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Bigger is NOT always better:
When I contracted with Marcus & Millichap to act as my agent in the purchase of this building, I did so, content in the knowledge of their self endorsement as...
The nation's largest commercial real estate brokerage firm
Based on erroneous information that Marcus & Millichap provided to me on the purchase contract, I felt comfortable buying this 100 year old building, because of the apparently unbroken chain of ownership and maintenance by the Kier Corporation, from the time that they rehabbed the building in 1987, through my purchase of it in 2005.
According to the information that Marcus & Millichap entered on the purchase docs, the selling entity was a corporation named, Mountain Range Partnership.
Note that the seller, Gary L. Carter signed or initialed
every single one of these documents and never corrected the seller's name.
Doesn't he know the name of his own company?
Doesn't he know the name of his own company?
The Kier Corporation owned this building under the name,
Mountain Range Partnership.
Mountain Range Partnership.
At the physical inspection of the property, it was only employees from the Kier Corporation who were on hand to answer my questions about the condition of the property and any building defects that the inspector had discovered.
One of the defects that the inspector noted, was the apparent presence of Polybutylene Water Pipes throughout the building and evidence of previous water staining and repairs made to the plaster. The inspector also noted that some Polybutylene pipes were known to leak and found to be defective.
Concerned about these findings, I asked the Kier representatives who were present at the inspection, if the Polybutylene pipes in the building were the ones that were found to be defective. The Kier representative stated that they were not. I also asked the Kier representatives if the evidence of previous leaks that the inspector had found, were due to leaks in the building's Polybutylene pipes. Again, The Kier representative stated that it was not.
Operating under the assumption that the Kier Corporation was the seller (based on the erroneous information that Marcus & Millichap had provided to me on the purchase contract), I took this statement from Kier to be a truthful response from the seller, whose primary business was building and construction, and who would be better informed than most on the subject.
Satisfied with the answers that Kier had provided about the building's condition (including the Polybutylene pipes), I bought the building and contracted with Kier for their continued operation and maintenance of it, as they had done since 1987.
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In December 2009, I discovered that Kier had recorded a whopping 81 water leaks at the building since I had bought it, and never told me about most of them....
81-water leaks related to defective Polybutylene pipes
When I tried to hold Kier liable for their false statements during the physical inspection, I discovered that Marcus & Millichap had made some serious errors on the purchase contract.
Although the purchase contract clearly states across the board that the selling entity was Mountain Range Partnership (Kier), the actual seller was a corporation named Utah Home Mountain Range LLC.
Although the purchase contract clearly states across the board that the selling entity was Mountain Range Partnership (Kier), the actual seller was a corporation named Utah Home Mountain Range LLC.
Had the Kier Corporation, (Mountain Range Partnership) actually been the seller of this property, as is indicated on the purchase docs, I would have had a strong case against Kier for the willful non-disclosure of a serious property defect.
Instead, what I have are property damages and repair bills mounting into the tens of thousands of dollars, and no recourse against the seller for non-disclosure, because it was not the seller who denied that the pipes were defective during the physical inspection, it was Kier.
.... Listen to This ....
Kier's maintenance man admits that they have another building with the same defective pipes
and refers to them as, "JUNK PIPE"
The following are emails exchanged between myself and Marcus & Millichap on the topic:
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While Mr. Muldirch was eager to learn how I had been damaged by the errors of Marcus and Millichap employees... Once I laid out my damages to him, he chose to stop responding.
One Last Try...
And finally Marcus & Millichap responds...
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I contacted Benson L. Hathaway, the attorney that now represents the seller, Utah Home Mountain Range LLC, to have him ask his clients if at any time, they authorized the Kier Corporation to answer questions about the property on their behalf, regarding its condition and/or any defects that the building had, during the sale of the property to me...
... I asked him again
... and again
Mr. Hathaway finally sent this undignified response....
To which I responded with...
Things That Make You Go... Hmmmm
