Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA) on February 11, 2002 at 24:46:57:
Tell them you are not willing to do anything. You have been honest and forward with them. If they feel that they have a case, then they will have to take you to court and actually prove wrong doing.
Your statements appear as if you knew nothing about a real problem, they would need to prove that you knew it was a problem.
Just my 2 cents…
Help, Please - Posted by chuck M
Posted by chuck M on February 10, 2002 at 22:09:31:
Please. go easy, I am new at this.
I sold a home (personel home) last November. I guess shortly after the new owners move in ( 3 days) the sewer backed up. Well I had just had the guy out to clean it out like 3 weeks before and I called him back out since it was under warranty, thinking he just didn’t get it cleaned out real good the first time. This has happened a couple of times during a 30 year stay at the home.
Didn’t hear any more until yesterday. RE agent calls me and said they have been having problems all along and want me to pay to have something done, even replace the sewer line.
They are saying I knew there was a problem all along and should have disclosed it. Well this is not true, there was never a problem other than maybe a cleanout once a year or so. Nothing more than anyother home owner in the area had. No worst than any home in a mature area with large trees. I was never informed by the sewer guy I had a problem, he just did his thing and left. The neighbor across the street has to have his cleaned out about every 8 months, so I guess I was lucky. The City has a turbo cleaning truck come out and cleanout the sewer line every 2 years or so.
Through the years I was told that most likely it was roots, but never for sure, as they never pulled anything out.
Somehow the nextdoor neighbor(spelling) got involved and told them I had problems and knew about the roots and even had the sewer guy put a camera down the main. This was also unture.
I believe what is happening is this guy is not pushing it out to the street, just hitting the clog and pulling his cable. I seem to remenber him doing this the last time he was out for me.
The RE agent said something about Orangeberg pipe and I should have disclosed this. Well I had no idea what Orangeberg pipe was till she told me and do remenber the sewer guy saying something about it, but didn’t say it was good or bad, just that it was most likely what was underground. The sewer guy is now saying he informed me about orangeberg, which he didn’t.
How can I handle this? I don’t what to pay for a new system for them. I feel sorry for them, since they are young and first time home buyers, but I never had a problem. I look at the cleanouts I had as part of ownership. They first want me to pay for a camera which will lead to whatever.
HELP!
And Thanks in advance.
PS. They were a nightmare prior to closing wanting a list of fix its done. I almost killed the deal twice over there list they kept adding to.
They are talking about filing a suit, or maybe it’s a bluff.
Thanks
Re: Help, Please - Posted by Ben
Posted by Ben on February 11, 2002 at 07:10:12:
Are you refering to the sanitary sewer, or storm sewer?Did you give them a residential disclosure form? Does your area have a point-of-sale inspection prior to transfer?
Did you disclose that the sewer backed up every so often as you posted? Did you disclose that you to clean out every year or so?
It appears to me that if you had to clean out every year or so then this indicated you knew something, or why else clean out every year or so. It is unusual to clean out that often, if at all.
That’s my 2 cents.
I’m