◎張沛元

A southwestern Pennsylvania man received a Christmas Eve lesson in the old adage, "Let the buyer beware." Billy Joe Sanders, of Pittsburgh, said he bought a home in Canonsburg during a Washington County tax sale in August.

古訓「買方注意」讓賓州西南部一名男子在平安夜上了一課。匹茲堡的比利．喬．桑德斯說，他8月份趁華盛頓郡拍賣法拍屋時，在坎農斯堡買了一棟房子。

When he went to check on the property on Christmas Eve, he learned that it had been torn down by the county’s redevelopment authority - and has since learned his $5,500 won’t be refunded.

當他在平安夜當天前去查看這棟房屋時，卻發現屋子已經被該郡的發展當局給拆了——然後才知道拿不回他付的5500美元房款。

County officials said tax sales all include a "buyer beware" clause, and owners are responsible for doing a title search and otherwise checking on the property’s status.

郡政府官員表示，法拍屋都有「買方注意」條款，屋主有責任進行標題查詢，或者查看該房地產的情況。

Officials said buyers of homes slated for demolition are usually notified, but sometimes it doesn’t happen.

官員表示，預定被拆除的房屋的買家，通常會接獲通知，但有時也不會通知。

Sanders said he plans to bill the county or sue to get his money back.

桑德斯說，他打算要求郡政府還錢或打官司討回他的錢。

新聞辭典

adage：名詞，諺語，格言。例句："No Pain, No Gain" is my favorite old adage.（「若無辛苦流汗，哪來歡呼收割」是我最喜歡的老諺語。）

buyer beware：過去交易契約採「貨物出門，概不退換」的立場，意即商品瑕疵責任得由買方承擔，因此買方購物時必須特別注意商品是否有瑕疵，否則交易成立一拿到貨物便無法退換。與caveat emptor同義。

tear down：片語，拆除，扯下。例句：On June 12, 1987, then-US President Ronald Reagan challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to destroy the Berlin Wall in a speech at the Brandenburg Gate by saying "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."（1987年6月12日，當時的美國總統雷根在一場於布蘭登堡大門前所發表的演說中、挑戰當時的蘇聯領袖戈巴契夫打掉柏林圍牆時說，「戈巴契夫先生，拆了這道牆吧。」）