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We received an e-mail from our realtor today letting us know that our seller "forgot" to mention that he had oil in the oil tank and now wants almost $700 for that oil. We closed on this house 5 weeks ago and have put tons of cash into the house, money we did not expect to spend, due to a variety of issues.
Basically there dog chewed up almost every piece of trim in the house and we had to replace it (we thought we could paint it but the damage was too severe). Also, they left us with a rather extensive plumbing issue which caused an explosion of sewage in our basement when our contractor attempted to install a new toilet. We had to pay a full day for the contractor to fix this problem.
If these aforementioned things hadn't happened, I guess we would feel like we owed them this money. I also feel their realtor and lawyer should absorb some of this cost - they should have taken care of this PRIOR to closing. Having never lived in an area that used oil for heat, we had no idea that this was an expense we had to pay, had we known we would have planned for it at the closing.
I'm not a lawyer but isn't the meaning of a closing...closed...too late to get money IMO nice try, but I wouldn't even respond to it. The seller should be happy that he closed in todays market, many sellers wish they had closed!
Congrats on your purchase, and a tough one to be sure. Did you do any type of home inspection, and if not, did you not see any of the items you mentioned? I sort of agree with you, the listing agent should bear some of the expense, and due to you added expenses, maybe some sort of bartering exchange could be worked out, due to your unexpected expenses. What does your agent say?
We received an e-mail from our realtor today letting us know that our seller "forgot" to mention that he had oil in the oil tank and now wants almost $700 for that oil. We closed on this house 5 weeks ago and have put tons of cash into the house, money we did not expect to spend, due to a variety of issues.
Basically there dog chewed up almost every piece of trim in the house and we had to replace it (we thought we could paint it but the damage was too severe). Also, they left us with a rather extensive plumbing issue which caused an explosion of sewage in our basement when our contractor attempted to install a new toilet. We had to pay a full day for the contractor to fix this problem.
If these aforementioned things hadn't happened, I guess we would feel like we owed them this money. I also feel their realtor and lawyer should absorb some of this cost - they should have taken care of this PRIOR to closing. Having never lived in an area that used oil for heat, we had no idea that this was an expense we had to pay, had we known we would have planned for it at the closing.
Any thoughts?
Your contract either says you will pay for any oil in the tank or it doesn't say it. The otehr items you list are irellevent to the issue. Did you sign a contract that says you'll reimburse for the oil or not? If you did, you owe the money. If you didn't, well then, you owe nothing.
By the way, how do they estimate the $700? Has someone come & measured what's in the tank?
We had this happen once and we paid. Chewed trim or not, personally I think paying for the oil is the right thing to do if you are the one using it. As mentioned, you are only legally responsible for it if the contract says you are (if the contract does not say that I would be seriously ticked at the realtor if I were the seller--that's pretty standard).
Whether you're legally responsible or not, I still think you should pay. Where is common civility these days? I'd make sure the amount of oil left is correct, but why should they pay for your oil?
Our home inspection did not uncover the plumbing issues - we were unfortunate enough to discover it all on our own.
Our contract doesn't mention anything about the oil tank. The previous owners are basically telling us what they think is in the oil tank/what we owe them, and I am not sure what they are basing this on.
While the issues may seem irrelevant, we probably would have given them the cash if they paid for someone to come measure what was in the tank. We are honest people, and if it was a true oversight by their realtor, we would have done the right thing. However, they left us such a god-awful mess to deal with, and we have spent alot of money trying to fix it. In light of this, we are no longer feeling so generous.
If it isn't gone by closing, and isn't accounted for otherwise in the contract, what the seller leaves behind on the property is now yours. That includes fuel oil. That's how we'd view it here.
As for the unexpected repairs, and this is from a Pennsylvania point of view, our sales contract specifically states two things. The first is the right to a home inspection. The second is the ability to take a final walkthrough shortly before closing to determine if the property is still in sound condition. If you proceeded to closing then that's basically that. Your only fallback line against an agent or seller would be to prove that either (or both) had knowledge of an existing or prior problem and failed to disclose it.
I would venture to guess that legally the sellers walked away from the home and left whatever they didn't want, and as of closing it became yours. It is not your problem that they 'forgot' the oil was there. Personally, I would ignore it, as nothing is in the contract regarding said oil. If you give in, what else might they want to be paid for?
I wouldn't pay for it. I don't think that is being greedy or taking something that isn't mine. They had the opportunity to put it in their contract and they overlooked it and so did everyone else, that doesn't mean that you should have to pay for it. If it were brought up in the beginning you might have said okay but we want the price to come down xx amount or we want this in exchange etc. It has been 5 weeks, not just a couple of days, my guess is they just bought something where they had to pay for the oil and that reminded them how much they left so they are trying to break even on their costs.
I guess you could let them come over and get it...
I've bought quite a few homes over the years and called sellers when I've come across personal items left behind...
Oil in the tank is like wanting to be paid for fruit on the trees... in that I would stand by the contract.
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