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Old 10-10-2017, 12:50 PM
 
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hi, we bought a house in new Hampshire in July of this year. They never disclosed that there was no heat upstairs. upstairs are 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. Do we have any recourse against the sellers, real estate agent or home inspector?
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Old 10-10-2017, 12:56 PM
 
Location: planet earth
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Did you forget about your due diligence?

What about your inspection?

Or even your eyeballs?
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Old 10-10-2017, 01:27 PM
 
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You have no recourse, unfortunately. Didn't you check for vents, baseboard or steam systems? Did you buy sight unseen?
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Old 10-10-2017, 02:18 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rlpdaly View Post
hi, we bought a house in new Hampshire in July of this year. They never disclosed that there was no heat upstairs. upstairs are 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. Do we have any recourse against the sellers, real estate agent or home inspector?
I don't know if this helps but my cape house has forced air gas heat and central air. However, we only have one measly vent in each room upstairs. And the air comes out VERY weakly in those upstairs vents - it works very well in the downstairs and basement. It's an issue in the summer because the upstairs is very hot, so we bought some window units.

BUT, in the winter, because heat rises, the upstairs is fine despite not having much direct heat (provided we keep the upstairs doors open). At this point, I don't think you have been able to determine how it will feel upstairs when it's really cold outside. So my advice is, before you spring on any expensive remediation, just wait it out a bit and see if it's really an issue. I'm guessing it wasn't much of a problem because the sellers didn't have heat upstairs.

In the meantime you can just buy some space heaters if needed.
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Old 10-10-2017, 02:20 PM
 
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Also, contact Mass Save before you do any improvements.
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Old 10-10-2017, 02:25 PM
 
Location: Cape Cod
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I don't think you have any recourse but then again this is America.
I guess it is possible for someone not to notice that there is no heat outlets or baseboards in the upstairs and the real estate agent might have assumed that a buyer would notice this without asking and the home inspector would be the same way. If there was heat upstairs the home inspectors job would be to make sure it is working and that is about it.

It was common back in the day for cottages and small houses not to have heat upstairs. In some cases there were vents in the floor that would be opened to allow the heat to come up.

I wonder what the seller had to keep the upstairs bath from freezing?

You might have to use space heaters this Winter then look into getting a heat source up there. Electric baseboard would be the easiest to install.

Good luck.
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Old 10-10-2017, 02:35 PM
 
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Why are you on a Ma.site with a New Hampshire problem.?
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Old 10-10-2017, 02:49 PM
 
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Originally Posted by ben young View Post
Why are you on a Ma.site with a New Hampshire problem.?
That’s going to be the next thread: “Do we have any recourse against a seller who failed to disclose that the house was in New Hampshire?”
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Old 10-10-2017, 04:30 PM
 
Location: WMHT
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Question Was this a year round house or somebody's summer place?

Quote:
Originally Posted by rlpdaly View Post
hi, we bought a house in new Hampshire in July of this year. They never disclosed that there was no heat upstairs. upstairs are 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. Do we have any recourse against the sellers, real estate agent or home inspector?
Are you even sure it is a problem? Was this a year round house or somebody's summer place?

I had a house with open stairwells, the difficulty was in keeping the upper story from overheating in the winter. When you have the heat high enough to get the main floor up to a comfortable temperature, the upstairs is broiling. Or close the bedroom doors and freeze.

I would see how much you suffer from the cold this winter, and then if you still feel the need, get a good HVAC contractor in the spring and ask what your option are.
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Old 10-10-2017, 05:12 PM
KCZ
 
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Is this an older home? Many were built without heating upstairs, relying solely on passively rising heat through floor vents or stairwells. Likewise, seasonal and vacation homes also frequently lack upstairs heating. Unless the seller outright lied about upstairs heating, I don't think you have any recourse for failing to notice a common heating configuration.

What type of heat is present downstairs? Is the house well-insulated? You may not need any heat upstairs in the bedrooms. Get a space heater for the bathroom.
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