Question: My husband is being transferred from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Phoenix. We have looked online for homes in the east Phoenix/Arcadia area that are under $1 million. We have one home that we really liked, which was in our price range and had a view of Camelback Mountain. The following weekend we flew to Phoenix to meet with the listing agent, mainly to see this home. When we got to the home, there was no view of Camelback Mountain! The listing agent said she had made a mistake, and that she had meant to say, “near Camelback Mountain.” She apologized and wanted to show us two of her other listings. We were livid and refused to accept her apology. The next day, with the assistance of another real estate agent, we bought an east Phoenix home that will
close in 30 days. My husband says that we were classic “bait and switch” fraud victims. What are our rights?
Answer: In addition to a potential common law fraudulent misrepresentation claim against the real estate agent, you could have a “bait and switch” claim under the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act. “Bait and switch” is the advertising of a product without the bona fide intention of selling it (the “bait”), for the purpose of establishing contact with a prospective customer in order to induce (or “switch”) this customer to purchase another product.
Have a question about real estate law? Email Christopher Combs at info@combslawgroup.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Can Arizona real estate agents 'bait and switch' listings?
