January 21, 2009

 

                                                                                                    

 

Home Buyer Protection Bill Introduced

Summer Wisconsin Supreme Court Decision Puts Home Buyers in Tenuous Position

Madison – Buying a home is the largest purchase most people ever make as a consumer; getting a home with undisclosed defects can cause economic distress and even foreclosure. Senators Hansen and Erpenbach have worked together to draft legislation reversing a summer Wisconsin Supreme Court decision and restoring legal remedy for home buyers for fraud and misrepresentation when a seller lies about the condition of property.

“Immediately when the decision was handed down, I knew something needed to be done. I don’t like to buy into the “legislate from the bench” lingo, but clearly the Below v Norton decision threw Wisconsin’s home buyer protections into chaos. This bill fixes the problem,” said Senator Jon Erpenbach, (D, Waunakee).

Last summer the Wisconsin Supreme Court made a decision in the Below v Norton case to apply the judicially created “economic loss doctrine” to home purchasers that have been sold a home where the seller knew there was a defect and failed to report this defect, therefore committing fraud. This decision left a large void in the protections available to Wisconsin real estate consumers.

Senators Erpenbach and Hansen worked this fall with a coalition of real estate groups, home inspectors, and attorneys to come up with language to restore a home buyer’s right to sure in cases of fraud and misrepresentation.

“With the housing market the way it is, making sure sellers are held accountable for the condition of the property they are selling is essential. Imagine if you are a family that has just made the biggest purchase of your life and that purchase turns into a nightmare because of a lie, this bill would just restore balance to the law and give homebuyers some piece of mind as well as a legal option,” said Senator Hansen, (D, Green Bay).