Well, I have not been around much of late for good reason. Six days before close on our new property, the plan is dead.

Everything was going great. The well tested clean. All inspections checked out. We loved the house and land. And at the last minute, I discover the next door neighbor is a convicted child molester. It is heartbreaking, but I would never risk my child being in close proximity to that.

Adding insult to injury, we lost about $2,000 in money spent for required fees, tests, inspections and the deposit. I guess the figs and other plants will stay in their pots another year. Just sucks.

John,

Sorry to hear that I know you were looking forward to the room to roam.  Things happen for a reason and you will find an even better place I am sure.  

You made the right choice.  It happened for a reason.  Stay positive!

Unfortunately, the seller had no idea. This screwed up his purchase of a new home as well. As a former journalist, I investigated this thoroughly. I actually found out more than the local sheriff was able to divulge, as the offense was committed out of state. The pervert was 38 when he assaulted the victim, age 13. He served four years in prison.

I know everything happens for a reason; and that it was good to find this out before locking into a 30-year mortgage. But it is just too raw at the moment. We are very sad, after working for months on this and losing our savings. And our window of opportunity is closing, as we have to renew our rental agreement within two weeks or get out. We'll now have to wait a year to try again.

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the kind words.

John,

Tell your landlord you want to sign a years lease but ask for a "home-buyers clause"  addendum.  It is a very commonly used lease tool.   

I appreciate the thought, WillsC. Unfortunately, I tried and was denied. We live in a resort area that is also a college town. Landlords take advantage of the fact that there is no shortage of renters. Good places are hard to come by and good terms are even more scarce.

If this person was a sex offender, he should have been registered.   The seller's broker is required to due his due diligence and disclose it.   You should look more into that because whether the seller and broker knew or not, if they would have discovered that fact had they did their due diligence, then they do owe you for not disclosing it.   You should look into this with the real estate laws/regulations in your area.  

That's how we found out. I checked the NC sex offender registry to see if any neighbors were potential threats. A month ago, he was not there. None of us knew anything until this week when I saw him on the site. He just moved in.

Unfortunately, a recent effort to make such responsibilities fall upon the brokers/agents failed to pass. It was determined that revealing such knowledge would scare away buyers and hurt everyone's sales. In this state, it is for buyers to discover. I did not know this when I checked. I was just doing extra work to make sure no surprise issues would arise after signing. Dodged a big bullet.

P.S. - Now that a buyer (me) has discovered the sex offender is present, I believe the seller and agent are required to reveal that information to future buyers, as it is now known as a material fact, like bad well water or a cracked foundation. Regardless, I read that having a sex offender in a neighborhood reduces home values on average by 15 percent. No one is going to be happy he is there.

I actually believe that the seller knew nothing. He's not the sharpest tack. And he got screwed, too. He now has to cancel his close on a new house and loses his money spent on inspections and such. No one wins on this one.

You will hurt for awhile to be sure, but you fortunately are out of that deal. The future is still open to you.

That sucks.  Sorry it happened to you. 

Consider the $2000 you lost actually a gift to yourself for not having to constantly worry everyday about this creep living next to you, and possibly worse things that could happen had you bought the property.   Glad you escaped from that.  

sorry to hear about this. but family comes first. call me medival, but i only believe in one form of pushiment for any kind of sex offenders, and people who kicks puppies.

I'm with you on that one Pete! The US is WAYYYYY to lenient with this type of thing.

John, you didn't lose money, you invested it in your child having a happy safe childhood and kudos to you for caring enough to check. Some people wouldn't have thought to check it out and been sorry for it later.

As far as your lease goes, if you break it and they rent the place out, they can't charge you. If there are as many renters as that it may work to your benefit.

As much as it hurt, I was immediately thankful for the discovery. I have no desire to live on edge constantly. Ultimately, it's just a house and land. Family is worth so much more. The next place we find will be better.

Ironically, my realtor offered to give us a short-term rental in a home he owns, until he could find us another house to buy. My luck - I checked that one out and found a repeat offender living in even closer proximity. This dude just looked plain evil. Scratch that option.

Being a firm believer in signs, I am taking it as a crystal clear message: "Hey John, it's not time to move."

what's up with wilmington? it must be so many beautiful young ladies at the UNCW.

Oh, there are indeed, Pete. I love it here. :)

I didn't read all the posts as I'm having a bad day -- car accident -- but John -- geez. You did what you needed to and I give you a much deserved "attaboy" but it obviously stings and is a huge bummer.
I'm glad you decided against the 180 grain hollow point solution, etc. Karma will fix this. You protected your child like a real man would and I take my hat off to ya.
It's a damn good thing you found out first. 2 grand is nothing compared to the damage that SOB could have done to your kid(s) and the years you'd have to spend in prison for ripping the pervert into small ragged pieces.
Good job. sorry about the set back.
mgg

Michael,
Are you okay?

I hope your accident was not too bad. Thank you for the kind words. Yeah, I think this will eventually work out. Just need to regroup and try again. At any rate, it has to be better than a scenario where I am forced to hide what's left of his stinking carcass in the septic tank. I would prefer to remain on the good side of Karma and out of jail.