally in contracts, it's, you know, all appliances have to be in working order at closing. But. You know, here it's saying, Hey, the seller's saying it's not working and we're saying, you know, or it's working or they didn't know about it. And here we're saying that the, you know, my inspection team found that it's not working.

So I really think that in contract law, it overrides. So if you write in there, Hey, this is not working. The dishwasher is [00:40:00] not working at closing. It will be in working order or my client gets a 500 credit for a new dishwasher. I think, and it's my belief. That in, in light of what's going on right now, that that is what's going to be controlling.

Bisendra Melaram: And I agree. But here's the problem that I see from an agent's perspective, listing agent's perspective. Everyone's coming 

Jason Kleiger: after me. No, no, no. 

Jason Marcus: You're just like this unbelievable ball 

Bisendra Melaram: of knowledge. Right. And we're going to capitalize on that right now to the benefit of our listeners, of course. So what I foresee happening with this new Property Condition Disclosure Act is that buyers will have an unrealistic expectation.

Jason Kleiger: I don't see that. You know why? Because if I had to explain it in a non legal way, I would say you're not getting 500 and don't even pay attention to this. That's what I would say. And that is a complete [00:41:00] non legal way. Okay. That is me just being John Q homeowner or home buyer. Okay. I would say, okay. Look, you're not getting the 500 anymore credit at closing and you see this long form that seller filled out just ignore it.

That's what I would not advise because I'm not being an attorney right now. Right. But that's how I would approach it. Simply because I don't believe anything that a seller says if I'm the buyer's attorney. 

Bisendra Melaram: Right. If you're opposing counsel, If you're on the opposite side of the table. You don't believe the other 

Jason Kleiger: side.

I'm sorry. I mean, you know, blame it on law school. But, you know, we have to look at everything as though, you know, they're our adversary and we have to apply the, you know, the principles and the canons of, you know, uh, viewing of, of contract law. And, you know, and then sometimes we just have to be our personal selves.

[00:42:00] And, you know, I'm a person too. Like, some people just think that I'm the lawyer, but I'm a person too. I've, I've bought, you know, three homes. You know, and, and I can tell you this, that if the seller told me that, you know, there, there's no foundational issues, I'd be like, okay, whatever, throw it out. And then just unfortunately not get 500 of closing.

I 

Jason Marcus: sign a contract. I waive my right to an inspection and I'm buying the house as is. Is the seller completely 

Jason Kleiger: off the hook? Pretty much. Um, depends on what as is means. Um, you know, you're waiving an inspection. That just doesn't, that just means that you don't know of certain things. Now, in the contract could be, oh, uh, all appliances will be in working order.

Okay. If, if all the appliances are not working in, in, in working order, and that's the situation when you sign the contract and there's no clause saying so, then yeah. If something happens to the stove, the dishwasher, the fridge, and they're not working, Then, yes, okay, you can't get new ones. [00:43:00] Um, a lot of contracts, or most contracts will say, uh, that all systems have to be working, where heat, gas, um, you know, plumbing, um, you know, if, if you do a truly as is contract, and that's not in there, and one of those things doesn't work, yes, you're, you're, you know, you're up a creek.

Um, and another thing, just, you know, Leaks. Okay. I always write in, uh, well, hypothetically other attorneys, right. And, uh, no active leaks. Okay. Which means that you're buying as is, um, and they draw out leaks because usually that's in the contract. If there's a leak. Oh, well, but generally what as is means is that, you know, and, and this is the example that I give to all my clients.

A perfect example, you see this wall here, okay, doesn't have a hole in it. That means that right now I'm signing the contract, doesn't have a hole in it. [00:44:00] By the time of closing, it's not going to have a hole in it. Okay. If it has a hole in it, we have problems, but let's say right now it does have a hole in it.

Sign the contract, that hole is still going to be there and the seller has no responsibility to fix that. Because it's as is that's as is as of the date of contract So this seller has no obligation to make repairs other than you know systems, okay, so mechanical systems, so the Garage door will have to be opening and closing windows have to open and close Gas, you know, um, you know, if you have a gas stove, um, you know, heat, okay, plumbing, if air conditioning, okay, those all are systems that have to be in working order unless you truly 

Bisendra Melaram: buy it as is.

Well, even with the loan type dictates what acceptable as is, right? I'll let Mr. Marcus do his [00:45:00] thing, but in the case of FHA has more requirements than conventional. 

Jason Marcus: Yeah, because like now we're going to get to the point where the, I mentioned it earlier, the appraiser comes in and is doing what I call a sight and sound inspection to make sure there's nothing detrimental.

They start seeing exposed wires. For some reason, the FHA is really into chip paint, which I just have never figured out why, but if there's chip paint, they will make notes in that appraisal that it becomes a requirement. They will not allow me to close that loan until those things are addressed. 

Jason Kleiger: What about rails?

Oh God. 

Bisendra Melaram: Please don't get me started. Don't get me. And decks and rails. Rails and decks. So we're talking about this now, right? So I just did an appraisal this morning. I'm not talking about it. I just, I just did an appraisal this morning. Had an appraisal done on a property that I was a listing agent.

Appraiser comes today. So Mr. Marcus said sight and sound. So check this one out. He's taking the photos. So the house has three bathrooms. So he walks in. He walks in. He's like, okay, let me do the bathrooms on the second floor [00:46:00] now. So he walks into the bathroom first So the the sellers are in the process of moving out.

They're packing their stuff up. So the house is a little untidy So he walks into the bathroom Steps in peeks around. So I'm like, what's up? Everything good. I don't normally talk to them Hey, how's you know, you know being cordial nothing? Extraordinary, but that was peculiar behavior for me After witnessing countless appraisals, it's just the way he looked around as if he was checking, I'm like, you good?

He's like, well, I was checking to make sure that that was a shadow and not mildew. I was like, what? It's fine, right? I know the house is But I know for a fact he so I'm like because it took me back I was like He's like, yeah, if there's mildew in the photo The bank is gonna kick it back the [00:47:00] appraisal and I'd have to come back for a re inspection Which I totally understand their whole re inspection part and I'm like, so you're telling me there's mildew I'm not remember he's in the bathroom.

I'm in another room because you're not allowed to be in the photos Anyway, so like wait you got he's like no, no, no. No, it was just a shadow but It was, it looked dark, and the bank has gotten very strict with mildew. And I'm like, what? So, I'm thinking to myself, mold I get. Right away, I get that. But he was very specific.

Cause, there's a difference. And to me, the difference is, mold is much more serious. Oh yeah. 

Jason Kleiger: Right? Well, toxic mold. To me, any mold is, to me any mold is toxic. 

Bisendra Melaram: You know, when it comes professionally, but Mildew just means it's not clean. Yeah. I mean, my unprofessional opinion, because I am not a home inspector and or handyman or repairman.

Okay. So I'm like, [00:48:00] wait, what is dirty? So the bank's going to have a problem with it being dirty. Which 

Jason Marcus: yeah, that sounded weird. That's why I'm bringing it up to you know Um, I've never had something where they made comment to mildew and same thing You know 25 years of looking at appraisals I've never seen a mildew required repair and I'm not gonna get on the case of Appraisers, but I can tell you this, if you charge almost half the cost that it cost an appraisal to do a re inspection, I always found it very opportunistic.

For people to find said things that require one to have to go back where if an appraisal takes an hour hour and a half two hours a Reinspection takes about 48 seconds and they're making basically 50 of what an appraisal [00:49:00] Costs so there are points in time and every lender out there knows this In regards to the agitation and aggravation that we've gone through in Such a situation where a required repair is being Set forth on an appraisal that we are looking at it scratching our head being like There's no way these people are doing it and then to try to have that conversation with the client On them having to pick up that additional cost like becomes they don't want to hear it They don't want to hear it and it becomes an uncomfortable situation Most appraisers as a footnote Cool, like they're not gonna like sit there and like sit there and play this game But I could tell you I've seen it where it's just like I don't know if it's a tactic I didn't know if it was Them just not being great at their jobs, but I've been in that situation where I am in disbelief that these guys are making me have this re inspected because we'll always ask that question.

It's like, well, [00:50:00] like, and I'll give you a perfect example. Okay. And this is actually warranted, but like ridiculously frustrating. The fuse box doesn't have a plate on it, right? So, okay, the fuse box doesn't have a plate on it, we all know that, like, we get the seller to buy the plate for the fuse box, take a picture, and I've gotten into arguments where, how is that Not good enough for this appraiser.

Nope. Gotta go back. You're gonna charge my clients 200 to prove that a plate was put on a fuse box? When I have a picture that matches the picture that you took of said fuse box. And we've all in the lender's world have gotten ridiculously aggravated, probably lost years off of our life, made a ton of money for Drug companies prescribing blood pressure medication.

Because we lose our [00:51:00] minds on things like that. But, like, it's just the nature of the beast. 

Bisendra Melaram: Funny story. So that whole plate issue with the fuse box, I've actually had that happen where the appraiser came the same day as the home inspection. Because they did the home inspection purely for Informational purposes, which is what you do a home inspection for.

Home inspector left the plate off. Appraiser comes in literally, literally 20 minutes after. I have no idea. I'm outside with the buyer. I'm hanging out, I'm talking, you know. Yep. If you don't tell 

Jason Kleiger: me. 

Bisendra Melaram: Appraiser comes in. I'm like, everything good? I hand him my paper. You know, he doesn't have to take it. I'm just like, hey, these are the comps that I used when I, you know, we wrote this up.

He was like, great. Takes it, walks away. An hour, two hours later, I'm getting ready to go to dinner. I get a phone call. Bisendra, what the hell? Like what happened [00:52:00] I was there I was present what there's nothing was wrong. Everything was hunky dory I got a picture of an appraisal and in the basement the fuse panel is missing the plate I'm like, what are you talking about?

I have a home inspector from the same time where the fuse back. I was like, oh shit I was like, oh I was like I was like Give me until tomorrow. I called the home inspector. I'm like, look, we got a problem. And it's not anyone that I would recommend. This is the buyer's choice. I was like, look, we got a problem.

You did the home inspection. You forgot to put the plate back on. He's like, oh, you want me to come back and do it? I was like, no, we got a bigger problem. The bank came, did the appraisal right after you. And you left the plate off and it's in the photo. He was like, oh, just send him a new photo. I'm like, yeah, normally.

But no, so now the buyer has to pay for the re inspection, 250 bucks. Yeah. 250 bucks and they're not happy about it. So I'm trying to mitigate this whole thing. [00:53:00] And I'm sure you don't want to hear them chewing you and you won because we, it was easy to figure out how what happened, right? Because even the listing photo doesn't have it in it.

It's like, Oh man, what do you think I should do? I'm like. Yeah I'm like, do you want to get it to the attorney or 

Jason Kleiger: no? You know what to the attorney part. All right. This is me putting on my no, 

Bisendra Melaram: so long story short don't want to cut you off and I want you to get to your part, but he wind up Eating the two 50.

It's brutal. 

Jason Kleiger: I was like, yeah, yeah. 

Bisendra Melaram: And 'cause he realized it was his mistake as a professional. Yeah, just he was I'll just pay the two 50. Good. At least he stepped up on him. No, that's a professional. Yeah, a hundred percent. And he came back, he came back the next morning, put the plate on on, took the photo.

I sent it. Right. And they're like, no, he's still gonna come do the inspection. I was like, look. The inspector who made the mistake is going to pay for it. He's I'm going to put him on the phone. He's going to give you his credit card information. And he [00:54:00] did it that way. 

Jason Marcus: But it's like that point in time, that's when I'm the, if I'm the appraisal company, I'm being like, you know what you're doing the right thing here.

I'm going to do the right thing. Yeah. And they should have. I was like the fact that they took that money. Like I loved you home inspector for stepping up and owning that. And Mr. Appraiser company, I am disappointed in you because like you saw somebody trying to do the right thing and you still took the money.

And it, to me, like there is just a business ethics involved that very often gets overlooked for a dime. And that's one of those things. It's like, Do the right thing, Mr. 

Jason Kleiger: Appraiser. And, you know, it's kind of funny because, uh, on my end, I get stuck with the, the CD. Mm hmm. And, you know, I, I do a good job of going through it, you know, pretty thoroughly with the That's 

Jason Marcus: the closing 

Jason Kleiger: disclosure to the lame person.

Oh, yeah, sorry. It's the closing disclosure you get where you have to sign it three days [00:55:00] before you actually close. And then, uh, once we Get it in front of you at closing. You're pretty much exhausted and you just want to sign anything. Uh, but I will actually go through with it. Um, you know, with the buyers and, you know, I, I go through that stuff.

Um, you know, even if it's a couple hundred bucks here, a couple hundred bucks there, um, but I feel like it is important because people need to know what their closing costs are and also it educates me because, you know, I, I kind of, you know, people always ask me what, what are my closing costs going to be?

And most of the time, my answer is. I don't know, uh, right, right. You don't take it out alone, but the best part is where, you know, I get educated and I could say, all right, well, I saw a loan, uh, you know, in a deal similar to this and a mortgage similar to this at a rate similar to this. And, you know, so you, you're looking at this amount and, um, I feel that people are more confident about that, you know, so it's, uh, it's comforting.

But the problem is obviously when, uh, certain things pop up. [00:56:00] Um, you know, not because of the bank's fault, but because they have to be disclosed, uh, according to law. Um, but, you know, some things, you know, have to be shown on there, and one thing would be that 200 plus, uh, re inspection for the appraisal. Um, and sometimes appraisals expire, and they have to go back, too.

So 

Jason Marcus: Like 120 days. So if something like and this is a perfectly good point when i'm doing a short sale So in the cases where I do a short sale where I could be waiting like an exorbitant amount of time To make the call and I have one right now, even though in this type of market I'm still head scratch on how that's even possible but um I don't order the appraisal until I get that bank approval knowing that like if I ordered it at the beginning Fine and great.

It would have expired already. I would have cost my client doubled them up on that appraisal It's not worth it. Plus the fact that if anything has gone South back to that site and [00:57:00] sound inspection, they'll point out certain things because now we're talking about they went into contract four and a half months ago.

So, like, who the heck knows what goes on? But here's the, with that new disclosure, what happens after that date for things that are existing in contract? Is that now? Like, are they, how does that work? 

Jason Kleiger: Well, you know, I think Bisendra touched on it before. Um, where listings existing at that time. So, you know, and, and it's funny because Bisendra knows more than I do.

Oh no, so if the listing is still active. On, 

Bisendra Melaram: on March 20th. Cause this year, they, the seller has to fill that out. Yeah, cause 

Jason Kleiger: the attorneys have been going back and forth because, you know, obviously we, uh, look over a law and we just argue it 20 different ways. Um, you know, one way we look at it is as, you know, any, uh, deal that's currently pending.

Yes. Um, that's real property. Um, you know, one through four family has [00:58:00] to fill this out. Um, but then other people are looking at any deal that has not gotten to the contract phase. Um, you know, real property that's one through one through four families, uh, does not have to. Um, so, you know, it, it, it does, uh, provoke some.

Conversation, you know, yeah, because again, um, as an attorney, you never want to say like, oh, I don't know, but I don't know.

Bisendra Melaram: But you'll figure it out and I'll come back on another episode. 

Jason Kleiger: I got three weeks so

Jason Marcus: of a sudden Jay's like Crucified and hanging in front of, like, a state municipality. People start boycotting. That's what happens when you don't know law. 

Bisendra Melaram: I like this. 

Jason Kleiger: It's like, I paid enough, I might as well.

Bisendra Melaram: so any last Words of advice regarding this, the new changes to the property [00:59:00] condition disclosure statement. 

Jason Kleiger: Fill it out. Um. To the best of your ability. To the best of your ability. To the best of your knowledge. Don't lie. Okay, um, and I, I don't know, I don't know any advice for this because it's such a terrible Your advice should be, talk to your lawyer. Yeah. Really, it's such a terrible thing that's happened.

When your lawyer 

Jason Marcus: needs to go to his lawyer, we have problems in 

Jason Kleiger: litigation. It's like, it's, it's a terrible thing that's happened, so. You know, it's not like Fox in the hen house. Yeah, seriously, this is, I don't know, but I'm not, as you can tell, I'm not a big fan of this. Um, you know, but then again, people from, you know, California or Jersey or Wyoming.

Other states have been doing it. They're probably looking at us and you'd be like, what? You have to give 500 and then you don't have to do anything? You know, so, uh, you know, I guess this is, uh, New York catching up with the times. 

Jason Marcus: Cause there's the other little piece of it where it's just like, and we always get into this stuff.

The cost. Of litigating versus like what you're getting out of [01:00:00] that. So it's like most of these things, unless like this house is just like falling apart. Like, it's like, like, I'm not going to sit there and do a lawsuit over a broken dishwasher. I mean, if I'm insane, maybe, yeah. I mean, like, I know that there's people out there that I'm discounting that will be these like crazy people.

But I would think the average person is just going to understand that. This is, this stinks, I wish I knew that, but it is what it is. 

Jason Kleiger: Yeah, I mean, you know, like, for example, I almost bought a house that had so many termites that it ate through a weight bearing beam in the base. No way. I'm dead serious. And so the whole den was sagging.

So, um, let's say and the homeowners were elderly. And, you know, let's say they just wrote don't know. Okay. And let's say five, let's say five days after I moved into that house, that place, you know, just, you know, the den collapsed into the basement. Okay. Now, if I were litigious, [01:01:00] I'd be like, you know what, they wrote, they didn't know.

How could you not know the den is sagging? You know, if you went into the basement anytime in the past 50 years, you'd see there's a so how do you not know? And you know what, if I were litigious, I may sue. Man, 

Bisendra Melaram: you know, the more we talk about this, the more aggravated I'm getting about it and and only because I have the amount of experience that I have and I'm Truly sorry, not only for the newer agents that don't know, but also their customers.

Yeah. And I'm going to tell you why. And I just had another awakening. This is like the third one for this conversation. Right. So check this out. House property listed for sale. Forget about who's representing who. It doesn't matter. House is listed for sale. Mr. Marcus is the buyer. He goes in. He's like, yeah, I like this house.

You're his, you're his attorney. You, you call up, you get your home inspected. [01:02:00] Seller has already completed the property condition disclosure. Let's just for argument's sake, say unknown to everything. Mr. Marcus performs a home inspection, home inspection comes back, finds 10 things, 10 things wrong. Provides a copy of his home inspection report to the seller.

Seller says nah, I'm not fixing nothing. Mm hmm. Mr. Marcus withdraws Right walks away goes to buy something else Here comes mr. First time homebuyer Right, mr. First time homebuyer Does not get a copy of the property condition disclosure Does the seller have to update now their property condition disclosure?

Right. Do they have to now update it? That's a phenomenal question. To know. To now. Because they now, because now they know. Now they know. Wait, wait, wait. For 

Jason Kleiger: what? Wait. Who is the inspector? 

Bisendra Melaram: Privy [01:03:00] to? The inspector's. Privy to the person who paid and who paid. 

Jason Kleiger: The buyer. Is the inspector privy to the 

Bisendra Melaram: seller? No, the seller.

My train of thought is the seller doesn't know the buyer. Hold on, hold on, give me an opportunity. The seller has been put on notice by the previous buyer by providing the document. 

Jason Marcus: But as legal counsel for the seller, you're going to probably advise them. You're not looking at a home inspection. Yeah, I 

Jason Kleiger: mean, this home inspection was done by a drunk guy that I'm not 

Bisendra Melaram: privy to.

That could be, but let's just say they used a very large inspection firm. 

Jason Kleiger: Okay. I wouldn't, I wouldn't change my advice. You are privy to your knowledge and that's it. You are not privy to someone who a potential buyer hired, okay? You are not privy to them. You are privy to your knowledge and your knowledge only.

I'm gonna bust into like what you're talking about. No, 

Jason Marcus: no, no, wait, wait. Now the buyer's [01:04:00] attorney calls you as the seller's attorney being like, I have an inspection report that's saying there's a crack in this foundation. You are like sitting there and again, you're just gonna play. Oh, he's rolling up his sleeves, ladies and gentlemen.

Like, we thought we were ending it. We're just going, like, there's a new round. Oh, yeah. Second win. Second 

Jason Kleiger: win. 

Bisendra Melaram: Okay. 

Jason Kleiger: Now, who are, um, inspection reports certified to? 

Jason Marcus: We agree it's the buyer. 

Jason Kleiger: So does that mean it's certified to the seller? Definitely 

Bisendra Melaram: know that 

Jason Marcus: it's not. It's not, yeah. But you as legal counsel have now 

Jason Kleiger: been told.

No, I haven't been told. So 

Bisendra Melaram: I'm going to one up with you. I'm going to one up with you. Wait, 

Jason Marcus: wait, wait, wait. That attorney calls you up for like a repair inside the contract being like, there's a crack in the foundation. We want that added to the contract and we want like the seller to pay for it. Now the seller has rejected this contract.

The buyer has gone elsewhere. And now the next buyer comes in. You have, 

Jason Kleiger: [01:05:00] I don't have knowledge. Yeah. I only have knowledge of what. My client fills out. Okay. Not even, not even, not even, I'm not even going to read it. I don't even want to read 

Bisendra Melaram: it. No, I get it. I get it. No, but listen, two things. So the buyer's attorney submitted a copy of that buyer's inspection report to you and said, will the seller fix or correct any of these?

And your seller said no. And that's what caused the buyer to walk. So you've been put on notice. As council known as council. Yeah. No, you are representative of the seller. It was Attorney to attorney communication, but if it died at that point hasn't come no it died after the fact it died after you got put on notice like the earth these line items about the next 

Jason Marcus: transaction right now technically you if not both you and the seller know that there was a problem with this house so that's what we're looking for out of him but like when it comes down to it We 

Jason Kleiger: have a [01:06:00] valid point right 

Jason Marcus: here.

We do, we have a valid point. I shouldn't take credit. You have a valid point. No, but 

Bisendra Melaram: I'm gonna 

Jason Kleiger: one up this. If I have noticed that there's a bees nest outside, does that mean that I have to disclose that the house has a bee problem? I would say yes. No, 

Bisendra Melaram: no, no, so I'm gonna one up this. Alright, let's go, let's go.

So now, buyer, what type of mortgage is relevant? The appraiser, no, actually it does It does make it relevant. The buyers Applied for an FHA mortgage. Okay, the appraiser notes an issue that the seller Did not disclose correctly Wait, wait, wait, there's more to this that the seller did not disclose correctly Right?

The buyer walks, the second buyer comes, and that second buyer is also, has applied for an FHA mortgage. But the appraisal has been done. And there's going 

Jason Marcus: to be a case [01:07:00] number, so they're going to refer 

Bisendra Melaram: to that appraisal. So let 

Jason Kleiger: them, okay? Oh, dude! The buyer, 

Bisendra Melaram: the buyer borrower is ready to the bank. Mr. Marcus, you see where I'm going with this, 

Jason Marcus: right?

Bisendra Melaram: Do you see where I'm going with this? Who has loyalty where? The government has loyalty to the 

Jason Kleiger: government. Of course, they always do. But I'm talking about when it comes to who has, you know, the inspection, who has the appraisal, who has, you know, anything that was produced by someone other than the seller.

Okay? Because by giving something to the seller does not prove that that in fact is true.

I agree. I 

Jason Marcus: agree. 

Jason Kleiger: You're welcome. 

Bisendra Melaram: I agree. But whether or not I agree, And if you 

Jason Kleiger: notice, it has no duty of independent inspection to find out if something is wrong 

Jason Marcus: or [01:08:00] not.

I'm you as the seller's attorney, I no longer allow them to send me an inspection or an appraisal. I'm like, I don't want anything from you. You want to tell me that this is it? I'll go back to my client and then I'll tell you that you can go take a walk and we'll let the next guy. All of a sudden now I'm seeing a chain and it's like you're subpoenaed like there's proof that you've received an appraisal from a certified appraiser.

How are you going to deny the fact that you know that like in this email language saying you pointed it out? Nope. That does not prove. It's just nope. It's just nope. Because 

Jason Kleiger: at that time who's the judge? Who's the jury? Who's proving that that's the in fact? Truth. 

Bisendra Melaram: The American people, goddammit! We the people.

It's the, 

Jason Marcus: literally the first words of the constitution! Uh, very 

Bisendra Melaram: interesting stuff though. This is good, this is gonna be good. This is 

Jason Marcus: great, and it's like, I gotta thank, I gotta thank you Jay on this, cause it's just like, you sat [01:09:00] there in front of the firing squad, which we thoroughly enjoyed, and just like, literally just, you're like Captain America, like you just, Deflecting everything.

Jason Kleiger: Wait for the attorneys to come comment and just badger all of them. Oh, 

Bisendra Melaram: it's okay. 

Jason Marcus: We know you guys know. We know. Alright, you're smarter than us. We know. Yeah, that's okay. I'm just kidding. You're not. 

Jason Kleiger: I'm cool. I'm 

Bisendra Melaram: cool with that. They can think whatever they want. I'm okay with that. Yeah, I'm fine. 

Jason Marcus: I'm good in 

Bisendra Melaram: my skin.

Wait, so this is a lot of good information for consumers. Yeah, there's a lot of 

Jason Marcus: good stuff in here. You know, we see it how it's plays out. Yes. It's either gonna be problematic or it'll just yeah 

Jason Kleiger: Yeah, yeah, and I 

Bisendra Melaram: just want everyone listening to to please please communicate with the professionals Use professionals hire good attorney use a good bank.

Take the recommendations of your real estate professional Always get a home inspection. Do not be [01:10:00] shortsighted by money. Right. Because, yep. Yep. Because the average sales price on the market, well, well, I'm not gonna, depending where you are, is in excess of 500,000. I mean, here in New York. Yep. In New York, the average sales price is in excess for a single family of 500.

I think it's 5 36 if I Downstate. Yeah. Downstate. Downstate. Right. Put a asterisk on that. Thank you. Mm-Hmm. . Um. So always use qualified professionals and listen to the advice of your attorney and your lender. They will give you the best guidance moving forward. And please do not ask for the 500 after March 20th.

Right? The date is March 20th, 2024. Do not ask for 500. Do not pass go. You will not receive 500. You're not collecting 

Jason Kleiger: that money. I mean, I'll ask for 500. 

Bisendra Melaram: Yeah, you stand a better chance of collecting it than we do. Yeah, good luck. Okay. All right, Mr. I can't. All right, Mr. Kleiger, any last words? Or words of [01:11:00] advice?

Jason Kleiger: I'm 

Bisendra Melaram: gassed. I'm gassed. Mr. Marcus? 

Jason Kleiger: Neuter 

Jason Marcus: and spay your pets, please. Love you, Bob Barker. Yeah, I finally got the laugh track. Where's that 

Bisendra Melaram: been? Okay, as always, we encourage you to reach out with any questions. Whether it's regarding the PCDS, real estate transactions, mortgages, or legal matters. All of our contact information is in the description below.

And remember a well informed decision is a powerful tool in any real estate endeavor. Let's unlock the doors to successful and informed transactions together. This episode was for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice.

Always consult with qualified professionals for specific guidance. Gentlemen, Always a pleasure. This was a great episode. Thank you very much for being here. Awesome. 

Jason Marcus: Pleasure. 

Jason Kleiger: Great job 

Bisendra Melaram: everyone,