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You seem to be missing the points that they made in a later post that the SELLER has made the repair arrangements and they don't even know who the bidding companies are / were...
I'm not missing those points so much as I am allowing for the likelihood that there are some missing or incorrect facts in this situation, as there usually are when we hear just one side. (To wit; the OP tells us that she was informed that the LAW requires the higher bid be used to set the escrow amount. While I'll allow it's possible such a law exists somewhere, I am highly dubious.) I can't imagine the seller calling to demand the money if they were truly in control of getting the work done. If they were in control, they would know the work was not done, and why it was not done. The complaint just wouldn't make sense. Then again, neither does letting the seller be in control of getting that work done AFTER the closing.
5) We did not state a time frame for the work to be completed, they gave the time frame to us as quoted by the company they (not we) chose to do the work. The seller got all the bids and has arranged for the work to be done by the company of their choice.
It appears that the OP may have the mistaken notion that the Seller is supposed to complete the repairs. Normally, the amount held in escrow allows for the purchaser to take care of the repairs. I doubt that it's any different in this case.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Keegan
If they were in control, they would know the work was not done, and why it was not done. The complaint just wouldn't make sense. Then again, neither does letting the seller be in control of getting that work done AFTER the closing.
A price quoted 3 months ago probably won't be the cost today. And the lowest bid is usually not a true bid especially if it is significantly less than the others.
To the OP, have you called the companies listed on the bids to see when they feel they can do the work? You do have to take steps to get the work done. After a certain point, they will be entitled to their money back whether or not you fix it.
The HIGHEST bid was the escrowed amount. The LOWEST bid was the accepted contract. The seller wants that difference back for now, and I can't blame him.
Sure Seller does, but Seller is the one who hired the company and did not inform Buyer. Buyer has NO CONTROL over this; Seller does. Seller needs to contact the company, not the Buyer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ss20ts
A price quoted 3 months ago probably won't be the cost today. And the lowest bid is usually not a true bid especially if it is significantly less than the others.
To the OP, have you called the companies listed on the bids to see when they feel they can do the work? You do have to take steps to get the work done. After a certain point, they will be entitled to their money back whether or not you fix it.
Not so long as there is a reasonable reason for the work not being done. Buyer does not have to fix anything as Seller retained control.
Quote:
The seller got all the bids and has arranged for the work to be done by the company of their choice.
Buyer cannot take steps to get the work done since the company was hired by Seller.
Sure Seller does, but Seller is the one who hired the company and did not inform Buyer. Buyer has NO CONTROL over this; Seller does. Seller needs to contact the company, not the Buyer.
Not so long as there is a reasonable reason for the work not being done. Buyer does not have to fix anything as Seller retained control.
Buyer cannot take steps to get the work done since the company was hired by Seller.
The point is that this is very unusual. It's VERY UNUSUAL for the seller to have control of repairs to be completed after passing of title. And if the seller has control, why is the seller calling the buyer about completing the work & refunding the excess funds? Something seems off, and it's very possible that "something" revolves around who actually has control of getting the work done.
I think the problem is the work cannot be done because of the very wet summer they have had in that region and the seller wants the buyer to agree to only hold the amount of the low bid in escrow until the work can be done.
If Mother Nature is the reason the work cannot be done it isn't the buyers fault (It isn't really the sellers fault either) it is just a very unusual situation
Here's the thing....I am sure at least one house in the region with a septic system was built over the summer. What work needs to be done? Septic systems are built in all kinds of weather. So are repairs. What exactly needs to be repaired/replaced?
With work that cannot be completed due to factors out of the buyers control. The problem with releasing funds is sometimes a low bid is simply there to get the job. Then the repair company comes in with change orders. And that's when the real price comes in. Lots of companies work in this manner. This is why you throw out the low and high bids and you take the middle of the road. Of course making sure ALL bids have the same description/repair work to be completed so it's apples to apples. I wouldn't release anything until the repairs are completed and passed inspection
This exactly why you don't release the escrow money until the work is done and has passed inspection.
The lowest bidder may not do a decent job and you will have to hire another outfit to finish it.
The lowest bidder may come up with all sorts of change orders that up the total cost. This happens so regularly it is not even funny. Many government contracts run like this. They discover problems as they go along and jack up the price.
It is unfortunate that their septic system did not pass inspection. Now you are dealing with it. But making vague threatening statements is ridiculous. The money, if there isn't any left over, doesn't get released until the work is done.
I often don't go with the lowest bidder because they are often fly-by-night outfits that are trouble to work with and don't do a great job.
After this business from the sellers, I'd be tempted to go with the highest bidder. You can't beat a good septic system.
This is just a mini rant, I guess, so please bear with me.
We moved into our home in May 2014. There was a pre-existing issue with the septic system that could not be repaired until the ground dried out, so the owners were told to get three competing bids for the repairs, and the sum to be held in escrow for the work would be the amount of the highest bid. At the time, we were told that the work would undoubtedly be completed no later than July.
Well, it has been an unprecedentedly wet summer, and here it is September and we just had five inches of rain in a 24 hour period last week, so the work won't be completed any time soon. The day after the latest storm, the prior owner phoned us to request that we "release the escrow" or at least give him the difference between the highest bid and the lowest bid, which was the one that was accepted. He actually got angry when my husband told him that would not be possible, and said something like, "Well, I'm trying to be nice here, but if you don't cooperate, we can do things in a way you won't like."
WTF? My husband called our realtor, who assured us that she would set him straight as to what escrow means, but I'm so irritated that he would call out of the blue and ask us to do something that is against our own best interests, and then have the nerve to get angry. He and his wife live nearby, we see them all the time on the road and in town, and they had been very nice and easy to get along with prior to this, so it just came out of left field and what he said at the end made me very uneasy.
Has anyone else here ever had this happen? I don't think they have a legal leg to stand on, but it was very disconcerting to have him call up and be demanding and angry about something that was never our fault to begin with.
Yes and for the same exact reason - septic system
The seller needs to wait. The money is in escrow and you can't help how slowly things go based on weather, contractor schedules, re-submits of plans, etc. Sounds like your seller doesn't get it.
In our case we had $15K put in escrow by the seller. The two septic inspectors we hired both agreed that that's probably all it would cost - at the high end- to fix what they were sure only needed to be "fixed". Then the company we hired started digging. We should have asked for $25K put in escrow.
Engineer needed to be hired, plans needed to be drawn up, submitted to entities that work 8am-4pm M-F and take an hour for lunch and go on two week vacations in the summer (not to mention all of the other holidays in the summer). Held things up. Then, and of course, plans needed to include "something else" (why not give an updated freaking check list, County Health Department? Too much to ask?) so had to be resubmitted.
So there were delays after delays and the FUNNY thing was that this seller (who was a bankruptcy sell) called his lawyer looking for the money a few months after the sale. The contract gave us one full year to comply. This seller who had lived in the property for 40 years and detached the grey water line...just let it run in to the back yard, tossed unwanted clothing off the back of his deck, showered with a hose OUTSIDE b/c he knew his septic couldn't handle it. He's the seller who answered the door butt-nekkid.
Cost us an additional few thousand on top of the $15K put in escrow to replace the entire system. And when I say "a few" I mean close to ten.
I got the same responses you did when I posted about this moron looking for his money (but not on this forum).
Last edited by Informed Info; 09-07-2014 at 08:51 PM..
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