Carlsbad Realtor Lawsuit: Comparables for the Property in Question

People will file a Lawsuit over almost anything these days. It should be the law of the land that if you loose your lawsuit and also loose a counter suit for damages it is counted as a criminal offence.

What seems an interesting aspect to me is that one of the other sales in question did not have as many upgrades and had some sort of location problem (backed to a busy street or a drainage ditch — I don’t remember what exactly), but it sounds like the house involved in the suit has a view and was substantially different on the inside. Even in tract subdivisions the amount of upgrades and amenities can create wide differences in price.

Hello Eric – thank for posting those stats! I was very interested in seeing them after reading the headline. Quick questions:

1. The zip code in the second set of stats is different – is the Ummel’s home on the edge of the zipcode?

2. Did Mike Little also originate the loan? The article states that he ‘pressured’ the Ummels to use him – but it doesn’t provide a follow-through. If he ordered the appraisal then I assume he did, but the article also states that they settled with the mortgage broker before going to court. The broker is unnamed and no other connection is given to Little in that regard. Does your friend in California know any specifics on the mortgage end of the deal?

Hey Mare – thanks for your interest. From my friend in CA:

The zip code changed less then a month after she bought the home:
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/03/22/news/coastal/32105202735.txt
When she bought the home the zip code was 92009.

The border to the next zip code is El Camino Real, about four blocks east.
Here is a map:
http://www.carlsbadliving.com/Aviara/page_1906251.html her home is off of Ambrosia Ln on Amante Ct.

If you look at the above map you will notice that homes with any view are selling for a lot more then homes without a view… Her home was advertised to have a view deck off the Master bedroom which would have a View of the Golf course and possibly a view of the lagoon which is about .5 miles away.

As far as whether Mike Little originated the loan? Re/Max Associates had a financial interest in a Mortgage company which allowed the agents to do loans and real estate. Not sure if that was the situation.

Another possibility is if Mike Little is a Broker, in California we are allowed to hang our licenses with Real Estate companies and Mortgage companies or own a Mortgage company and work for another Broker. From the article it looks like Mike either brokered the loan, originated it, or co-brokered it by taking the 1003 and all the paperwork and then forwarding it to another LO (all options are legal here).

If these home sales are correct then I would say her house was within the average cost and range of homes in her area. However, I would like to reiterate that I feel the Ummels felt they were deceived and mislead. Again, this is where that Contract between Realtor and Buyer comes into play. The Consumer, has a tendency to Trust the Realtor and his or her expertise because of their so-called allegiance to the Fiduciary Responsibilities. And at this level of expense, I most certainly can believe that the Ummels felt they were dealing with someone who was most definitely going to do right by them. And in their eyes that meant they should have been made aware of all of the listings in the area. Truly, if this house was similiar to what they were looking to buy, and it was less money then why didn’t the Realtor bring it to their attention….

Anyway, we will find out soon enough what a court of law will decide….

I am glad the jury went against these people! Always place the blame on someone else is todays moto. I really hope that cab chasing law firm got nada, zero, zilch!!

There was nothing wrong done here and they should pay all court costs.

Well question is did she over pay ? There are many black sheep in real estates because there is simply so much money to be made. Will read the whole story…