What Would You Do- Home/Contract Situation

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I took possession of my new home today and we stopped by to move in some little things/check out the house. We noticed right away that the refrigerator was gone.

Now, the refrigerator was not initially offered, but when we drew up the contract we specifically asked for it. They agreed with no counter offer. We immediately called our agent who talked to their agent. They were very embarassed when they realized their mistake. They said that the refrigerator was very hard to move and offered a monetary allowance of $600. I told our agent we would have to talk it over and call him back.

Now here is where the fun starts. The refrigerator was a side by side with water/ice dispenser. We liked those specific features which is one of the reasons we asked for it to be included. You cannot get one for $600. We got the cheapest one we could with the same features. It was $898.

We went ahead and bought it because without it I cannot leave my water on. (The shut off for the refrigerator line is stuck shut and so there is a stream of water. We were able to put a cap on it, but it still leaks). Plus, I will need it this week when I am up there cleaning/etc. At this point we have three options:

-Accept the $600 and eat the difference.
-Split the difference so they would pay about $750 instead of $600
-Ask them to pay for it all

On one hand, it was a used fridge which I think was part of their reasoning. On the other, they would be paying that anyway to get a new fridge for themselves, and had they honored the contract we would not be paying anything for a fridge with the same features.

At this point we are leaning toward asking them to split the difference, but I was curious what you would do? (And yes, we double checked that it was in the contract that they signed).

 

[ajk912]

I would just take the $600. I would be worried that they would tell me that they changed their minds, sorry, and they won't give me anything. And that they would see me in court. But I am paranoid like that.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

How old is the fridge? I can't see getting a used fridge for top dollar, however my dh would be ticked they did not honor the contract.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I don't know. I believe it was a newer fridge, but I'm not for sure.

On the one hand, we know that it would probably not fetch that if they sold it today.

On the other hand, we bought the house with the expectation that a fridge with these features would be included as it was in the contract. We would not be paying any money whatsoever for a fridge had they honored the contract.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I'd be more concerned about the issue with the water pipes than the $300 difference between a used and new fridge. You got a brand new fridge with the features you want for only $300. I'd drop it and be done with the hassle.

 

[portocall]

When I bought my home, I had to do a walk-through and then at the signing, sign a form that everything was accounted for. We contracted for a dishwasher and stove to be included, it wasn't there for the first walk through and we did not go to the signing. I know here, you would be lucky that they offered to give you any money as legally it would be on record as you saying it was there at the time of signing.

Take the money and run...

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I'm curious about the legalities of that. This is new to me, but I didn't have to do a walk through or sign anything separate. Since it was specifically stated in the contract, aren't they under a legal obligation to provide it? I guess I'm not understanding your post.

 

[portocall]

I don't live in the same state as you, however that is how it worked both here in Louisiana and in Florida. Your laws may be different. I only knew to look for the paper because I have a relative in the business.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Do you know what it says? I'm curious if this is a law in our state. I would hope if it is the realtor would have told us. The problem was, we closed on Wednesday and took possession today. We did do a walk through the Saturday before we closed, but the owners had not even packed up yet. At closing they had not moved out.

 

[portocall]

I would ask the realtor. She woud be the one who is supposed to be up to date on your state laws. What I signed stated that everything we agreed to in the contract was provided. It gives the seller some legal backing.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I'm 99.9% sure that such a form was not included in the closing. I dont' see how it could be since they weren't moved out and possession wasn't until today. Nobody was there when we took possession and we did not have to sign any form stating that everything was included.

I've never met them, but they do seem like really nice people. The wife is a teacher and apparently they really liked the idea that a teacher is getting the house. They have been really easy to work with. We don't want to cause them any problems, but it was stressful finding out they had taken it with them as it just meant a lot of hassle to get everything taken care of. I'm all for letting it go with the $600, but my father feels like they should pay for the whole thing. He is the one who thinks they should split the difference.

We've never dealt with anything like this before so we weren't sure how others would proceed. We can see it from all sides and are just trying to figure out the best thing to do in a sticky situation.

 

[Feralpeg]

I'd say take the $600 and tell them to get a plumber over to fix the valve on the water line. That really needs to be fixed. There will be times when you'll need to move the fridge. What are you going to do? Shut the water off to the entire house? Get them to fix the valve.

While the screwed up, the value of the old fridge wouldn't be the same as a new side by side with water/ice maker. To ask them for that amount seems too much to me.

 

[JR6ooo4]

what was the model of the fridge. chances are it looked real nice but was as cheap as possible. It was just for show, not for years upon years of normal use.

and if it has been used for staging homes it might have damage from all the moves. it is much better to get a new one with a full warranty.

you also need to find your main house water shutoff to stop leaks like the fridge. this was a brand new house and it has a bad valve? Did I misread that?

water is nothing to be taken lightly. it can damage quickly and deeply! not only structural damage but leaving behind mold!

Mikeeee

 

[JR6ooo4]

Oh, but silly me.....

congratulations







Mikeeee

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Ack. Yes, you should have done a walk through before closing - not when the previous owners were still in the home. There is no point to that. They could have trashed the house, left a giant mess of garbage, scratched the floors, poured grapejuice on the carpet, put holes in the walls, removed appliances and fixtures, and all sorts of nonsense. The walk through is to be sure the house is in the proper condition, no damage was done in moving out, and everything is there that is supposed to be as agreed upon in the contract.

If the fridge is included in the contract, I think they should pay to replace it. However, if you ask them to replace it with a similar one as before, you may end up with a used fridge that they are able to get off Craigslist or something. To make it easy, I would purchase the new one that I chose, take the $600, and take it as a learning lesson. At least you will have a nice, new fridge that is exactly what you want.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

It wasn't for show. It was their fridge. They were still living in the house when we toured it and they were planning to take it with them. We asked for it when we offered the contract figuring that the worst they could do was say no. We were actually kind of surprised they went for it, but grateful. That was actually one of the reasons (although certainly not the only one) that we did not ask for closing costs in the contract.

I don't know the model number exactly, but we did get the cheapest model that had the exact same features as their fridge.

Out of curiosity, people keep talking about a walk through before closing, but closing was on Wednesday and possession was not until today. I'm just wondering how that is supposed to work? At least around here, possession is normally a few days after closing just like we had it. There was no way to do a walk through before the closing because they were still there. Maybe it's different in other parts of the country?

 

[MoniqueU]

The previous owner of our house didn't exclude anything in the contract.We just assumed what was in the house would stay there. They took ceiling fans and the garage cabinets. We assumed these things were included but chose not to pursue it

 

[fhtpdw20]

I'd take the $600. You may make up some of the difference with new models being more energy efficient to run than an older one.

 

[GJM]

We have always done our walk thru the day of the closing. As soon as the closing is over the house is yours and you can start moving in.

 

[mlynn]

In NJ the day of closing. They realtor walks you through the house before you sit down to sign.Because by law there can't be any mess left.Also for you to make sure everything you agreeed on was there. The day we did our walk through there was a new hot water heater.(great for us) but wasn't in the list.Here the other went the day they moved out and they had to replace it.

Do you have a Sears Outlet Center in your area? You can get some great deals on floor models and dented products.If you buy a dented one you just find one with the dent on the side nobody sees.
But with that said I hated my side by side. The freezer held nothing so I had to buy a freezer chest.