WHAT IS REAL ESTATE FRAUD?

Consumer fraud occurs in a wide variety of situations involving real estate contracts.  The New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act expressly includes real estate transactions within its scope.   The New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act explains that it applies to the act, use or employment by any person of any unconscionable commercial practice, deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, misrepresentation, or the knowing, concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact with intent that others rely upon such concealment, suppression or omission, in connection with the sale or advertisement of any merchandise or real estate or with the person’s subsequent performance regardless of whether any person has in fact been misled, deceived or damaged.    The New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act is broad enough to include the activities of residential landlords, real estate brokers, real estate agents, real estate developers and the like.  In residential real estate purchases, the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act serves to protect many people in what is the greatest single purchase of their lifetime.

DOES THE NEW JERSEY CONSUMER FRAUD ACT APPLY TO COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE PURCHASES?

 It is unlikely that the purchase of a hotel is covered by the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.

DOES THE NEW JERSEY CONSUMER FRAUD ACT APPLY TO RESIDENTIAL APARTMENT RENTALS?

 In certain situations, professional landlords may be held liable for consumer fraud.  The following are situations where a professional landlord could be found responsible for violating the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act:

·         Using fraudulent practices to deceive a tenant to sign a lease.

·         Fraudulently ending an ongoing tenancy.

·          Raising a tenant's rent above rates set by applicable municipal rent control ordinances.

DOES THE NEW JERSEY CONSUMER FRAUD ACT APPLY TO HOMEOWNERS WHO SELL THEIR OWN HOME?

If a homeowner sells their own home and they don’t sell real estate frequently to make a profit, the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act does not apply to the sale.

DOES THE NEW JERSEY CONSUMER FRAUD ACT APPLY TO CONDOMINIUM SALES?

If sellers and marketers of condominium units commit fraud, they can be held responsible for violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. 

DOES THE NEW JERSEY CONSUMER FRAUD ACT APPLY WHEN BANKS SELL REAL ESTATE TO MAKE A PROFIT?

If a bank sells real estate to make a profit, they can be held responsible if they violate the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.  

DOES THE NEW JERSEY CONSUMER FRAUD ACT APPLY TO REAL ESTATE BROKERS & THEIR EMPLOYEES: The New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act applies to real estate brokers and their employees. Real estate professionals may violate the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act if they fail to tell a buyer about a defect that they know about but not readily observable to the buyer if the broker intentionally concealed the information intending for the buyer to rely on the concealment and the information is material to the sale.  Real estate professionals may violate the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act if they engage in affirmative misrepresentations or knowingly omit information about the property, even if the buyer hired their own inspector.  

In certain situations, real estate professionals can avoid violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, such as where they have no actual knowledge that the information they provide is false, misleading or deceptive and they make a reasonable and diligent inquiry to find out if the information they provide is false, misleading or deceptive. 

Real estate professionals may violate the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act when representing new home builders and developers in real estate sales, such as where the real estate professionals give inaccurate information to buyers about workmanship or fail to warn buyers about certain facts

DOES THE NEW JERSEY CONSUMER FRAUD ACT APPLY TO NEW HOME BUILDERS & DEVELOPERS?

In certain situations, new home builders and new home developers may be held responsible for violating the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.  For example, if a new home developer takes a deposit to build a new home and never begins construction nor returns the deposit, the developer may be responsible for violating the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.  But there are also ways for new home builders and new home developers to avoid responsibility for New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act violations.  For example, if new home builders and new home developers follow New Jersey laws about the disclosure of conditions outside the development, the new home builders and new home developers could avoid responsibility for consumer fraud.

CAN I HANDLE A REAL ESTATE CONSUMER FRAUD DISPUTE BY MYSELF?

Some people can and do successfully handle cases themselves, from filing the first paperwork to the collection of a judgment.  However, many other people also make mistakes that lead to the dismissal of their cases or that result in the entry of a money judgment against them.  The greater the money at stake, the greater the reason to consider using the services of a competent attorney licensed to practice law in New Jersey to handle part or all of the case.  The following are reasons to use an attorney to handle part or all of your case:

·         court fees often change

·         court rules often change

·         court employees cannot give you “free” legal advice and a judge may refuse to let you claim that you were right in taking an action (or in deciding not to take action) because you relied on advice from such employees

·         court forms available on websites may not cover every situation you may face in court

·         each case has its own particular legal issues and therefore, its own challenges

·         it is very common for people to file inadequate or incorrect complaints that result in the complaints or answers to complaints being rejected by the court or being dismissed by the court after filing and before or after trial because of procedural deficiencies  

·         it is not uncommon for judges to get very frustrated by an unrepresented party’s lack of preparation or ignorance of the facts or law of the case. 

·         a court has the power to punish unprepared parties or parties who make mistakes, such as by throwing their case out of court or limiting what they can present at trial. 

·         New Jersey has many published cases, laws, regulations, court rules and rules of evidence that are very tricky and that can be used to prevent you from doing much of what you want to do at trial. 

·         it is very common for courts to refuse to allow a party to use or refer to documents or items at trial that the person themselves never prepared.  Often parties stumble into court with a video, photograph, bill or affidavit or other form of written statement, thinking they are going to use it as proof that they lost money or that they are not responsible for someone else’s damages, only to have a judge tell the parties that it is not going to even consider such items or documents. 

·         without the proper preparation, items and documents may never be considered by the court.  Also, if there are any legal issues to be dealt with at trial, you must be prepared to argue them, which may require you to refer to court rules, evidence rules, laws, regulations or published cases. 

·         you cannot show up at court expecting the judge hearing your case to explain court rules, evidence rules, court procedure or the details of the law that applies to your case.  The judge hearing your case is not permitted to give you legal advice.

It is important to remember that even if you have an attorney, you could lose your case.  No attorney can guarantee results in civil disputes.  Hiring an attorney to handle part or all of your case does not guarantee your success.  However, it may provide the assistance you need to win your case, to settle your case or to avoid certain mistakes.

DOES THE LAW OFFICE OF PAUL DEPETRIS HAVE EXPERIENCE HANDLING REAL ESTATE CONSUMER FRAUD DISPUTES?

Yes.  Paul DePetris has performed the following tasks:

·         represented buyers, sellers, home inspectors, real estate brokers and real estate agents in New Jersey real estate  disputes.

·         handled New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act real estate  disputes.

·         prepared complaints against real estate brokers and real estate agents.

·         appeared in court in cases involving real estate disputes.

WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO HIRE AN ATTORNEY TO HANDLE MY CASE FROM BEGINNING TO END?

In many situations, the Law Office of Paul DePetris offers alternatives to handling cases for an hourly fee, such as by offering to prepare the court paperwork for you or helping you handle your claim by yourself.  Such flexible methods may allow you to keep the amount legal fees you spend on your case to a fixed sum, while providing you the help you need to handle your case.  For a no cost phone consultation about what the Firm might be able to do for you, call or write an email to Mr. DePetris at:  609-714-2020 or consumerlaw@newjerseylemon.com.