Disgruntled homeowners are starting to sue the agents and brokers who sold them their homes at the height of the boom.

They might just have a case because all too often the broker and agent oversteps the line in discussing the value of the property.

The defendant in the Ummel case is Mike Little, a veteran agent with ReMax Associates. He will argue that Marty Ummel, who brought the case with her husband, Vernon, is trying to shift the blame for the couple’s own failures of research and due diligence.

“They simply didn’t do what is expected of a knowledgeable, sophisticated buyer, and are now looking for someone other than themselves to take responsibility,” Roger Holtsclaw, an agent who was hired by Little as an expert witness, said in a court deposition.

Horner, the lawyer, said valuation is a tricky area for brokers.

“Brokers aren’t appraisers,” said Horner, one of the writers of a guide to suing brokers. “They have no obligation to opine about value. But once they do, it becomes a gray area whether it’s puffery or a misstatement of a known fact.”

Did you notice the “knowledgeable, sophisticated buyer” part? This is where brokers and agents have a lot of risk unless they can show documented evidence of the knowledge and sophistication of the buyer like stock brokers are required to do.