Dear Real Estate Ethicist,

The hill below my house is slipping. My brother is an engineer, and he confirmed it could be a problem for my neighbor in the future. I have no money to fix it: $75,000, can you believe it? I am tempted to sell the house and wipe my hands clean of this problem. –Hillslide hysterical

Dear Hysterical,

You need a lawyer not an ethicist.

Dear Real Estate Ethicist,

The hill below my house is slipping. My brother is an engineer, and he confirmed it could be a problem for my neighbor in the future. I have no money to fix it: $75,000, can you believe it? I am tempted to sell the house and wipe my hands clean of this problem. –Hillslide hysterical

Dear Hysterical,

You need a lawyer not an ethicist.

However, do remember: what you hide today may haunt you tomorrow. Also, remember Richard Nixon’s lesson: the cover-up is often worse than the crime. –Real Estate Ethicist

Got a question for the Ethicist? Send it to ethicist@inman.com.

***

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