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Hopefully you have a good local agent that knows your contracts. This is one of the big reasons we exist, to hopefully prevent disagreements & lawsuits.
Best of luck
"He shoots and scores..."
If you are using the NC standard Offer to Purchase and Contract, and he has cited repairs in excess of the Cost of Repair contingency, the Buyer is not compelled in any way to allow you to do the repairs, to have you estimate the repairs, or to negotiate the repairs. The Buyer is not compelled to shop for the lowest bid. The Buyer may be allowed to unilaterally terminate and request EMD refund.
The form allows the Buyer to withdraw if the written estimate of a credible contractor says repairs will cost more than $3500.
The Buyer may terminate and earnest money will be refunded.
The timelines are all in the contract. The Realtor involved should be able to explain it all.
You may find a judge sympathetic to your reported $1100 repair figure, but I would immediately ask if they were licensed, insured contractors. If not, then I would expect the Buyer would prevail.
My opinion?
It's a lousy grand.
Cough it up, and find a buyer.
Inspections have become such difficult items in a sale that the 2008-2009 standard NC Listing forms will be revised to include wording to prompt Listing Agents to discuss the benefits of pre-inspecting and repairing homes prior to Listing.
Last edited by MikeJaquish; 05-27-2008 at 06:44 PM..
If you are using the NC standard Offer to Purchase and Contract, and he has cited repairs in excess of the Cost of Repair contingency, the Buyer is not compelled in any way to allow you to do the repairs, to have you estimate the repairs, or to negotiate the repairs. The Buyer is not compelled to shop for the lowest bid. The Buyer may be allowed to unilaterally terminate and request EMD refund.
The form allows the Buyer to withdraw if the written estimate of a credible contractor says repairs will cost more than $3500.
The Buyer may terminate and earnest money will be refunded.
The timelines are all in the contract. The Realtor involved should be able to explain it all.
You may find a judge sympathetic to your reported $1100 repair figure, but I would immediately ask if they were licensed, insured contractors. If not, then I would expect the Buyer would prevail.
My opinion?
It's a lousy grand.
Cough it up, and find a buyer.
Inspections have become such difficult items in a sale that the 2008-2009 standard NC Listing forms will be revised to include wording to prompt Listing Agents to discuss the benefits of pre-inspecting and repairing homes prior to Listing.
First off guys small claims is not "litigation". No lawyers. You show up and argue your point. The worst that can happen to this dude is he gets hit for 100 in court costs. You folk need the small claims court course. It is a very useful tool. I took a lousey seller to small claims court over $50 he extorted from me to do a close. My clients were on the road with the furniture on the way and this turkey wanted $50 because someone stepped on his plants. I paid him, got my clients in and then took him to small claims court. Recommend it highly. Make the ass bray in public. Even if you lose it is worth the price.
RE is local. I can't remember the time we have had a problem with an inspection. Ohh we have been nailed...twice hard in the last five years...both over mold. But both were good calls.
If an inspector calls a roof bad my teeth would fall out. It just does not happen. More chance a structural defect...which also never happens. The inspection always calls busted tiles. Which mostly we glue back together. And bad flashing which we get glued back down. Even a leak...where we disasemble the roof until we find the waters path and fix it. But end of life...not here.
And when end of life is contradicted by a couple of contractors? what then?
I think it a good small claims argument. Might as well...
First off guys small claims is not "litigation". No lawyers. You show up and argue your point. The worst that can happen to this dude is he gets hit for 100 in court costs. You folk need the small claims court course. It is a very useful tool. I took a lousey seller to small claims court over $50 he extorted from me to do a close. My clients were on the road with the furniture on the way and this turkey wanted $50 because someone stepped on his plants. I paid him, got my clients in and then took him to small claims court. Recommend it highly. Make the ass bray in public. Even if you lose it is worth the price.
RE is local. I can't remember the time we have had a problem with an inspection. Ohh we have been nailed...twice hard in the last five years...both over mold. But both were good calls.
If an inspector calls a roof bad my teeth would fall out. It just does not happen. More chance a structural defect...which also never happens. The inspection always calls busted tiles. Which mostly we glue back together. And bad flashing which we get glued back down. Even a leak...where we disasemble the roof until we find the waters path and fix it. But end of life...not here.
And when end of life is contradicted by a couple of contractors? what then?
I think it a good small claims argument. Might as well...
1. Yes. All RE is local. The OP's locale is North Carolina. I think it safe to assume as much since he cites "NC code."
2. Yes. Locally, the OP can bumble into small claims court without legal representation. He certainly cannot assume that his opponent will do the same.
3. Yes. He may prevail. He may also bump into an opponent who has a cousin/lodge brother/sister/etc (free access to counsel) who is a pretty good attorney and the OP may manage to convert $1000 into a $2500 judgement, including legal, court, and "expert witness" (i.e., Buyer's Agent) fees.
4. It isn't clear, but the OP may even lose a day's pay to go to court.
It's a lousy grand, and the case is tenuous enough to make one pause before trotting off to the courthouse.
Sometimes you just shake the mud off your shoes and get on with life...
Apparently small claims court is also local. Attorneys are not allowed in ours. Very good rule. If you let them in yours you should fix it. Also true in most of the west.
You guys in NC have really strange customs. I still have not gotten over the clause that allows an agent to accept anything offered in a buyers broker agreement.
You guys need a general disclaimer. "NC screws the client. Your role will determine how badly."
Actually I am kind of appalled that, if you could manage such a thing, that you would....
Smalls claims court is local. In Texas they are allowed. I have watched several cases where one side had a lawyer and the other didn't. The side that didn't have a lawyer looked really pitiful.
Quote:
Originally Posted by olecapt
Apparently small claims court is also local. Attorneys are not allowed in ours. Very good rule. If you let them in yours you should fix it. Also true in most of the west.
You guys in NC have really strange customs. I still have not gotten over the clause that allows an agent to accept anything offered in a buyers broker agreement.
You guys need a general disclaimer. "NC screws the client. Your role will determine how badly."
Actually I am kind of appalled that, if you could manage such a thing, that you would....
here in ny - a buyer can get out of a deal and get their earnest money back following the home inspection - if it was NOT signed off - the inspection - they get their money back - fyi and yes they can walk away - they do not even have to tell you why they are walking - just that they do not want to complete the deal
here in ny - a buyer can get out of a deal and get their earnest money back following the home inspection - if it was NOT signed off - the inspection - they get their money back - fyi and yes they can walk away - they do not even have to tell you why they are walking - just that they do not want to complete the deal
What do the Realtors involved say about the situation? I would think one of them at least should understand the contract well enough to avoid this getting worse.
Apparently small claims court is also local. Attorneys are not allowed in ours. Very good rule. If you let them in yours you should fix it. Also true in most of the west.
You guys in NC have really strange customs. I still have not gotten over the clause that allows an agent to accept anything offered in a buyers broker agreement.
You guys need a general disclaimer. "NC screws the client. Your role will determine how badly."
Actually I am kind of appalled that, if you could manage such a thing, that you would....
One of the great values of forums like C-D is the exposure one can gain to different customs as practiced in different areas.
I would think the ability to have legal counsel would be a given.
When one studies a state's laws and conventions, one typically will find that there is a rime and reason to the law. That is why posters posing questions should be extremely careful in absorbing opinions from different regions. Well-meant input can be very misleading if it comes from a widely-divergent perspective.
I have only studied the practice of real estate in North Carolina. It seems to me that it is fair for both sides, if both sides have capable knowledge or representation.
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