4.
My recourse and options when...
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4.5
We recently purchased a home contingent on a home inspection.
It revealed structural water damage to the floor joists, basement
dampness and small leaks int he roof. We want to terminate the
agreement but the seller us willing to make the repairs. Furthermore,
the seller never disclosed the existence of these problems. How
can we break the deal?
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You have
an out if the sales contract was contingent not only upon completion
of the home inspection but your full approval of the results of
the home inspection. That means that there must be a home inspection
completed AND you must approve of the condition of the home based
on the home inspector’s findings. If the contract was written
with only the contingency of getting a home inspection, then once
this task was completed, you are obligated to buy the home no matter
what the results are. If the contract was written such that, if
the home inspection uncovers defects and the seller agrees to and
fixes the listed defects, the buyer is obligated to buy, then you
are liable. An argument can be made however, that a certain condition
such as the damp basement cannot be fixed or fixed properly which
may give you the right to cancel the contract. You should consult
with legal counsel experienced in real estate seller disclosure
matters for his/her opinion after review of the contract documents.If
only the Seller had a real estate agent and you did not, there
is a question of dual agency and possibly a violation of the real
estate agent’s duty and standard of care to you not as a
client but as the customer/buyer. In this instance, there appears
to be improper disclosure on the part of the seller for misrepresentation
and/or non-disclosure of material facts and standard of care liability
on the part of the seller’s real estate agent.The seller
should have disclosed the condition and history of the roof regardless
of it being fixed. You could raise the issue of " what else
was a problem that the Seller fixed and decided not to disclose?" The
home inspection is a general visual nondestructive inspection so
if there were other defects that were fixed by the seller the home
inspector may not have seen it.
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| 4.1 I own a home with a sibling who is living
in it rent free. He/she is not interested in purchasing half of
it. Hence I am not getting any value from the property. What are
my options? |
| 4.2 I purchased a new condo at the beginning
of February to be closed at the beginning of May. It is now July
and the condo is not completed. Interest rates rose dramatically
and the cost for moving around are mounting. Do I have recourse
againts the builder? |
| 4.3 We finally found a home we could afford
after months searching. Unfortunately, the home inspection revealed
a number of defects that werent apparent at the time we agreed
to buy the property. Although we can walk away without penalty,
we prefer to work out a solution. Hence what are the options? |
| 4.4 In the disclosure statement on a home
sale, I wrote that the old roof "leaked(replaced) age 1 year
old". The buyer is suing me in court for a leaking roof saying
that i had misrepresented the state of the roof. Does he have a
case against me? |
| 4.5 We recently purchased a home contingent
on a home inspection. It revealed structural water damage to the
floor joists, basement dampness and small leaks int he roof. We
want to terminate the agreement but the seller us willing to make
the repairs. Furthermore, the seller never disclosed the existence
of these problems. How can we break the deal? |
| 4.6 We built a new home and closed in March
of this year. How long is the builder's warranty on a home and
how long is he responsible for doing repairs? |
| 4.7 Is it a good idea to close escrow while
there is a tenant in the property that is currently evicted? |
| 4.8 I unknowingly purchased a property contaminated
with hazardous waste. Now the EPA wants me to pay for the cleanup.
What are my options? |
| 4.9 How do I find about any existing hazardous
materials on property I am thinking of buying? |
| 4.10 Within a short time after buying our
home, the heating system failed. It will cost a bomb to get replaced.
The seller wrote "Dont Know" on the disclosure form,
and the home inspector said the system was working fine. Do we
have any recourse? |
| 4.11 Our neighbour who has easement rights
to his property located behind our home will be shortly selling
his property. Do we have any say as to who gets easement? |
| 4.12 I live in a state that permits real
estate agents to prepare purchase contracts for their clients.
Under what circumstances should I consider having an attorney eyeball
the purchase transaction? |
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