Hubby and I were in negotiations to buy a house. The same agency is reperesenting us, and also representing the seller. It was an old, somewhat run-down house that looked like all it needed was some TLC. We were really excited, because we could see the potential that this house had . . . once we had it fixed up, it would have been our dream house.
The inspection came back with some major problems. We decided to ask that the home owners fix these problems before we bought it. Our realtor . . . I’ll call him Mike, tried to talk us out of most of the things we asked for, saying that the homeowners wouldn’t do it, and if we wanted the house, we’d better make it a short list. Hubby insisted on having the BIG problems repaired, and that we would take care of the small ones. We asked that they repair the crumbling foundation, replace the ancient knob & tube wiring, and do a couple of other things. We also inisted on a clause that we had to approve of the repairs, as much as Mike objected. Mike said he would send us the estimates as soon as they came in.
We spoke with Mike a few days later, and he told us that the homeowners were willing to fix all of the problems. Great, we said, let’s see the estimates. Mike said he didn’t have them yet, but that he would get them to us.
36 hours before closing, we got the first few estimates, (have yet to see all of them, actually) and nearly passed out.
We haven’t seen the foundation estimate, because Mike says he can’t read it. By implication, this means that he doesn’t really understand what’s going to be done, but he explained it over the phone, making it sound very simple to fix: a beam would be put in to support the house. Hubby asked for the contractor’s number and called him. He got a VERY different story from the contractor. Basically, the back side of the house is sinking. The foundation was going to be beamed, and the house placed on a jack. We would be responsible, over the next six months for raising it. The contractor said that, honestly, he couldn’t promise that the repair would fix the problem, and that if any damage occured during the jacking-up that it would be an expense that we would have to pay.
The electricity estimate said that the knob-and-tube wiring would be fixed, but only that which would be easy to get to . . . they wouldn’t fix any within the walls.
We called Mike, and said that this was unnacceptable, and that we did not approve of the repair to the foundation. Mike replied that we HAD to approve . . . that this was the only company in town that would do this sort of work. We insisted that we were not satisified, and that we couldn’t approve of a repair that wouldn’t be finished until six months after closing and might not even fix the problem in the first place. Mike said we were being unreasonable, that the repairs WERE done as soon as the beam was in place, and that the jacking was “maintanence” that we would be responsible for, and “maintenance” was not part of a repair. We argued that lifting the house back up WAS part of the repair.
We then told him about the knob-and-tube wiring, and that our insurance company said that they wouldn’t cover us if the knob-and-tube were present, because it’s a fire risk. Mike replied that we didn’t have to tell the insurance company that it was there in the first place, and that “it’s not like they’re going to check for it, anyway.”
We told Mike that we were not satisfied with the repairs, and that we were invoking our contractual right to approve/dissaprove, and that we would not close until the repairs were done properly and completely. Mike said that we could not do that, and that the approval clause “doesn’t mean that.” Furthermore, if we did NOT close on the contract date, then he would see us in court. Mind you, this guy is supposed to be on OUR side.
Turns out that there are four deals hinging on ours going through on time, and Mike implied that all of the parties in these deals could sue us as well if we didn’t close on time. We tried to reason with him, as it sems pretty clear to us that we have the right to approve of all repairs, and that we adamatly do NOT approve. We put that clause in to protect ourselves. The conversation ended with Mike saying “Well, I guess this will be settled by the courts, then.”
A relative of mine knows the person who owns the agency, and called to ask if the agency was planning to sue. The owner said that the agency had never sued anyone and wasn’t about to start now, and where did we get such an idea? The agent? Well the agent shouldn’t be saying that to you! The homeowners, of course, could sue, but the agency itself would not.
We decided to see an attorney, who told us that, yes, we did have a leg to stand on. The homeowners had not disclosed what had to be obvious flaws, such as the holes in the roof, bad plumbing, falling foundation, etc. Mike had also screwed up the contracts, making them questionable.
I’m just absolutely sick about all of this. As I told Mike, I love the house, and if all of the repairs were complete and done properly, I would buy it. But obviously, we cannot have repairs re-inspected if they’re not going to be complete until six months after the closing. I don’t want to be sued, but I don’t want to be stuck with a house that’s not fixed, either.
I don’t know whether to worry about this, or not. The couple who own the home are not in the best financial shape, and the costs of a law suit could be high. The lawyer told us that all they could sue for is the difference between the price that they eventually sell it for and what we offered. At the present time, they’re not out any money-- no repairs have been done yet.
Our attorney had us write a letter to the agency explaining that we were dropping out of the deal, briefly explaining why, and that no further action was to be taken by Mike on our behalf. He seemed to think that this was the last we would hear of it.
My relatives had me call another attorney, who didn’t take such a good view of the situation. He called it a “can of worms” and said that the people could sue us for six to up to fifteen years in the future for breaking the contract. Being semi-homeless and living with relatives, Hubby and I want to buy a home, but the idea that a few years from now when we’re tied up in another property they could come back and slap us with a big ole law suit makes me ill.
What do you guys think? Am I losing sleep over nothing?