MY WINDERMERE NIGHTMARE FINAL
IMMEDIATE COVERAGE REQUESTED! HELP GARY GET HIS HOME and LIFE BACK “A man can be destroyed, but not defeated.” — Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea
MY WINDERMERE NIGHTMARE FINAL
Rat Rip-off Real Estate Report
• NEWS OF THE BLUES ABOUT BOYCOTTING REAL ESTATE RATS •
VOLUME XXI
SPECIAL WINDERMERE NORTHEAST “I Just Simply Did Not Recall” MEDIA GUIDE EDITION
SPRING RATFEST 2006
OFFICIAL MEDIA PUBLICATION FOR THE “WINDERMERE REAL ESTATE BIG BULLIES, RATS and LEAPING LIARS LIBEL TRIAL” SET FOR APRIL 9, 2007, KING COUNTY COURTHOUSE, SEATTLE
Would You Let Your Home, Health, Business, Life Savings and Credit Be Stolen By Lying Windermere Real Estate People and Their Phony Public Marketing Commitments, Without Fighting Back? Neither Will I.
WINDERMERE’S “HIGHEST ETHICAL STANDARDS, UNCOMPROMISING HONESTY and INTEGRITY” IS A BIG FAT RAT LIE.
“In the real estate business somebody’s word is very important. If you say you’re going to do something, you’ve got to do it,” notes Geoff. (Wood, Windermere President)
Enron Goes Real Estate in Windermere’s Cruel Credibility Gap Between What It Says and What It Actually Does. Caught in Lies and Hypocrisy, the Arrogant Realty Giant Sends Lawyers to Squash Lives of Little Guys.
ATTENTION WESTERN STATES RADIO, TV, PUBLICATIONS and WEBSITES!!! HELP GET THIS CONSUMER WARNING OUT:
If you’re a Windermere Real Estate customer—residential buyer or lister— and you encounter an issue of ethics or honesty with a Windermere agent or broker, the Windermere organization won’t honor its public commitment to “The highest ethical standards. Uncompromising honesty and integrity.” And if you complain about the ethical breaches of Windermere people to Windermere executives, they’ll ignore you AND your problem, then sue to shut you up, and the truth. Here’s how consumers can protect themselves: Above, meet Willard Windermere. Agent George Rudiger and broker Joan Whittaker at Windermere
1.
Don’t list property with Windermere. If you have a current Windermere listing, cancel it. Choose a company you can trust instead.
Northeast could’ve told me about Willard, but “At the time he listed the property, Rudiger simply did not recall Matzen’s report concerning an apparent past incidence of rats at the property.” For the ultimate and absolute life-ruining real estate nightmare, just imagine this: You move back to Seattle, a city you loved when you worked there years before. You’ve been financially responsible and conservative, arriving with zero debt and a little cash to start a new business. You’ve got a large downpayment for a home, and even your car is paid off. Your life is in boxes, you go shopping for your new pad, and you find one in Shoreline that’s right in your price range. It’s on a great lot, too. The house itself is a little bit old, but it’s been painted up nicely with what the Windermere guy’s brochure says are “Martha Stewart colors.” This particular Windermere guy is George Rudiger, of Windermere Northeast in Kirkland, a brokerage owned by Joan Whittaker, who is also what they call Designated Broker. You’ve got great credit, a big cash downie, and
Dateline Shoreline, May 2002: pre-approved everything. Your agent recommends an
inspector who has a neat business card with a logo saying he has insurance and belongs to an inspector’s federation. He gives you a nice little report with digital pictures saying the place is crackerjack and just needs a couple minor fixes. So you slap down nearly $47,000 and sign the papers, tickled to get the place. Then the day you actually get possession and wander around inside your new home a bit, you start getting sick, and swelling up, and eventually you start having a full-blown allergic reaction. Then you find rat droppings, a rat hole torn in a closet ceiling, a rodent bait station behind the refrigerator in the kitchen pantry closet. A closer look around reveals durable wire mesh screening nailed in-between and over various holes and gaps around the house. You don’t comprehend what all this means right away, but you’re a tad upset and discouraged about the new place—it’s all
2.
Dilute commissions: Want to see or buy a home listed through a Windermere agent? Do so by calling an agent who is not affiliated with Windermere—all brokers and agents work from the same MLS.
3.
Better yet, save time and money by using one of the many specialized discount realtors gaining popularity by offering itemized realty services.
4.
Use the internet and forget traditional realty services completely.
5.
Remember that in some states, like Washington, home inspectors are unregulated. Never use an inspector recommended by your agent. Call your own, and check credentials thoroughly.
CONTACT GARY at (775) 848-0288 or gmk6@aol.com
For story files in Word, legal exhibits, color photos, or a GREAT ON-AIR INTERVIEW about the ultimate real estate nightmare, CALL or EMAIL Gary now. DON’T LET THESE GUYS GET AWAY WITH IT!
happening so fast. By the way, while all this is going on, you’re living in an expensive rented loft downtown, so you can take care of a new business you’ve just started and flop somewhere at the same time. Undaunted, you return to the house with a construction helper to do some light remodeling. Nothing major, some new kitchen cabinets and counters, paint and carpet, the usual stuff that makes a new place your own. When you and the helper lift a cabinet off the floor, out spills a festering rats’ nest mound of dead rat carcasses, rat feces, rat-urine-soaked insulation, old food wrappers and chewed-off electrical wiring. Once all this fetid mess is exposed to the air, the house begins to fill with a foul and filthy stench reeking like a hamster cage gone condo. Nice, eh? So, of course, you’re totally shocked and disgusted, as I truly was— to put it mildly. It was pretty clear this house had a severe rat problem, so I called a rat expert out of the Yellow Pages. When he got there, he said to open up the adjoining kitchen and bathroom wall, because rats travel through walls to warmth and moisture for nesting. We opened that wall and found yet more nests with more dead rat carcasses and festering rat nests. The interior wallboard, studs and insulation were so saturated with rat urine that they glistened in the light and stunk like a rotting outhouse—only worse. The Yellow Page guy said the helper and I had to wear RESPIRATORS if we were going to work in there anymore. Later he wrote it all down in a report. I closed the place up and went back to the loft. Incredibly distraught, I called my agent. He said to look at my Form 17 Real Property Disclosure Statement—there’s specific questions for the seller: “4(F) Was a pest or dry rot, structural or “whole house” inspection done? When and by whom was the inspection completed?” Sellers’ answer: “Yes” box checked. “When and by whom...” question mysteriously left blank. “4(G) Since assuming ownership, has your property had a problem with wood destroying organisms and/or have there been any problems with pest control, infestations or vermin?” Sellers checked the “No” box. Holy smokes! The inspector missed all the rat stuff. The sellers didn’t answer all the questions and said “No” about vermin, but they had rat abatement equipment all over the place. I hired a lawyer, Jeffrey Mirsepasy in West Seattle, and he had me videotape another inspection with an ASHI certified inspector:
“In summation, the house is not fit for habitation. All effected insulation, wood members and fibrous finish materials will need to be removed from the structure to correct these conditions. Additionally, rodent chewing has damaged the wiring. This condition causes a fire safety hazard.”
“We believe the plain existence of the following CONDITIONS were known by Windermere but not disclosed to potential purchasers, including Mr. Kruger: • Substantial metal screening, meant to deter rodent activity placed around the perimeter of the home. • Metal screening mounted between the foundation blocks and the wood framing. • Metal screening on the second-story storage floor. (attic) • Metal screening at the crawlspace access door.”
WINDERMERE REAL ESTATE:
BLOWING LIVES UP WITH LIES.
On September 3, 2002, Windermere Northeast Designated Broker Joan Whittaker responded:
“Mr. Rudiger categorically denies he had any knowledge WHATSOEVER of the alleged CONDITIONS. Indeed, if he had such knowledge, he would’ve seen to it that these CONDITIONS would have been disclosed by the seller, in the sellers’ “Real Property Disclosure Statement” (Form 17). Further he would, as a matter of standard practice, revealed reality to the selling agent of this home...” (click to page 3)
Months passed. I lost my business and clients, and about 40 pounds—went on sleeping pills and anti-depressants. The lawyer was clicking tensof-thousands by on his meter, litigating with the sellers and the inspector. I ended up back in Reno, Nevada, where I moved from, living in a friend’s dining room after working a lifetime to afford my own home. The house I bought sat reeking and empty, when finally in January of 2003, I was desperately forced to choose between keeping it or saving my credit, paying my bills, living expenses, and the lawyer. I sold the house as a fixer-upper at a loss of nearly $50,000 because, “...that money would come back in damages.” In March of 2003, through the discovery process, the sellers revealed the transaction documents from THEIR purchase of the home. The folks who sold THEM the house had checked the “Yes” box in the FORM 17 vermin question they’d given to my sellers. There was also an inspection report they’d gotten (click to page 4) which stated: Cover all vents + holes with a durable
wire to limit RATS Remove + replace the vapor barrier to remove RAT droppings Another page of the report said to “Plug RAT holes.” So when the people who sold the house to me
So there I was, 2 years later, homeless, broke, in debt for a lawyer who quit, with a handful of Windermere lies. Surely Windermere’s public commitment to The highest ethical standards, Uncompromising honesty and integrity (click to page 6) would fix my battered life. At any rate, I would not be walking away from my entire life because of lying realtors with sharp lawyers. I began a direct mail marketing campaign to inform other Windermere brokers, agents and customers about my experience with “Windermere People.” I wrote to Geoff Wood at Windermere Services Company, who publishes their highly touted commitment to ethics and integrity on the web (click to postcard, page 7), and here’s the response I got: A LAWSUIT FOR DEFAMATION AND TRADE LIBEL! But I haven’t said anything that isn’t true. Windermere’s lawyer, Matt Davis—a nice enough guy—says, “If you were serious when you
said that you would stop, then I am going to discontinue my efforts to pursue you. I am not looking for any retraction. You could pursue your counterclaim to your heart’s content once you pay the filing fee. What are your intentions?”
And now after almost 4 years, losses of nearly a million dollars, 2 lawsuits, and 3 years living in a friend’s dining room—life completely ruined for just innocently buying a house—I’ve just had a heart attack from the stress of it all. I recognize all the other terrible things going on in the world, but I humbly implore you—the members of our collective social media conscience— not to let Windermere Real Estate crush my life.
A HOME IS THE MOST DEAR INVESTMENT WE ALL MAKE. BY MEETING ITS OWN STANDARD OF CARE, A “COMMITMENT TO THE HIGHEST ETHICAL STANDARDS, UNCOMPROMISING HONESTY AND INTEGRITY,” AND BY ALSO EXERCISING A LITTLE HONESTY AND BASIC HUMAN DECENCY, WINDERMERE REAL ESTATE COULD HAVE PREVENTED THE DESTRUCTION OF MY LIFE. PLEASE PROVIDE YOUR READERS, VIEWERS and LISTENERS THE VALUABLE REAL ESTATE CONSUMER EXPERIENCE IN THIS STORY. EXPOSE WINDERMERE REAL ESTATE’S FRAUDULENT CONDUCT AND TACTICS OF INTIMIDATION TO THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION.
bought it themselves, they had their agent write out an ADDENDUM/AMENDMENT TO PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT, (click to page 5) wherein—among other things—their agent wrote:
... remove + replace vapor barrier. Cover all holes with durable wire mesh. Who wrote that addendum in March of 1997? George Rudiger, for Windermere Northeast.
That’s what the inspector said in his report after finding yet more rat trouble and a lot of other impediments I won’t go into. GOOD GRIEF... “All effected insulation, wood members and fibrous finish materials...” was essentially the WHOLE STINKING HOUSE! The estimate to fix the place was more than $100,000. The ASHI inspector brought along a odor decontamination specialist, too, who testified on video and later in an affidavit, that the subfloors were so contaminated with rat urine, his machines couldn’t ever remove the stench. I sued the sellers, and the initial inspector who missed everything and turned out not to be a member of the inspector’s federation or have insurance. At that point in time, I still had no idea my wonderful life would be utterly ruined forever. What a mess. Now I had house I had to pay for, but couldn’t live in it. I had an expensive loft that I needed to stay in, but had given notice on already. I had a lawyer racking up hours at over $200 per. All my worldly goods went into storage, where they remain to this day, almost 4 years later. On August 21, 2002, attorney Mirsepasy wrote in a certified letter to John W. Jacobi, Windermere, and George Rudiger, Windermere:
One of the sellers was his friend of 30 years. He’d sold them the rathouse, but they were told it had rat problems; it was also under treatment for rats by REDI NATIONAL PEST ELIMINATOR when they bought it. He’d sold me the rathouse, categorically denying any knowledge whatsoever, of course. And he was selling his friends their next house, too. Liars Rudiger, Whittaker and Windermere Northeast were added to the Complaint. It takes 18 months to get to trial in King County. After taking $37,000 and spending 16 months on the case, attorney Mirsepasy withdrew when I couldn’t provide him another $25,000 trial retainer, just 2 weeks prior to Windermere’s Motion For Summary Judgment. I ended up opposing the motion alone and quaking, representing myself Pro Se. I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. I didn’t know what to say, and I lost. Their motion said, “At the time he listed
the property, Rudiger simply did not recall Matzen’s report concerning an apparent past incidence of rats at the property.” YET, REMEMBER HERE, THAT I WOULD NEVER EVEN HAVE BEEN IN COURT AT ALL BUT FOR DISHONEST, LYING WINDERMERE PEOPLE.
NO WAY PRO SE...
I’ve Been Struggling For Years Now Without Counsel Against a Hard-nosed Corporate Beast Who Litigates For Sheer Recreation. Do You Know A Lawyer or Law Firm Who Still Feels a Little Idealism and Indignation and Would Represent Me on a Probable Large Contigency or Pro Bono Basis? I NEED HELP!!! Gary: (775) 848-0288 — gmk6@aol.com
• THE ONE
AND
ONLY GENUINE, OFFICIAL •
Rat Rip-off Real Estate Report
VOLUME XXI
SPECIAL WINDERMERE NORTHEAST LIARS EDITION
FALL RATFEST 2005
Dear Mr. Wood, Sir... Rats: Better Than A Cozy Bonus Room! I wrote a month ago, asking that you explain the discrepancy between Windermere’s public commitment to “The highest ethical standards. Uncompromising honesty and integrity.” and Windermere Northeast liars Joan Whittaker and George Rudiger, but you are totally silent. Is that commitment actually just more Windermere prevarication? Please call (775) 848-0288 now and explain why I should end up homeless and wiped-out financially after working a lifetime, merely because I bought a home through lying Windermere people, while you Just one charming do nothing about it. Rat got your tongue? Above: upgrades of many similar andthe home I rodent awaiting me within
—With Best Regards, Gary Kruger
purchased through Joan Whittaker and George Rudiger at Windermere Northeast. (RRRER photo by GMK)
Rats... Total silence.
WINDERMERE REAL ESTATE:
100 N. Arlington Ave. #8H • Reno, NV 89501
BLOWING LIVES UP WITH LIES.
Absolutely no response about “The highest ethical standards. Uncompromising honesty and integrity.” from Windermere Services CEO Geoff Wood.
1.
Don’t list property with Windermere. If you have a current Windermere listing, cancel it. Choose a company you can trust instead.
2.
If you’re going to buy a home through Windermere, demand your agent and/or broker disclose EVERYTHING they know about what they’re selling you.