Discovered major leak days before closing. Do i have my right to cancel the contract? (documents, agents)
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He keeps on saying that I am too far in. Then he called his boss to sweet talk to me at first but when I firmly stated I can't buy the house that leaked and owner tried to cover things up, he too change his tone and said I can be sued by seller. I was like " dude, you are representing me and all I am hearing is you don't want to fight for me"
1stxhomebuyer, now you know why "buyer" agent is such a scam. Realtors are whores for the commission.
Do not rely on them or their broker to tell you the truth about anything.
All you need to do is refuse to close. Period.
You might have to sue to get your earnest money back but, so what, you'll be spared the tens of thousands of dollars this damage will cost you because all the seller will do is put a bandaid on it.
You need a contractor that YOU hire and YOU pay to inspect the problem and tell you ON PAPER what it will take to repair properly and how much it will cost. Then you can demand a price reduction if you still want the house. I said price reduction, not a credit, not a concession, not something you are promised for after you close at the original price. Get the price reduced and the purchase contract rewritten.
Do not trust the sellers or the realtors.
If you don't feel capable of standing up to those people, hire a lawyer as well.
Thanks for everyone's responses. In my contract there a part that say: " during final walthrough, the buyer can perform the final inspection, seller may attend, and at the end of the session seller shall deliver the property as the same condition as it was on the day which buyer signed the contract". Is this section is critical part to get me out of this mess? I told them they can have my deposit but it is them who wants more from me.
I call my agent's boss and look like their whole group is against me now. He keeps saying " you are at seller's mercy"; " it is a no win-win to anybody"; " you don't want to go to court, do you?"...I was like am i your customer or not? sound like i am your victim to play around like cat plays mouse. Today my agent and his boss tried to fool me again. i have proof. I am so sick and tired of these people.
PS: I know that old house leaks but as a buyer, i have my right to get a perfect home in my own term. Plus all of this process is too shady, fishy. Everything is done in away to trick me. They have the option to disclose and discuss the problem with me but they did not choose to do it. So why i have to negotiate with them now? I hate leaking house but also hate being treat like a fool. And buying a house is not like a car. Would anyone buy a car that got water damage? Even if you say yes, i would say no.
When you tell them they can keep your deposit they think you are a fool who will be easily bullied and can get more from you.
Don't talk to them anymore on the phone unless they agree that you can record the conversation, or tell them to respond via email, it's their lies against your truth.
Tell them yes you want to go to court, you are not buying the house, you demand your full deposit back and if not you will file a complaint with the board of realtors against them. They can't force you to buy a house with new and shabbily fixed damage that they tried to hide.
and no old houses do not leak for no reason.
I'm not in real estate but what would they sue you for, they can't force you to buy a house with damage that was not there before or make you pay money for such a situation.
Maybe if you tell the bank they will tell the seller he has to pay for a new inspection and appraisal to make sure the house is worth what they say it is and if you have a clause that you can get out if the bank won't lend you the money you can also get out of it that way.
Don't proceed without finding out about the leak, if a pipe broke and they patched it together it may break a month after you move in at another spot.
You have a lot of proof on your side including them moving the closing date for bogus reasons, tell them to take you to court if they want, If they know you are scared they will bully you.
By telling them they can keep the earnest money it's like you begging them to let you out when you have every right not to close.
Call your local real estate board and find out if they can offer you any guidance or to find out your rights and how you can file a complaint against the broker and the real estate agents.
I think just telling them you spoke to your lawyer who told you that you can sue the home owner and the agents and the brokerage may shut them up.
Last edited by LifeIsGood01; 06-18-2019 at 02:04 PM..
1stxhomebuyer - Be careful. In a late problem of this sort it is easy to lose part or all of your earnest money.
This deals a lot with local customs and rules. So it is difficult to make generally applicable statements. But if it was here and to our standard contract there is virtually no way to walk away late in the process intact. You need not go forward if the seller declines to fix the defect. But if the seller agrees to fix the problem or has done so the contract remains intact. You can assert your right to have the repairs inspected and approved by a qualified person. Or, as I would virtually always recommend to my buyer, you can have a suitable contractor price the repair and accept an equivalent price reduction.
The problem in simply rejecting the deal is that it is difficult to impossible to get back earnest money with a resisting seller. The only good way is to have a seller who agrees to call off the deal. If it is a small sum it may be possible to retrieve it by a small claims court action. But note that may be difficult with many standard RE contracts. If a larger sum you will need a lawyer which will often consume a large part of the earnest money. And escrow companies can start an action to resolve ownership of the earnest money. These actions however will generally be paid for out of the money under contention.
A seller can also sue to make a buyer perform. Rare but not impossible.
In general the best outcome for a buyer in such a late phase problem is to complete the deal with suitable modification. There is a very real likelihood that any other path will cost the buyer.
So it depends on your contract as others said. Ours states that the home has to convey in the same condition as when it was when it went under contract, so seller would have to make proper repairs. Yours may be different, so read the contract and discuss with your agent.
As far as the issue itself, leaks happen. All houses will have a leak at some point. It's really more important to just make sure it was properly repaired. Give them a chance to finish the work and see if it comes out good. Be glad it happened before and not after closing. If it's fixed and repaired, I don't know why you wouldn't proceed with the purchase. Get a copied of a paid invoice from a licensed contractor. If you're this concerned over the matter, you should either buy a new house or keep renting.
As for the seller, you are buying the house, not the previous owner. Even if he is dishonest about it, get through the sale and you won't likely have to deal with him ever again.
Hire a plumber to come look at it while both you and a seller's representative are present. If the repair is being done correctly, buy the house. If it isn't, don't close until it's fixed correctly. This should be done before the hole is patched. Obviously, find your own plumber--don't take a referral from the involved agents. Things happen, but you need to make sure you aren't getting scammed.
No it's like cancelling a home sale because you may have mold from unseen dampness that spread and wasn't seen, rotting wood around that area, electrical problems from the water, etc.
It is a new leak; do you get rid of your home every time a leak happens?
Leaks happen. Have someone inspect the repair and damaged area, and move on, goodness.
It is a new leak; do you get rid of your home every time a leak happens?
Leaks happen. Have someone inspect the repair and damaged area, and move on, goodness.
It's not his house to get rid of. Why should he be forced to buy a house that has damage after the offer inspection and appraisal but before he closes?
If he causes a leak or it happens after he buys the house it's his problem otherwise it's not his house or problem unless he makes it his problem.
If you would think that being lied to about delaying a closing and fixing something shabbily is not an issue than I feel sorry for you.
It's not his house to get rid of. Why should he be forced to buy a house that has damage after the offer inspection and appraisal but before he closes?
If he causes a leak or it happens after he buys the house it's his problem otherwise it's not his house or problem unless he makes it his problem.
If you would think that being lied to about delaying a closing and fixing something shabbily is not an issue than I feel sorry for you.
You are not helping. He has a right to an undamaged house. But he cannot turn it down because it was damaged for while in the process.
Practically he has to close the deal as long as the seller agrees to fix or do an agreed to compensation.
Things do go wrong late in a sale process. That does not automatically stop the process. One fixes the problem not cancel the deal.
And this is all a rational process. You do not stop because of a late shortcoming. You fix it.
1stxhomebuyer, now you know why "buyer" agent is such a scam. Realtors are whores for the commission.
Do not rely on them or their broker to tell you the truth about anything.
All you need to do is refuse to close. Period.
You might have to sue to get your earnest money back but, so what, you'll be spared the tens of thousands of dollars this damage will cost you because all the seller will do is put a bandaid on it.
You need a contractor that YOU hire and YOU pay to inspect the problem and tell you ON PAPER what it will take to repair properly and how much it will cost. Then you can demand a price reduction if you still want the house. I said price reduction, not a credit, not a concession, not something you are promised for after you close at the original price. Get the price reduced and the purchase contract rewritten.
Do not trust the sellers or the realtors.
If you don't feel capable of standing up to those people, hire a lawyer as well.
This right here.
Unfortunately it’s not gonna work like that. The house currently belongs to the seller. You can’t hire a contractor to do any work in it as it’s not your house.
Personally if you like the house I would tell the seller do not repair and that you need 15k at closing to cover damage repairs. Make sure it’s written and goes to the escrow company.
If they say no, tell them thank you, the house isn’t in the same condition as when I agreed to buy it, don’t sign anything, stop talking to the craphead agents and get a lawyer. The good faith money is in escrow so the seller isn’t getting crap. The bank won’t rekease funds.
The agents are just trying to pressure you. STOP talking to them. And direct them to talk to your lawyer. They just want their ****ing commission.
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