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House Has No Gutters |
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My daughter and son-in-law just put a bid on a house and it was accepted. This is their first house so they made a gross mis-judgement on not realizing there wasn't any gutters on the house. They had a home inspection done which noted some erosion under the back patio. The inspector said gutters should be put on to fix the problem.
The contract said the owner would fix any problems found from the inspection. They asked the broker about getting money off the price of the house for gutters to fix the erosion problem and the realtor said no way because this was not considered a pre-existing problem. My question is can they pursue this at closing by saying there are no gutters and they want compensation? |
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I question whether that sales contract really says the seller will remedy problems found by your kids’ home inspector. More commonly, a seller may agree to make any repairs required by the buyers’ mortgage lender. Your kids should check the wording to see what the document says.
Has that lender’s inspection been done? Do the buyers already have their mortgage commitment? Does the building code in that area mandate gutters? All that might make a difference.
In any event, waiting until settlement is a poor idea. Buyers are under enough pressure that day and may not be in a position to bargain. It’s best to have the matter settled ahead of time. If your kids are in an area where lawyers are used for closing, they already have someone to go to bat for them. Same thing if they’ve hired their own buyers’ agent. Otherwise they’ll have to stand firm on their own.
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Edith
Originally published on January 6, 2006 |
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