Ray Alan Ferguson

We made an offer on a country house that had an issue with the existing well. Three days before closing on the house our attorney, Ray Ferguson, called to say if the problem couldn't be fixed that the seller would set money aside in escrow to dig a new well. We expressed reservations about going thro...ugh with the sale given that the well wasn't clear and there was a limit on the amount the seller had set aside to fix it. Our attorney told us that this was the customary way to handle the problem and he did not offer us any other options. We were discouraged from cancelling the transaction in spite of our concerns about the well. We trusted that our attorney was representing us and our interests. After the sale when we found out we indeed needed to dig a new well we discovered our property was within a certain distance from the nearby city's zoning limits and thus we would need to hook up to city water rather than dig a new well and because of that we would also be annexed. Long story short - we had to hire a new attorney, go to numerous zoning hearings, have meetings with the mayor, the water department, the health department, get quotes from well diggers, plumbers, etc. It is nearly 8 months from the closing date and we are just now getting a new well in. It cost us several thousand dollars more in new attorney costs to obtain a satisfactory outcome, not to mention the loss of time, expense, inconvenience and delay in not being able to move in to the new house or list our current house for sale. If Ray Ferguson had represented our interests at all he would have known that our situation wasn't "customary". We were not aware that being required to hook up to city water and being annexed were potential consequences and we certainly were not aware that it would take nearly 8 months from the date of the closing before we would actually be able to get a new well with clean water so that we could move in to the house. Never trust a lawyer that is recommended by your realtor.