WHY IS THIS FRAUD?

In today's world of lies, cover-up, and deception (i.e., Volkswagen, IRS cover-up and Veterans Affairs cover-up), this fraud and real estate cover-up is just another example of agents and the MLS lying and cheating the public. 

False advertising and changing the square footage, acreage or year-built date on a home is an inside cover-up. It is the same as altering MPG or rolling back the mileage on a car (making it appear better and newer) in order to get it sold and to cover-up age, other data and any possible health risk with Chinese Drywall.

It is also illegal based on the Alabama Deceptive Trade Practices Act. You can view this Act here: http://www.ago.state.al.us/File-Alabama-Deceptive-Trade-Practices (Page 3 specifically describes the activity considered to be unlawful.)

This is Consumer Fraud 101: The consumers, buyers, and the lenders are not getting what they were told and sold! Changing the square foot, acreage, or a home's year-built date is fraudulent on many levels:

1. You may be living in a home that was actually built during the timeline of Chinese drywall installation, but you never knew it! If the year-built date for your home was changed to be a date outside of the timeline when Chinese drywall was being used, then you and your family could be exposed to serious health and safety risks.

2. Home buyers are being deceived when they are given false advertising, misleading and exaggerated information about the homes they are considering for purchase. Buyers may not, in fact, be purchasing a "new" home, or not the square footage or acreage that is being advertised, but rather a home that is smaller, has less land, and is several years old with electrical systems, HVAC systems, duct work, roofs, plumbing, and appliances that are also several years old.

A "new" home may actually have been sitting empty for years, and you as a buyer may be exposing yourself and your family to health and safety concerns that come with aging systems that you were not made aware of prior to that purchase. The plumbing, electrical, and HVAC/duct systems of homes, as well as the roofs, that sit unoccupied for years continue to naturally deteriorate and age. In fact, some would argue that these systems deteriorate even more rapidly than in a home that is occupied. The warranties on these systems may have also lapsed by the time the home is purchased.

3. Having a hard time selling? Ever had your house on the market and wonder why it wasn't selling? Agents misleading consumers is one of the reasons why! The homes whose square footage is increased, or acreage is over-sized, or year-built dates have been changed are being listed as brand new or newer than their actual build date. Any of these deceptive practices puts them at an illegal and unfair competitive advantage over other homes on the market that are properly advertised and dated. These agents are committing false advertising. Many agents are misrepresenting their homes as larger, more land, or newer and better than their competition, which misleads all consumers.

The entire housing market and all buying consumers, therefore, are being deceived. There are hundreds of examples of homes being falsely advertised every year. The agents are using false advertising and deceptive practices to sell their homes over yours. The buyer who is thinking they are buying a larger home, more land, or newer home is going to choose that home over yours!

4. In addition to potential buyers and the general public, even appraisers and lenders are being deceived when actual year-built dates of homes are changed to appear larger or newer than they actually are. The appraisal of a home affects whether or not a mortgage lender will lend money toward the home's purchase. The lender is making a decision whether or not to financially back and support the purchase of a home, and when the lender is led to believe that the home is larger, has more land, brand new or newer, when it is not, then this is another level of mortgage fraud.

5. Bank agents are involved in this deception because they have been, and still are, overwhelmed with the foreclosure inventory that includes both existing and new homes. They have no idea how long a house has actually been sitting on the market. They either just input the year of whatever an agent tells them, or they add new carpet and paint and robo-date the home to the current year, which continues to cover-up possible Chinese drywall, or just deceives the public for the sake of a quick sale.

6. In some cases, the bank and the agent are working together to deceive the public. In other cases, the agent and the builder are working together to deceive the public. We have proof and records that show where banks and builders have gone into empty homes, put in new carpet, paint and appliances, and move the date two, three, or four years, calling the house newer or brand new, when it is actually much older.

The agents and the MLS have gotten away with this illegal robo-dating practice (and will continue to deceive consumers) with the knowledge of some real estate agents. Furthermore, dozens of these cases have been reported to the local Birmingham MLS board, but they continue to brush it under the rug and cover it up in order for sales to continue.

These reasons alone are clear examples of how agents break every law and ethical requirement by which any business must abide.

The Alabama Deceptive Trade Practices Act-- "The following deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce are hereby declared to be unlawful: ...Representing that goods are original or new if they are deteriorated, reconditioned or altered to the point of decreasing their value...Representing that goods or services are of a particular standard, quality, or grade if they are of another...Disparaging the goods, services, or business of another by false or misleading representation of fact..."

Federal Trade Commission law-- "Under the law, claims in advertisements must be truthful, cannot be deceptive or unfair, and must be evidence-based."

 

National Association of REALTORS - Code of Ethics-- "REALTORS^® shall avoid exaggeration, misrepresentation, or concealment of pertinent facts relating to the property or the transaction."

 

This corruption runs deep within the Birmingham Association, the MLS directors, and numerous agents. The leadership and directors at both the Birmingham Multiple Listing Service and the Birmingham Association of Realtors, in Alabama, know this practice is going on, but they appear to be more concerned with making a sale and the almighty dollar than they are about adhering to the law and their "strict code of ethics" that they claim to maintain. The fraud continues to be brushed under the rug for the sake of making sales over the consumers' rights, health, and safety.

Real estate agents are NOT above the law and should be held accountable for deceiving the public and all consumers.

Consumers can file complaints at a number of entities: the institution itself, the Better Business Bureau, State Attorneys General, the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel, the CFPB Consumer Response Center, other Federal and State agencies, or on-line consumer complaint boards such as www.ripoffreport.com or www.complaints.com.