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The issue is the previous owner made a lot of illegal change to the house such as extra bathroom, basement finish and sink, way outdoor from basement..etc
The day of closing, they said they will do their effort to close the CO and they put $15,000 into escrow for this. After long waiting, there is no update at all, we contact the town through our side architect and the town said the seller just submitted very initial application and no answer about the question or necessary work.
We are tired of waiting and are quite urgent to renovate the house to accommodate family member.
But the previous owner doesn't want to give up escrow money and they don't want to do any work for the permit as well. The seller is willing to give us only $5,000 and they want to be done. I believe the cost for closing will be more than this since it needs plumbing work and get rid of many things and possible other stuff.
What is our option? Should we accept this or fight? I think my lawyer doesn't want to work for us since she got already paid on the house closing date and seems like telling us taking the offer.
Fight. You should have closed when way more than 15k in escrow. When was the work done? If it’s not up to code your going to have to spend lots of money. Do not accept 5k! The egress from the basement isn’t up to code can eat that 5k alone.
Example the work was done years ago to code. But the code changed. You have to get your work up to code now.
Best case it’s all up to code and you hire an expeditor to finish paperwork and have the inspection.
I’m gonna have to assume that basement isn’t to code unfortunately. If there were no open permits “no issue”. But that’s to late.
This is the problem with a sellers market. Everyone rushes. Lawyer and real estate agent are paid. They are gone and on to the next sale.
Town of Hempstead is tough to deal with.
Last edited by 94nasupra; 11-10-2021 at 04:20 PM..
Thank you for the reply. It is done by the previous owner long time ago. Looks like they illegaly rented the basement. My question is how can i fight? Hiring a different lawyer? Is it worth it? And just make it sure, the seller cannot take out escrow money without agreement right?
Thank you for the reply. It is done by the previous owner long time ago. Looks like they illegaly rented the basement. My question is how can i fight? Hiring a different lawyer? Is it worth it? And just make it sure, the seller cannot take out escrow money without agreement right?
I would wait till someone more experienced than me answer. I can only say do no release that money.
Maybe disclose your general location. Such as I think your in town of Hempstead. I would say call an expeditor based on your general location with good reviews. Or speak to a new lawyer. Be guided by an expert !
Talk to a real estate attorney. This is not something you can reasonably resolve on your own
We hired a real estate attorney for the closing and she is working on this. But no active work just back and forth with the seller's attoney and sent us email about $5k option. She already got paid for the closing
I am just afraid to hire a new attorney for additional 10k, which is not even sure we can get.
We hired a real estate attorney for the closing and she is working on this. But no active work just back and forth with the seller's attoney and sent us email about $5k option. She already got paid for the closing
I am just afraid to hire a new attorney for additional 10k, which is not even sure we can get.
What are the terms of the escrow deal? That’s all that matters. Make sure this doesn’t expire. Read the terms. There shouldn’t be a 5k option on 15k escrow for something the sellers didn’t folllow. What about your real estate agents opinion ? Did one recommend the other ?
Randomly my buyers got their 250 dollars back from escrow. I didn’t care about the money but it shocked me they got it back. And I paid out of pocket to fix the item. But boy were they mad at closing they didn’t get their 250. Well worth the fight. Imagine 15k.
What are the terms of the escrow deal? That’s all that matters. Make sure this doesn’t expire. Read the terms. There shouldn’t be a 5k option on 15k escrow for something the sellers didn’t folllow. What about your real estate agents opinion ? Did one recommend the other ? The realtor recommended this lawyer and we didnt ask realtor's opinion yet
Randomly my buyers got their 250 dollars back from escrow. I didn’t care about the money but it shocked me they got it back. And I paid out of pocket to fix the item. But boy were they mad at closing they didn’t get their 250. Well worth the fight. Imagine 15k.
I know! There is no 5k option. The seller "decide" they are willing to pay that much. I am frustrated why my attorney doesnt fight for us. Is there expiration date for escrow?
And yes, the realtor recommended this lawyer and we didnt ask the realtor's opinion yet since we assume that he would tell us to talk to the lawyer.
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