Posted by Mike (Seattle Wa) on July 13, 2007 at 13:56:42:
My own attorney said the same thing and yes, all was done to code. I also do have liability insurance, but changed compaines and had a lapse during this project (doh) so they will probably try to weasel out of any pay on it.
Inspection was done and signed off on as well. I’m just going to ignore until if and when I get a summons.
Buyer is complaining about a house I fixed. - Posted by Mike (Seattle Wa)
Posted by Mike (Seattle Wa) on July 12, 2007 at 17:12:12:
1 month after the property has closed, I got an email from the buyer complaining about a few issues with the house. 1 of the appliances has failed, the GFIs in the kitchen are tripping under heavy loads, the back door doesn’t close properly and he claims he gets a fountain in the sink when the dishwasher runs. He had a home inspection and none of the above showed up. The main wrinkle in this is that the buyer is an attorney and can do the court thing for much cheaper than I.
The house was a heavy rehab, but all things were permited and handled via licensed people. I don’t think this guy has any leg to stand on here (buyer beware and all), but I figured I get a reality check here before I call my attorney tomorrow.
Re: Buyer is complaining about a house I fixed. - Posted by Edwin
Posted by Edwin on July 19, 2007 at 23:20:08:
Quit trying to weasel out of this. Okay, so maybe some of the inspections were done incompletely, or some issues, like the gfi overloading and dishwasher problem can’t reasonbly be expected to be noticed until actual day to day use. Sounds like some of the work wasn’t done correctly. Unless, the buyer has abused things or caused the problems, I’d fix them. It’s morally right. But I wouldn’t fix or replace the broken appliance. That’s the luck of the draw that it broke down soon after he bought the house. (Unless, of course, it had some problem you were aware of that caused it to fail). Too many times people get too caught up in analyzing technical and legal details to escape liability. If you still are undecided what to do, think of this. What would you like the seller to do if you had bought a house with similar problems?
Buyer is complaining about a house… - Posted by Rich-CA
Posted by Rich-CA on July 12, 2007 at 19:55:57:
Did they have a home inspection done before closing? Was there an inspection contingency in the contract? if so, they had their chance.
Most attorneys I know will not rep themselves in court, but they do think about going to court faster than the rest of us. Does your rehab business have liability insurance? lots of it? if so, they will get the opportunity to do what you paid them for if you’re sued. Gather the docs their attorney needs when asked (I’d start putting copies together right now).
If your sales contract had an inspection period, and the work is to code, tell him that and that his time, per contract, is past.