Closing coming up and new leak
Hi, I posted before about the laundry room smell. That seems to be fine. They capped off the open sewer lines. The walls of the room were damp. They are saying that they met all the conditions for closing and I don’t feel they have cause of the wet walls- evidently there is grading that…
Hi,
I posted before about the laundry room smell. That seems to be fine. They capped off the open sewer lines. The walls of the room were damp. They are saying that they met all the conditions for closing and I don’t feel they have cause of the wet walls- evidently there is grading that needs to be done. We can’t get out of the contract. How does one get out of a contract?
I think we hate the place now- how will we ever like it?
I’m not dismissing or ridiculing your fears. But it still seems this is more about your expectations being high or outside the norm. So far as I know, the sellers are not legally required to give you access during escrow, following inspection and signing the contract. They could be sick of people coming over after multiple showings selling the house. They could be nervous because you are so nervous. The seller’s realtor never helps the buyer with problems on the house — not unless it’s the period before the contract is signed and he/she might lose the deal if you’re not happy. So don’t expect much from that person. Also, NY State is a Caveat Emptor state: The sellers answered your questions to their best knowledge which is all they were obligated to disclose, so when they say the smell is now your problem that’s what they may be referring to.
For the final walk-through make a list of very specific questions about the basement for the sellers if you are still nervous, and submit it in writing. But still, they can only answer the best they can or as far as they feel they have to. They aren’t obligated to get a contractor in there to dig it all up so they can tell you as much about the problem as possible and how it can be fixed. That’s totally outside what is required of them.
Once again, not trying to back out, just very frustrated that the lawyer is not doing anything to help with the situation.
There are other factors that have made me mad at the house- denied access for almost 2 months from contract signing because the family was having issues. The house not being in as great condition as we were led to believe.
The sewer gas issue- 1st we were told it was dog smell; then told- it is our problem – we don’t even own the house, how is it our problem- it wasn’t there before. Then it was, the realtor does not want to uspet the family by telling them there is a smell.
It took a week of fighting to get that addressed.
The whole process has been very stressful. more so than it should have been. At this point, I feel like they might expect us to buy the house without the final walk thru. It has been like that.
Frankly, this seems like making too much out of what might have been a simple oversight. Normally, if you remove a w/d, there’s nothing else to be done, the trap ensures no sewer gas can escape (until it dries out in a few months). So maybe they were careless, or the trap is not OK. But not something to “hate the place” about.
Yes, setancre did put it very well.
Someday when you’re ready to sell, OP you’ll be on the other side of it and will completely understand why it’s hard to suddenly without real reason back out of contracts. Plus you won’t find any house that has a bone-dry basement anyway among more affordable houses that have not been fully updated by a new generation owner. There were different standards before. Older owners could have done simple fixes to help the moisture but they put up with basement smells more than we do now, with our sensitivity to it and our knowledge of related health concerns. When we were house hunting all the unrenovated houses we saw had a smelly basement. Every one.
Hi,
I understand it should be difficult to get out of a contract. We aren’t trying to get out of it. I am sorry I conveyed that. I just think, if you are selling a house that you say is in great shape and it isn’t and we ask for some help on that- it might be nice to concede a bit.
They removed the w/d and left the sewer traps open and filled the laundry room with methane gas- we had to fight to get that fixed. I am just so frustrated.
I still like the house and would like to live there.
Well put, setancre.
I think you need to think about why you want out of this contract. Is it simply about a little water in the basement? Because that’s not really a good reason, it’s pretty standard in the vast majority of Brookly basements to take in small amounts of water especially after a straight week of rain. You will be hard-pressed to find a home for sale without this problem if you inspected them all after a rainstorm.
If you want out of the contract because you just aren’t sure you want the house anymore, I think you need to realize this is why the contract exists, because it’s a leap of faith for two parties to come together and exchange a huge amount of money. The seller spent time and money putting the house on the market and you are wasting their time and money if you pull out of a signed contract. It is supposed to be difficult to get out of contracts for a reason.
Best of luck with your situation.
the inspector said that grading would be ideal, but it wasn’t seeping through the wall then. I guess we just did not understand the issue. No one said- hey water is leaking through here- just eventual grading. Our attorney is not helping- he is giving me the ” it isn’t in the contract” speech. I feel that he isn’t doing anything to help us.
thanks for all the suggestions and support.
It is just so frustrating that the contracts are totally in the seller’s favor and that there is never a recourse.