I was working with a Professional Home Inspector as we were inspecting a Victorian home that was about to close escrow, when I found the ground outside to be rather soggy. I questioned the owner, (which happened to be the City of Pomona), why the ground was so soggy.  Their agent told me “not to worry”. The sprinklers had been left on for a few days and the ground was overly saturated. It sounded logical, but I asked the Home Inspector to notate the pudeling, in the report. I then wrote a professional letter to the City Attorney, and suggested that it may be more than a sprinkler problem. I thought about the problem, and knew that at some point we might have to go back to the City to request repairs. Who better, than the City Attorney, to communicate with? The inspector and I also noted some dry rot from the wet soil. The City continued to say there was nothing wrong. And since the house was vacant, the City claimed no knowledge of any problems existing. There was no disclosure stating a problem with water seeping under the house, however, they did state that at times, water would puddle lightly, under the house after a heavy rain. The term…pudeling lightly, really concerned me. I wrote again, stating that the purchase would not take place unless they were willing to put in writing, a guarantee that stated, “in the event of an improper grading or other related problems, causing the saturation of the soil, the City would be responsible to pay for any damages and or corrections”. They agreed, feeling confident that there was no grading problem. I retained a copy of the Home Inspectors Report and the City Attorney’s letter, agreeing to my request.

A year later, a heavy rain hit, and there was flooding. The water went into the basement where the heating and air conditioning equipment suffered water damage. I ordered a termite company out to investigate further damage and they stated there was so much dry rot, that the lovely hand carved wooden porches had to be replaced. Subsequently, a letter was sent to the City, and I asked for the repairs to be done, and requested the soil be tested.

After investigation, it was found that the problem was in fact…improper grading. It cost the City of $10,000.00 to install drains throughout the yard, replace the heating and air conditioning and rebuild the porches.

Secondly,

I had clients who had found a property they wanted to purchase for a day care center. It was a 5,000.00 square foot home, on one acre. After investigation, I found there were numerous permits that were on file with the City, that were never finaled. Half of the house was room additions that were not legal. By law, the City could have asked the seller to tear down all the portions of the house that were not finished, or bring those parts of the building up to code. The seller was an investor who had no interest in putting any money into this house. His response to the City’s request to bring the property up to code was to “sell it as it”.

My responsibility is to my clients. I could not recommend they proceed with the purchase until I knew more. I went to the City, and pulled every permit that was on file. After making copies, I gave them to my potential buyers. I arranged a meeting with the City Inspectors who had red-tagged the property. During the meeting he informed us, that the City would not allow escrow to close until the house was brought up to their legal standards. This would have taken months, or longer to accomplish and we had a seller who refused to make the repairs. He kept insisting that the house was being sold as is. The buyers could not close escrow, unless they first, made the repairs. I advised against this.

Finally, I met with a City Council Representative for that area. The house was being vandalized and virtually destroyed. It was a haven for gangs. I convinced her, it was in the City’s best interest to allow the buyers time to bring the property up to code, after escrow closed. I would arrange for the buyers to come in and sign paperwork to satisfy the City that they would perform these repairs within a period of time. I advised my clients to have an attorney look over this paperwork before signing. I then hired a contractor to go out to the property and give the buyers an estimate of repairs to complete all the work that needed to be done. Upon receipt of that estimate, I forwarded it to the other agent and the seller. At that point, I negotiated a huge reduction in price, to cover the cost of repairs. My clients bought a 5,000 square foot home on an acre of land, for less than $300,000.00 in 2002. The seller was just happy to get rid of it. We all thought the property would not be able to be sold, and as it turned out, everyone was happy.

Needless to say, they were eternally grateful.

You can count on me to give you the same level of service! It is my goal to be well known for my Integrity and Professionalism in all aspects of life, especially in my real estate career. 

Thank you for considering….Annie Taranto-La Plante!