Howie Hayman
 
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Home - Story - 2018
STORY 2018
This year we moved to our new house in Japan and are finally settled....NO MORE MOVING. The house we purchased has a one and a half car garage, a concrete storage building, and a huge farm storage building, all this on about a quarter acre of land. The house was basically in really good condition but the outside was a mess. Much of the year was spent completely changing the landscaping and painting and staining the outbuildings. The island was hit by a really strong typhoon, in fact, the eye went directly over the island. It was crazy and pretty much destroyed the huge 100 year old tree at the entrance of our property. During Summer, we threw plenty of house parties. We spent a lot of time at our favorite beaches and went to lots of music events.

WE ARE SELLING OUR MOUNTAIN
私たちは山を売っています。
  • January 2018 - A train ride and a mystery bowl of ramen.
  • February 2018 - No posts.
  • March 2018 - No posts.
  • April 2018 - No posts.
  • May 2018 - No posts.
  • June 2018 - No posts.
  • July 2018 - No posts.
  • August 2018 - No posts.
  • September 2018 - No posts.
  • October 2018 - No posts.
  • November 2018 - No posts.
  • December 2018 - No posts.
January 30, 2018 - Regular Mail

This is a letter, which was later revised, and then sent to each sister of the crazy owner of the adjacent property, written sometime during the beginning of this year.

To each sister

Hi. We are writing to you about the situation at our property which your brother used to own. We tried calling you on the telephone but you did not reply. In addition the real estate agent who sold us the property has tried to contact you via phone and letter and you did not reply. Now we believe the real estate agent did not give you complete information about the situation. We are writing to you in order to come to an agreement to resolve the many problems in a nice manner which will benefit both sides and avoid the need to go to court.

This is a summary of the situation related to our property. When we purchased the property from the previous owners we trusted their word and the information on the disclosure form. We also trusted the real estate agent and his company to complete the property sale ethically and to represent both sides of the transaction, both the buyer and seller, in a manner which would be fair to both parties. Then on our own, we discovered the following.

The previous owner lied on the property disclosure form stating there were no utilities from this property located on the adjacent property and there were no utilities from the adjacent property located on our property. A representative from the septic company informed us that in fact our drain line goes to the adjacent property and then runs a long distance out to the street. The same septic company representative also informed us that the previous owners knew about this situation.

In addition we discovered that the water line was not only connected to the adjacent house but also to the relatives house on the other side of the adjacent house which your brother confirmed. Even with this information the real estate agent denied this was possible. Then we went out and found the line was in fact coming from the adjacent house which representatives from the town confirmed.

There was also an outside water line installed from the adjacent house along the portion of land behind our storage buildings which was also confirmed by your brother.

We continue to deal with issues related to this situation including a shower which often goes to a small trickle of water and drains which are slow and smell due to drain issues on the adjacent property which the same septic company representative confirmed. The septic company said your brother owes money to the company and we are worried that they might not repair a drain problem on your property which will affect our property.

In addition the agent did not disclose the fact that your brother was the previous owner of this property, and that the bank foreclosed on the property, and that he had rented this home, and that the previous owners had thrown him out due to non payment of rent, and most importantly that he is now residing in the adjacent home. This was an important material fact that if we knew then would not want to purchase this property. The day after we arrived at this property a representative from the service company said it was a mistake to purchase this property. She stated your brother was on record and in the newspaper for stealing and other issues. He eventually stole a tool container from our property which he claimed was his, he has complained about our dogs to this town, he continues to enter our property when we are out, and continuously watches us from the second floor of his home, from his entry, and from the adjacent farm. Sometimes he simply stands and stares at us for many minutes. We already talked with the police a couple of times and they said there is nothing they can do until he commits an actual crime.

This entire situation has made us construct walls and put in landscaping to keep him from being able to watch us. All this work has taken a lot of effort. In addition we are going through a lot of mental stress not knowing what he will do next. We are unable to enjoy this property and are now seeking, not only a solution to the utility problems, but also monetary compensation from the agent and the previous owner for the stress which we continue to endure.

Even though the agent and his company knew of all these problems, they did nothing during the months we owned this property. They came up with many solutions which we agreed to and then they did not follow through on any of them. They even came up with crazy solutions like running the drain and the water lines across a neighbors property who is not even involved at all in this situation. And most recently they proposed to visit this property and talk to your brother to resolve this situation and then did not show up.

In addition, your brother continues to burn garbage and plastic in his yard even though we complained to this town to get him to discontinue. The smell goes directly into our bedroom and now we are forced to close the windows even on hot days. He owns approximately eight cats which are scratching the wood of our buildings and shitting all over our garden. He continues to do nothing in his farm located behind our storage buildings. The trees and grass are tall and hiding many snakes and bugs which are affecting our property and creating an unsafe situation for our family.

We are now thinking formal legal action is the only solution. We contacted an attorney and we were told the following.

We can make a strong case against the real estate agent and his company, and the previous owner for negligence, due to nondisclosure of important facts and for not resolving this situation for us.

We can also make a strong case against the your family since you illegally installed the utilities many years ago which did not match the utility plan submitted to this town when the construction of this house was made.

We want to avoid legal action as this will be expensive and time consuming for everybody. We originally proposed purchasing all or part of the farm behind our property to give us legal access to the street. Originally your brother said he would think about it and then he changed and said no. He does not know the reality of the situation and seems to change each time we talk with him. We are asking you and your sister to help resolve this situation without going to court. All we want is to separate out every issue between our family and yours. We are requesting the following.

You sell us the farm behind our storage buildings. We already obtained land value estimates ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 dollars. We would be willing to pay the $5,000.

If this is unacceptable then we would be willing to purchase only the westerly 8 meter wide section of the farm which runs along the driveway, approximately 30 meters, which is owned by us and your family. This section of your farm is covered with trees and weeds and not useful as a farm but would give us the space to adequately install our utilities. In addition, we are requesting you transfer your ownership interest in the driveway which we all own together. This driveway has no use to you and your family as the driveway only accesses our property. This driveway is also useless as a route for our utilities due to the slope up towards the street as explained by this town and septic professionals. In addition, we are requesting you transfer your ownership interest in the small piece of land where our storage building is actually on your land. We are offering 5,000 for all this and we will pay all the legal fees to transfer the land and to put in the utilities.

Please consider this request. We are going to wait until the end of this month. If there is no reply then we will begin legal proceedings next month. Thanks.

To the agent

This is a letter, which was later revised, and then sent to the real estate agent who sold us the property, written sometime during the beginning of this year.

This is a summary of the situation related to our property. When we purchased the property from the previous owners we trusted their word and the information on the disclosure form. We also trusted you and your real estate company to perform your job ethically and to represent both sides of the transaction, both the buyer and seller, in a manner which would be fair to both parties. Then on our own, we discovered the following.

The previous owner lied on the property disclosure form stating there were no utilities from this property located on the adjacent property and there were no utilities from the adjacent property located on our property. A representative from the septic company informed us that in fact our drain line goes to the adjacent property and then runs a long distance out to the street. The same septic company representative also informed us that the previous owners knew about this situation.

In addition we discovered that the water was not only connected to the adjacent house but also to the relatives house on the other side of the adjacent house which the crazy neighbor confirmed. Even with this information you continued to deny this was possible. Then we went out and found the line was in fact coming from the adjacent house which representatives from the town confirmed.

There was also an outside water line installed from the adjacent house along the portion of land behind our storage buildings which was also confirmed by the neighbor.

We continue to deal with issues related to this situation including a shower which often goes to a small trickle of water and drains which are slow and smell due to drain issues on the adjacent property which the same septic company representative confirmed.

In addition you did not disclose the fact that the neighbor was the previous owner of this property, and that the bank foreclosed on the property, and that he had rented this home, and that the previous owners had thrown him out due to non payment of rent, and most importantly that he is now residing in the adjacent home. This was an important material fact that if we knew then would not want to purchase this property. The day after we arrived at this property a representative from the service company said it was a mistake to purchase this property. She stated the neighbor was on record and in the newspaper for stealing and other issues. He eventually stole a tool container which he claimed was his, he has complained about our dogs to this town, he continues to enter our property when we are out, and continuously watches us from the second floor of his home, from his entry, and from the adjacent farm. Sometimes he simply stands and stares at us for many minutes. We already talked with the police a couple of times and they said there is nothing they can do until he commits an actual crime.

This entire situation has made us construct walls and put in landscaping to keep him from being able to watch us. All this work has taken a lot of effort. In addition we are going through a lot of mental stress not knowing what he will do next. We are unable to enjoy this property and are now seeking, not only a solution to the utility problems, but also monetary compensation for the stress which we continue to endure.

Even though you knew of all these problems, you did nothing during the months we owned this property. You came up with many solutions which we agreed to and then you did not follow through on any of them. You even came up with crazy solutions like running the drain and the water lines across a neighbors property who is not even involved at all in this situation. And most recently you proposed to visit this property and talk to the neighbor to resolve this situation and then did not show up. It is obvious you are not competent and you are not able to deal with this situation.

We are now thinking formal legal action is the only solution. We contacted an attorney and we were told the following.

We can make a strong case against you, and your company, and the previous owner for negligence, due to nondisclosure of important facts and for not resolving this situation for us.

We can also make a strong case against the neighbor family since they illegally installed the utilities many years ago which did not match the utility plan submitted to this town when the construction of this house was made.

We are also planning to travel to Kagoshima to file a formal complaint against you and your company.

We are also planning to file a formal complain with the appropriate real estate licensing agency about the way you and your company did not disclose important information to us and then totally mishandled this entire situation.

You will be contacted as this case progresses.
Complaint about the lawyer

We are filing a formal complaint about (representative name). We employed his services beginning on (date) as our representative to resolve a situation on our property located at (address). More specifically we required his services in order to obtain land adjacent to our property to give us legal utility access to the street.

We purchased this property on (date). The purchase agreement stated there were no utility issues. After the purchase was completed and we moved to the property, we discovered our utilities were connected to the home of the neighbor adjacent to our property who is also the previous owner of our property. The real estate agent involved in the transaction lied on the purchase agreement and tried for about a year to resolve this problem with the neighbor and his family with no results. We eventually accepted a settlement of (amount) from the real estate agent.

We were still without legal access for our utilities to the street resulting in a shower which almost turns off when the neighbor is using their shower. The waste drains often smell awful in our home since the neighbor is not maintaining their drains properly. Nakatane Town would not take action on our behalf. The utility companies said a portion of the farm owned by the neighbor would need to be acquired in order to obtain the proper slope in elevation for the drain line to work properly. We decided the only option was to use the services of an attorney.

We met with (representative name) at our home and explained the situation. We explained that we are obtaining his services in order to obtain a portion of the adjacent farm belonging to the neighbor in order to gain legal access to the street for our utilities. He agreed to represent us in this matter and required us to pay a fee of (amount paid). After a few weeks he decided he would be unable to obtain land from the neighbor and began ignoring our emails and telephone calls. We insisted that this matter be brought before a judge in court to decide. He continued to ignore our communications. He then became angry and insulting and said I was confused and did not understand the situation. We asked him to return to our property in order to show him in detail why obtaining the adjacent land was necessary but he said he would not come to our home.

We finally sent email on (date) stating he file this case in court or refund our money. He has since ignored our request and is no longer sending any communications.

We believe his actions constitute fraud in accepting a case which he had no intention of pursuing only for his financial gain. We also believe his actions constitute misrepresentation in accepting this type of real estate case which he is not qualified for. Along with fraud and misrepresentation, he was dishonest, rude, and unprofessional. We believe he neither has the skills, knowledge, nor professionalism to be a representative. We are formally requesting that (representative name) receive disciplinary action from your agency including voiding his license as a representative. We are also requesting your agency send instructions concerning the steps necessary to obtain a full refund of all fees paid to (representative name). Please send your thoughts at your convenience.