Urgent help, furnace breaks 18 hours before closing, sellers asking me to split cost of repair. (property, legal)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have to disagree. He contracted to purchase a house with a working furnace. It has now become apparent that the furnace is not working.
My guess is that the seller doesn't have the money to lay out now, and/or doesn't want to take the time & effort to repair a furnace he will neer use.
If I were advising this buyer, I would suggest that they request the seller put money from the transaction into an escrow account, so the buyer can have the furnace replaced after closing. The amount requested should be at least the full amouont of the estimate that he has apparently gotten to do the required work.
If the seller says no to that, and you still really want this house, you can still consider his offer to split the repair.
It is irrelevant if this is a a "furnance or boiler or hot water heater". What is relevant is that the SELLER is now aware it ain't working, and that fact would probably be obvious to anyone. Therefore the SELLER does not want to have the sale fall apart.
If the BUYER (OP) wants to buy the house then the thing to do is agree to some fair amount to replace the defective item. If the BUYER declines the SELLER may sue to keep the deposit, the courts could go either way in saying that the contract was no longer valid as 'material defect' altered the condition of the property OR that since the BUYER'S period of refusal had expired the SELLER was entitled to close or be compensated.
I see the SELLER'S suggestion of "halfsies" as merely an opening, and I suspect that Bill K is correct that the SELLER does want to close and does not want to 'lose' anymore than half the cost of repair/replacement.
Seems to me that as this is MID AUGUST the best thing is for BOTH SIDES to quickly get to closing and put this behind them...
I'm going by what your agent told you and my own opinion. Do you think your agent is lying to you about that? I would guess for certain you will lose it if you back out. That is just the way it works. You knew the furnace was old..it is the luck of the draw. If it broke the day after you moved in it would all be on you.
Your sellers should have offered a home warranty. I bet they (home warranty) would find a way to patch it then.
OP if you feel that possibly your agent is lying to you about how you could be jeopardizing your EM deposit, then why don't you talk to the BIC or better yet closely review your contract and/or spend God only knows how much money in attorney fees to determine this? You could also go to your state's real estate commission website where they have all kinds of useful information for buyers. Then whatever decision you make, you will feel you at least made an informed one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by marmac
--" ypu knew that the firnace was old "--
I once bought a car I --KNEW WAS OLD"--, however, if it konked out the day befored I bought it, I wouldn't buy it.
--"if it broke the day after you moved in"--
Then I would be the owner.
The day before I close, he owns the house.
Regarding realtors, of course they want the buyer to agree. No sale,no commission ( and the closing date is so near they can actually smell the money) !
Yeah, we're all greedy who only care about the money. Great way to get referrals which is our bread and butter. I just love how some people lump everyone in the profession into the same category. I worked with some great attorneys for 15 years and I also saw some who didn't deserve to be licensed to practice law - I've had licensed CPAs who were worthless - doctors who told me I wasn't in labor, then waited until I almost died before they did an emergency C-section. There are good and bad seeds in every profession and just because there a few out there who shouldn't be in their line of work, doesn't mean everyone in that profession are greedy money-grubbers
In Oregon our contracts state that these systems have to be in "substantially the same condition" at the time of close. In your case, out here, the patch by the heating company could be construed to be in "substantially the same" condition since it wasn't a new heating system. I had this happen once, and the buyer actually paid more than the seller because he wanted to upgrade the furnace to a better system. So they split the basic costs for a comparable replacement and then the buyer upgraded to a more energy efficient unit and paid the difference. We did it in the form of a price adjustment on the offer.
You need to do what makes the most sense for you, but you could also use this as an opportunity to get a more energy efficient unit in place. At least out here, the money you would save on heating bills alone, would more than make up the split. Not sure about out there.
In Oregon our contracts state that these systems have to be in "substantially the same condition" at the time of close. In your case, out here, the patch by the heating company could be construed to be in "substantially the same" condition since it wasn't a new heating system. I had this happen once, and the buyer actually paid more than the seller because he wanted to upgrade the furnace to a better system. So they split the basic costs for a comparable replacement and then the buyer upgraded to a more energy efficient unit and paid the difference. We did it in the form of a price adjustment on the offer.
You need to do what makes the most sense for you, but you could also use this as an opportunity to get a more energy efficient unit in place. At least out here, the money you would save on heating bills alone, would more than make up the split. Not sure about out there.
apples to oranges, Silverfall.
In your example you state----" So they split the basic cost of a comparable replacement "--
Huge difference between replacement and repair.
Splitting the cost of a replacement sounds reasonable, splitting the cost of a repair does not.
What does it say in your contract? The contract we use states that the seller shall maintain the house until closing in the condition it was in when it was viewed.
Disputes such as this one remind me why I decided to put a home warranty on every house I list that covers the seller during the listing period and the buyer for the first year.
In your example you state----" So they split the basic cost of a comparable replacement "--
Huge difference between replacement and repair.
Splitting the cost of a replacement sounds reasonable, splitting the cost of a repair does not.
You're right I was reading the thread as a replacement nor repair. Out here it would be a no brainer, the seller would repair the unit at cost to them.
I still think I would look at the costs of replacement and see about a new unit. Maybe apply the cost of repair towards a new unit. We don't have those kinds of heating systems here, so I don't know anything about them. I just wouldn't want to head into winter with a dying system.
Disputes such as this one remind me why I decided to put a home warranty on every house I list that covers the seller during the listing period and the buyer for the first year.
The home warranty, assuming it covered this mechanical, would most likely address this with a patch, not a new mechanical.
It would likely be a ticking time bomb, for the buyer.
If I were the buyer, I would opt to split the cost of a replacement and be done with it. Then again, I am reasonable and tend to take al ong view.
What does it say in your contract? The contract we use states that the seller shall maintain the house until closing in the condition it was in when it was viewed.
Disputes such as this one remind me why I decided to put a home warranty on every house I list that covers the seller during the listing period and the buyer for the first year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Silverfall
You're right I was reading the thread as a replacement nor repair. Out here it would be a no brainer, the seller would repair the unit at cost to them.
I still think I would look at the costs of replacement and see about a new unit. Maybe apply the cost of repair towards a new unit. We don't have those kinds of heating systems here, so I don't know anything about them. I just wouldn't want to head into winter with a dying system.
Quote:
Originally Posted by middle-aged mom
The home warranty, assuming it covered this mechanical, would most likely address this with a patch, not a new mechanical.
It would likely be a ticking time bomb, for the buyer.
If I were the buyer, I would opt to split the cost of a replacement and be done with it. Then again, I am reasonable and tend to take al ong view.
You guys all bring up excellent points! Again a home warranty really would have nipped this problem in the bud.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Mostly agree with Bill K...
who only care about the money. Great way to get referrals which is our bread and butter. I just love how some people lump everyone in the profession into the same category. I worked with some great attorneys for 15 years and I also saw some who didn't deserve to be licensed to practice law - I've had licensed CPAs who were worthless - doctors who told me I wasn't in labor, then waited until I almost died before they did an emergency C-section. There are good and bad seeds in every profession and just because there a few out there who shouldn't be in their line of work, doesn't mean everyone in that profession are greedy money-grubbers
