You think you're avoiding broker fees, so you focus on for-sale-by-owner properties, and find just what you're looking for! It's a great house in a pastoral hamlet, surrounded by farmland. And the folks you're buying from are just so nice!

Unfortunately these prospective buyers didn't know that this idyllic setting is one of the country's top-ten superfund sites. The well water is undrinkable. (There are rumors of glow-in-the-dark pets, just kidding)

Sure, sellers are legally required to disclose certain information--but that doesn't mean they always do. Out of ignorance--or dishonesty--they may conceal what you need to know. And sure, you can sue them. But it's a lot less costly to buy the right place--not the wrong place--in the first place.

Fortunately, these buyers saw reason and consulted a buyer broker--who got, and gave them, the crucial information. And saved these folks (and their pets) from a very costly mistake.