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Post up some pics of your new place when you can. I still think this town is haunted or something, I have never heard of so many high-end houses with so many serious problems...
Good Luck! And for whatever it's worth, you did what I would have recommended - let them fix it it's still their house...barely, but it's still theirs.
Wow, I come back from work and the thread is 6 pages long. First of all I apologize for not being clear. The seller offered initially to split the cost of a replacement, including labor.
I don't think you were unclear. I thought you meant they offered to pay half towards a replacement from the beginning.
Second, there are a lot of folks on here making interesting points, but some of these points don't seem rooted in reason. Case law is going to be state dependent. And sure, a judge can rule however they want, which is why I contacted an attorney who practices in my county, because he knows the judges and lawyers and what to expect.
It turns out I didn't need his help though. I went to the walkthrough, calmly greeted the sellers who are very nice people, and then saw the problem. The oil furnace had leaked and it was obvious upon looking at the floor around it. No inspector would have found the problem because there were no signs on the exterior of the casement. However when the seller had a professional look at it yesterday, they removed the casing to find that the cross rod that holds the back and front together had completely corroded from an internal moisture leak. No patch would last more than a week, and the seller knew that would not fly. Of course I commend them for mentioning the problem, but it was also rather obvious and difficult to hide.
I left the house and spoke with my realtor outside and instructed them to go back inside and let the seller know we would not be paying anything towards a replacement.
My reasoning is very simple. It doesn't matter that I knew the furnace was 17 years old. That is imaterial, as the contract gave us the opportunity to walk through the house and ensure that it was in the same condition as it was when the contract was signed.
Yes, ensured that it was in the same condition as it was when the contract was signed...to me that could just mean a 17 year old repaired furnace. Just as you say you balked at adding anything to the pot...the sellers could have too. They could have said well we offered half towards a new one and then sent you on your merry way. So of course in theory your scenario could have had several different possible outcomes.
Furthermore I know that had the problem showed itself even an hour after closing, the prior owners would have in no way offered to pay half of the costs. This indicates the reality here, that I don't own the house yet.
The other reality is that the situation favored me greatly. The seller had already moved out. Sure, they could fight in court over my deposit, but that would require an investment of money and time on their part as well, and given the verbage in the contract they would most assuredly have lost.
In the end, they agreed to replace the furnace fully at their cost and we agreed to postpone the closing 48 hours. They didn't put up much opposition at all, they basically agreed to do this within minutes of us having told them we couldn't contribute to the cost.
Thanks again to all for the feedback.
Congrats that everything worked out to favor your side Your seller was a fool imo not to offer a home warranty!!
Wait wait WAIT...an oil furnace leaked? Oil? Because if that's the issue, it's an enormous cleanup, the EPA gets involved, etc. It's not a quick or easy cleanup, even if not much oil spilled and it was onto a finished concrete floor. Be very cautious how you proceed.
Congrats that everything worked out to favor your side Your seller was a fool imo not to offer a home warranty!!
As I said though, there was no repairing this furnace to put it back to a 17 year old working furnace. It had a massive corrosive leak. Had they repaired it to what we thought it was, I wouldn't have complained.
Wait wait WAIT...an oil furnace leaked? Oil? Because if that's the issue, it's an enormous cleanup, the EPA gets involved, etc. It's not a quick or easy cleanup, even if not much oil spilled and it was onto a finished concrete floor. Be very cautious how you proceed.
Sorry I mean hot water furnace. Damned it's been a long day. It was a water leak for sure.
This sounds like a boiler (rather than a furnace). A boiler can last for decades. We just replace one in a house after 40 years. With boilers they are continually repaired - parts replaced. They heat the home with hot water and can provide the heat for hot water as well.
Frankly we have very few facts here. split the cost - but we don't know the cost. We are not sure what "broke".
Based on what we do know - I think I'd consider splitting the repair 50 / 50. The replacement of a boiler is very expensive - Ours was over $5K but they last forever!
I remain unclear as to why you'd not get your earnest money returned. But it's likely there would be a fight over it.
For you I think the bottom line is - how much do you want the house?
Impossible to give advise about that.
As I said though, there was no repairing this furnace to put it back to a 17 year old working furnace. It had a massive corrosive leak. Had they repaired it to what we thought it was, I wouldn't have complained.
If you got a good replacement then that's good, because a repair (if possible) may not last very long.
Exactly, you played hardball just like I advised/would have in your situation, while others said "ohhh lets meet in the middle". Eff that, you knew how to do it, and you saved yourself thousands in the process!
I think there is HUGE FREAKIN" DIFFERENCE between what the BUYER did do and what most people would consider "hard ball".
The buyer appreciated the notification from the seller, calmly told them that they could not afford to put money into a repair/replacement and allowed their real estate agent to negotiate an acceptable resolution that resulted in the SELLER getting paid for the house at the agreed to price, the BUYER having no out of pocket costs for a new boiler and ALL PARTIES leaving amicably.
I have seen an awful lot of "hard ball" morons scream, yell, have steam pour out of their ears, end up in front of judge that has no desire to see anyone particularly happy and "slice the baby" in a way that the law may allow but leaves neither buyers nor sellers with a fully acceptable solution...
When the SELLER opens with "can we go halfsies" that is a almost always an attempt to 'test the waters' and an invitation for further amicable negotiations. Had the sellers been deceptive or evasive that option would not have been available...
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Your seller was a fool imo not to offer a home warranty!!
