Quote:
Originally Posted by BWillie007
I recently purchased a home. Nice 4 bedroom, 3 bath home in Olathe. As part of our preconditions we required the seller to make some minor necessary repairs, and to have a licensed heating and cooling company/contractor take a look at the heating and cooling system to make sure it didn't need repairs, was safe, fully functional, and had no prior conditions.
The HVAC system was 27 years old, and I was hesitant to buy the house because of this. But the seller came down an awful lot from their asking price, and I had put in a low offer. The company who services the unit before I bought the house said the HVAC unit was fine, and I think they just added some freon since they were out. I had the seller buy me an AB May home warranty to cover myself if the HVAC unit did fail.
Within the first 3 hours I had the air on, water started gushing out the front of it, and not going out the hose. I figured it the hose probably just needed to be blown out as there was a clog, but come to find out the HVAC system is pretty much fucked and now it does not even work. I don't know much about HVAC systems, but I was told in essense the A-coil was bad, the furnace had rusted out in the pan or down by the flame, huge freon leaks in the outside and inside, it was unsafe, and a bunch of other things. AB May contends that this is something that was a precondition and they will not repair it under the warranty. The contractor who serviced the unit a month before I closed said there was more or less nothing wrong with the unit. The technician for AB May indicated that if someone had inspected or serviced the HVAC unit and thought that it was fine would of been a complete idiot and/or lying that they even inspected it. He even thought this was something the seller would of had to know about as the problems didn't happen over night.
So tomorrow I'm having my realtor, AB May, and the HVAC company who serviced it come over and have a little pow wow to find out what the hell is going on. My guess is I'm probably screwed, because neither want of them want to pay or admit an error. If none of them want to pay, would I have any legal recourse?
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Here's the deal. . .
1. When you purchased your home, the sellers signed a DISCLOSURE form. The form lists all of the known problems with the home. Was the HVAC unit listed on the disclosure form?
2. When you purchased the home, an INSPECTION was conducted of the house. What company completed the inspection? Was anything said about the HVAC unit on the inspection form? It sounds from your description that the mechanical inspector pointed out that the unit looked dubious and needed to be looked at.
3. Many home sales these days include an appliance warranty as a part of the deal. Was an appliance warranty a part of your purchase transaction?
4. "We made a list of things that said if you do not do this we will not buy the house. That included having the HVAC serviced to make sure there are no prior conditions or repairs needed to the unit, and that it was fully functional."
This clause would have been effective had you exercised it PRIOR to the closing or prior to taking possession of the house. The seller should have provided you with evidence that they had complied with the requirements PRIOR to closing. Since you took possession it seems as though you waived your written requirements.
In my opinion, your best hope is to negotiate a settlement with the Realtor. Your seller is not likely on the hook unless the seller had known of the problem and failed to disclose the problem. The seller may also be on the hook if he had made any assurances concerning the unit, informing you that it was in great condition and etc. Since you didn't say the seller made such assurances and he disclosed the unit was an older model, I doubt the seller is on the hook. Since the inspection service actually pointed out problems with the unit and suggested it be looked at, it is not likely the mechanical inspector would be on the hook. If, however, the mechanical inspector approved the unit on the inspection form, you may have some luck there.
1. The Realtor is a professional and case law seems to indicate that even if a realtor doesn't know about such problems, as a professional, he SHOULD HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THE PROBLEM. Again, you don't want to actually take the realtor to court but with some negotiation, you might get him to agree to refund some of the commission.
2. The company that conducted the inspection had to have signed some form indicating their opinion of the condition of the home. If that company indicated that the HVAC unit was inspected and found to be OK, perhaps you may have some recourse against that company? Again, stay out of court if you can but try to negotiate a settlement. Inspection people don't get a ton of money for the service so your most likely source of real money is the realtor.
3. I doubt that you will have any luck against the company that serviced the unit. That company just provided an opinion to you based upon their experience with the unit.
I am not an attorney. . .this is just my opinion.