The lawsuits start….

[bubble_contagion]

We all knew this was coming. Flippers that are now upside down are looking for technicalities to sue developers to recover some of the losses.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20060802-9999-1b2condo.html

[PerryChase]

” She paid $343,000 for the fourth-floor, upgraded condo, which she is now renting out.
“I’m trying to make this an investment, and now when I sell it later, I’ll have to sell it at a lower price,” said Parane, a clinical laboratory scientist. “I feel like I’m being defrauded.” ”

I’m guessing that Lori is getting about $1,200 in rent for her 643sf condo. Does that sound like a good investment to you guys?

[lamoneyguy]

Virtually every major boom/bust cycle is followed by “discovery” of fraud, lawsuits and government regulation.

See 1929 crash followed by the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

See the 2000 tech crash followed by Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002.

What will this one bring?

~lamoneyguy

[bub]

Oh yeah let the festivities begin!

I have watched the infomercial for these “homes” many times. I find it fascinating how they combine models (human type) with “actual homeowners”.

Quite an interesting marketing plan.

[yooklid]

Tears, all the way down to my boots.

Didn’t she get an inspection done?

[VCJIM]

Before purchase, I calculated the square footage of my house and irregularly shaped lot with tape measure and calculator. Isn’t this just common sense?

[yooklid]

Yes. when have these flipping morons ever applied common sense though?

[bubble_contagion]

This news is also in the NBC 739 website. It may make the TV news. I have the brochure from 2005 and it says below each floorplan:

“Actual floorplans, illustrations, square footage are aproximate and dimensions may vary.”

Also below each floor plan it says: “Approx. XXX Square Feet”

The question is, how approximate can a developer be? Off by 1-2 feet? 10-20? 25-50?

[sdappraiser]

My guess is the developer reported gross building area which includes thickness of exterior wall areas and some interior open to below areas.

Someone took a look at the appraisal and saw it didn’t match because the appraiser is supposed to measure interior wall to wall floor space, excluding exterior walls and some stairwells. This can easily account for a 8-10% difference.

This is very common. I have, however, run into a couple projects where it appeared the developer also included patio or balcony space which is definatly misleading.

[PerryChase]

SDAppraiser, do you normally find differences between appraiser measurements and builder square footage figures?
Are stairwells usually included? What about front porches and back porches?

[Author]

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