Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
who's responsible if buyer's inspector contractor damages a property during the inspection period?
whose responsible for cleanup and repair costs related to a buyer's inspectors and contractors, while a property is in contract?
Buyer's employees/agent left the master bathroom a mess necessitating a maid to be hired to clean the area and the floors and kitchen in the house.
while cleaning the kitchen, the maid called to say, the Dacor range started making a beeping sound and flashing a F1 error. the maid's services cost $80 and the Dacor range repair is estimated to be ~$600. The house was super clean before the buyer's employees/agents were there. there was no need for a maid to clean if they hadn't left it a mess.
the buyer's agent is not taking any responsibility. I understand that it is difficult to pin down the exact cause of the Dacor Range F1 error and the now needed repair.
the damages became evident subsequent to the Dacor range passing inspection and the Buyer having lifted all contingencies, and Buyer and Seller having signed an addendum stating there would be no further reductions to the purchase price, after Seller having agreed to a $7500 Seller's concession to Buyer for non recurring and recurring closing costs.
i did read a similar but different forum post in which it was highly likely that an inspector caused electrical shorting in a different Seller's house. that post basically says that unless the seller's agent or seller witnesses the damage occur they are out of luck, unless they have a home warranty in place. is that accurate?
is a seller really on the hook for damages that never would have happened without the actions of a buyer's inspections?
Last edited by hedgewell; 08-30-2014 at 08:42 PM..
Reason: more detail, spelling
You're talking about $680? You can eat it and get the sale over with. Or you can fight it and maybe lose the sale.
If the deal looks like it's a good one, I'm betting that $680 is pretty minimal. So, have it taken out in escrow. And get the deal over with, and move on.
Take a deep breath and really consider what arguing over this could mean. Or offer to split the difference with the buyer? But, really, even doing that could mean the buyer backs out. I really think you should just eat the $680 and get the deal done.
If it was $6,000, that would be different. But, $680 is a drop in the bucket relatively speaking.
Dacor F1 error is mentioned in post #1 on this thread - I think he meant to post it here.
LOL, my bad. I had just read a thread on the admin forum about how posts were jumping around, and this seemed like some kind of computer techie stuff. Forgot about the error message posted above. Appliances have become computers beyond my pea brain lol. Sorry for the confusion.
who's responsible if buyer's inspector contractor damages a property during the inspection period?
whose responsible for cleanup and repair costs related to a buyer's inspectors and contractors, while a property is in contract?
Buyer's employees/agent left the master bathroom a mess necessitating a maid to be hired to clean the area and the floors and kitchen in the house.
while cleaning the kitchen, the maid called to say, the Dacor range started making a beeping sound and flashing a F1 error. the maid's services cost $80 and the Dacor range repair is estimated to be ~$600. The house was super clean before the buyer's employees/agents were there. there was no need for a maid to clean if they hadn't left it a mess.
the buyer's agent is not taking any responsibility. I understand that it is difficult to pin down the exact cause of the Dacor Range F1 error and the now needed repair.
the damages became evident subsequent to the Dacor range passing inspection and the Buyer having lifted all contingencies, and Buyer and Seller having signed an addendum stating there would be no further reductions to the purchase price, after Seller having agreed to a $7500 Seller's concession to Buyer for non recurring and recurring closing costs.
i did read a similar but different forum post in which it was highly likely that an inspector caused electrical shorting in a different Seller's house. that post basically says that unless the seller's agent or seller witnesses the damage occur they are out of luck, unless they have a home warranty in place. is that accurate?
is a seller really on the hook for damages that never would have happened without the actions of a buyer's inspections?
What can an Inspector possibly do to leave such a mess that a maid had to be called to clean? If you can answer that then others might be able to help with that question.
According to the maid they were cleaning and the range just then started making a beeping sound. If the Inspector, buyer, and Agent were not there and the range only started making a beeping sound when the maid was there then how does that equate to the Inspector, buyer, or Agent having caused the problem?
Your issues and the issues spoken of in another post are entirely different situation, conditions, etc. It would not be accurate to try equating the two.
The maid probably was cleaning the range and got water too close to the electrical circuitry, almost all ranges throw an F1 when they sense moisture, it usually clears itself but can indicate damage to the circuits. I don't know how a home inspector could cause that and I think you would have an awful time trying to prove it.
You're talking about $680? You can eat it and get the sale over with. Or you can fight it and maybe lose the sale.
If the deal looks like it's a good one, I'm betting that $680 is pretty minimal. So, have it taken out in escrow. And get the deal over with, and move on.
Take a deep breath and really consider what arguing over this could mean. Or offer to split the difference with the buyer? But, really, even doing that could mean the buyer backs out. I really think you should just eat the $680 and get the deal done.
If it was $6,000, that would be different. But, $680 is a drop in the bucket relatively speaking.
Well....are you a retired broker or an investor? It's easy to give other people's money away, isn't it? I do get your point, don't blow up a deal over the small things.
And I agree, in principle.
The point of post though, was to find out, as i now have been informed by a Nationally Syndicated Home Inspector, Barry Stone, that indeed, a broker, or a broker's employees or hired independent contractors, are generally considered responsible for any damages that they clearly cause during inspections. And that, if they are professional and ethical, they or their insurance company will take care of those damages.
in this case the broker admits in writing to having caused a mess in the white tiled white grout master bathroom, during a shower pan leak test, but stridently shirked any responsibility for the costs to clean up the mess. the broker said she tried to clean up, but never informed the seller of the mess and thus left the home in a far less than presentable condition. this necessitated bringing in the maid to clean up, which may or may not have led to the F1 error on the range.
there was no one living in the house or using the oven, so the error did not happen because of use. either the error happened on its own, which is unlikely, or it happened because of inspector tests, and/or it could be correlated to the maid's activities, which never would have been required if the house was left in clean condition. unfortunately for the Seller, there is no witness, so it can't be proved who created the error if no one is willing to say they caused the error.
what can be said for certain is that there was no need for a maid prior to the inspections and there was no F1 error. a person who is professional and takes responsibility for their own actions would recognize that they are in some way at least partially responsible, but the buyer's broker shirked any responsibility and almost blew up the deal because of this and other aggravating and possibly illegal actions.
why should this be something that the Seller incurs the expense of when it flows from a broker's actions?
i understand making a business decision, but that is up to each individual to do their own calculations.
My question was "who's responsible?" not how you would go about moving a deal forward.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
