Posted by Kevin Katenhusen on May 30, 2004 at 23:34:16:
Thank you for your comments. I like your Idea of answering the letter with a letter of our own. We did not use the phrase “as is” in the contract. However, we also did not express a warranty.
My partner called the attorney on Wednesday, and his secretary said he would be out of town until the following Tuesday. An hour later my partners wife also called the attorney (his wife was unaware he had called previously) when she called the secretary told her the attorney was on the other line. We feel this is extremely odd. Also, the address the letter was sent from happens to be the homeowners address. Although the letter was signed by the attorney and was printed on the attorneys letterhead.
Since all of this is so strange we have decided to wait until we are directly contacted by the attorney in question.
Thank you again for posting… If anyone wants to post comments about our decision to wait and do nothing, we would be happy to hear your opinion.
Possible lawsuit from a buyer - Posted by Kevin Katenhusen
Posted by Kevin Katenhusen on May 27, 2004 at 14:41:49:
I need help!!!
I am worried about a letter I recieved from a lawyer claiming he is representing an owner of a property my partner and I sold about a year and a half ago.
Apparently the buyer is unhappy with the house. However, the letter does not disclose specific issues. It only states that we did not disclose specific problems with the property when we sold it.
When we bought the house we completewly rewired the property as well as installed new 200 amp service box. Also we completely remodeled the bathroom, put on a new roof, which came with a 1 year warranty. Also we installed a new gas line, painted the entire interior, and completely remodeled the kitchen.
About a month after we sold the property I recieved a call from the new owner. He told me on the phone that the roof was leaking. I gave him the name of the construction company that installed the roof. I have never heard another word from the new owner, until I got this letter from his attorney.
Its been over 18 months since we sold this property. I am an honest man and my partner is also. We just don’t understand what possible negligence we could have with the sale of this property.
Is their some sort of time limitation for a home owner filing a negligence lawsuit on a previous owner?
Is their anyone that can explain the possible pitfalls that our situation may present? Should we even be concerned about this?
Anyone that can help us please respond. We will greatly appreciate any comments.
Thank you
Re: Possible lawsuit from a buyer - Posted by River City
Posted by River City on May 28, 2004 at 07:58:17:
I think they are trying to scare you. The letter from the attorney should have been specific. How do they expect you to respond when they haven’t given you any information to respond to? I would suggest writing the attorney a letter of response requesting that he be specific. Don’t talk to him on the phone. Do it in letter form, so you don’t say something you shouldn’t say. When you respond in writing, you have time to review your response. When you talk on the phone, what is said cannot be retracted.
It appears that you and your partner did a lot of work on the home getting it ready to sell. Did your contract indicate that the sale was “as is?”
This has nothing to do with real estate, but several years ago, I received a letter from an attorney that said he was representing someone against me. His letter was specific. I answered each item in his letter and never heard another word from him. He knew there was no case.
Good luck. You sound like a nice person.