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The daughter of a friend of ours bought a home that had been
remodelled by the boyfriend of the realtor. (he buys houses,
remodels them, and his girlfriend sells them). The disclosure
form stated that "everything is in working order". There was no
house inspection done. When moving in, the new owner found
the gas furnace didn't work. The repairman determined that
the furnace was unrepairable and labelled it "condemned".
Is small claims court the best recourse for a new furnace?
Also, who should be sued...the seller or the realtor? The
state is MN.
Thanks!
Scott
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Scott <golden@uslink.net> wrote in message news:<3FD8B155.CE26F284@uslink.net>...
The daughter of a friend of ours bought a home that had been
remodelled by the boyfriend of the realtor. (he buys houses,
remodels them, and his girlfriend sells them). The disclosure
form stated that "everything is in working order". There was no
house inspection done. When moving in, the new owner found
the gas furnace didn't work. The repairman determined that
the furnace was unrepairable and labelled it "condemned".
Is small claims court the best recourse for a new furnace?
Also, who should be sued...the seller or the realtor? The
state is MN.
Thanks!
Scott
This is a common thing. But I can't help asking why the buyer of the
house never had it inspected by a professional engineer? And why did
the buyer not bother to check the heating system at any time during
the whole process?
I find it very odd that a buyer would close on a house having never
seen that the heating system worked.
Also, why would the poster assume anyone would/should be sued?
The disclosure form doesn't really protect either party in the sale
really, depending on the wording and state laws.
It seems that this situation is one of oversight by someone,
but of course, the buyer should consult their attorney.
William
wprien@yahoo.com
licensed Real Estate Sales Agent NY
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On 11 Dec 2003 17:45:53 -0800, William Prien <wprien@yahoo.com> wrote:
Scott <golden@uslink.net> wrote in message news:<3FD8B155.CE26F284@uslink.net>...
This is a common thing. But I can't help asking why the buyer of the
house never had it inspected by a professional engineer? And why did
the buyer not bother to check the heating system at any time during
the whole process?
I find it very odd that a buyer would close on a house having never
seen that the heating system worked.
Also, why would the poster assume anyone would/should be sued?
The disclosure form doesn't really protect either party in the sale
really, depending on the wording and state laws.
It seems that this situation is one of oversight by someone,
but of course, the buyer should consult their attorney.
The law concerning disclosures varies widely from state to state, but
in some jurisdictions, there is no requirement to disclose things that
would be found by a reasonable inspection.
It's also possible that a court would find that not checking out
the furnace yourself was not reasonable. That finding would torpedo
any kind of misrepresentation action.
Isaac
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On Sat, 13 Dec 2003 05:03:44 GMT, Isaac
<isaac@latveria.castledoom.org> wrote:
On 11 Dec 2003 17:45:53 -0800, William Prien <wprien@yahoo.com> wrote:
The law concerning disclosures varies widely from state to state, but
in some jurisdictions, there is no requirement to disclose things that
would be found by a reasonable inspection.
It's also possible that a court would find that not checking out
the furnace yourself was not reasonable. That finding would torpedo
any kind of misrepresentation action.
In Texas for sure, failure to disclose a materail fact about property
is a violation of th eTexas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. A seller
can't say "For Sale As Is", and not tell the potential buyer about the
known termite infestation, or that the HVAC is toast.
Of course, any buyer who doesn't get a house inspected is pretty
stupid, but that's no reason to not hold the seller responsible for
non-disclosure.
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