What’s the harm in a little white lie? Many of us are trained to tell them as a way to minimize harm, distress or delay. In the context of property sales contracts, however, any lie – big or small – can result in enormous liability.
Property sales contracts are confusing enough without sorting through what’s true and what’s not. If you’ve based a property purchase on information that turned out to be false, you should contact a real property attorney who can help you recover the appropriate damages.
When it comes to property sales, false representations of all kinds can give rise to an action for fraud. Perhaps the easiest to understand is a flat out lie. If a seller of real property makes a material representation that is in fact false, he or she is likely subject to liability if the buyer relies on that false statement.
Sometimes, however, what qualifies as a false statement isn’t always so clear. For example, imagine a seller lazily represents to a buyer that farm-property for sale contains, more or less, 10 million marionberry plants. If it turns out the property really contains half that amount, the seller can be subject to liability for hedging on that factual representation.
The examples of what constitutes a false statement are almost endless. Everything from a seller’s opinion as to the property’s value, to intentional concealment of relevant facts can constitute actionable false representations. If you feel you’ve been lied to or given a bum steer in the purchase of property, you should contact a property sales attorney to determine what damages are available.