What Would You Do- Home/Contract Situation

[mumom95]

In Ohio, I think it's somewhat typical to close, but then you have up to 30 days after closing before you actually take possession of the house. So, I don't know how a walk through would be possible here.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

OP, I would take the 600 if I were you.

Did you buy the extended warranty for the new fridge? If not go back and buy it. For us, it was also worth it.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

In Ohio, I think it's somewhat typical to close, but then you have up to 30 days after closing before you actually take possession of the house. So, I don't know how a walk through would be possible here.

Wow. That is messed up. So you close on a house and you are paying their mortgage for 30 days? Yikes, that is baloney.

 

[msmayor]

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?

Ideally, the walk through should be completed just hours before closing...and the house should be EMPTY.

If you 'allowed' the previous owners to continue to occupy the house after closing then there should have been some sort of agreement regarding additional money to YOUR side of the table as 'rent' (this happened with our first townhouse purchase...the seller wanted to remain 2 extra days so we did a preliminary walkthrough right before closing and a separate 'rent' agreement was signed for those two days, spelling out the cost to him for damages we may find after he was out. We also received an additional $100 from him as 'rent').

Without a doubt, take the $600 and as previous posters have said: get THEM to fix the water line. Use as leverage on YOUR side that they didn't disclose the problem with the water line before you bought it, but them moving out the fridge you expected to be there revealed this problem to you and therefore they must now fix it.

They'll realize that taking that fridge screwed them more than it screwed you.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

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.

ITA! Consider this a lesson learned and move on.

 

[teskak]

If the net effect is $300 - how much is the potential fight worth to you? how much time and energy will it take up?

You have spoken before of:
* personal health issues,
* shifting states,
* starting a new job fresh out of uni,
* potentially planning a wedding,
* dealing with your partner's job issues, and
* dealing wtih potential health issues of your mother.

Too add a potential contractual dispute because the vendors did not think of the details when accepting an offer on a property in my view is just asking for the extra stress.

I would take the money.

 

[HighClass]

.

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?

Nope-our closing was day of OUR possession of both "used" houses we bought. House was empty.

We had a walkthru a couple hours before & iin one house was dismayed to see a stain on the carpet that ownner had hidden with a small rug. We ended up just replacing carpet. Also one set of curtains was NAILED to plaster & that required some work on our part.

I would take the $$, because it was a used fridge.

 

[merekc]

I am not a realtor and would encourage you to talk to yours (even though my experiences have always been that my realtors want to avoid any issues so they are afraid to negotiate, but that is another story).

I'm surprised how many people are saying take the money because it was an older, used fridge. I don't think that is the issue. In my mind, it is replacement value. They took an item that is part of the contract and they should be responsible for the replacement value (IMO, and again not a realtor).

However, with that being said, I would probably take the $600 (and be ticked) because 1) I just want to get it over with and that is a somewhat fair amount. It's not like they offered you $200 which would nowhere cover the value of the item and be an insult, KWIM? 2) At this point, I would hate to have them want to bring it back since you don't know what damages it might have from being moved (twice). When we bought our current house with fridge included, we found out after several months of usage the fridge was waaaaay too small, so we moved it out to the garage. That short move of 10 feet did something to it and it has never worked as well as when it was in the kitchen.

But I would check with your realtor because maybe law is that they need to provide replacement value. I wouldn't agree to anything until you know your rights. And I would make sure you get it in cash. I think it is too late to try to wrap it into the mortgage, but anything like this would mean that you don't have the actual money.

I hate when previous homeowners take advantage of you and then you have to decide the appropriate course of action. Of course, most of the time it is easiest to just not go back after them and they know it. I hate dishonest people that take advantage!

Good Luck and Congratulations!

P.S. Yeah for the person who got the new hot water tank! SCORE!

 

[mumom95]

Wow. That is messed up. So you close on a house and you are paying their mortgage for 30 days? Yikes, that is baloney.

I think this is how it works, but I'm not positive. When we moved back to Ohio (from California), our realtor took care of the closing for us (it was a company transfer) and the people were already out of the house, so it wasn't a big deal. But, my in-laws just sold their house this summer, and they had 30 days to get out of the house after closing. A good friend of mine just closed on her house last week and same thing, she has 30 days to get out. She doesn't even close on her new house (which is a newly constructed house, so I'm assuming she'll be able to to occupancy immediately) until tomorrow. I'm not sure it it's a law here, or just standard practice. I know when we closed on our house in California, the new owners took possession immediately.

 

[msmayor]

I am not a realtor and would encourage you to talk to yours (even though my experiences have always been that my realtors want to avoid any issues so they are afraid to negotiate, but that is another story).

I'm surprised how many people are saying take the money because it was an older, used fridge. I don't think that is the issue. In my mind, it is replacement value. They took an item that is part of the contract and they should be responsible for the replacement value (IMO, and again not a realtor).

However, with that being said, I would probably take the $600 (and be ticked) because 1) I just want to get it over with and that is a somewhat fair amount. It's not like they offered you $200 which would nowhere cover the value of the item and be an insult, KWIM? 2) At this point, I would hate to have them want to bring it back since you don't know what damages it might have from being moved (twice). When we bought our current house with fridge included, we found out after several months of usage the fridge was waaaaay too small, so we moved it out to the garage. That short move of 10 feet did something to it and it has never worked as well as when it was in the kitchen.

But I would check with your realtor because maybe law is that they need to provide replacement value. I wouldn't agree to anything until you know your rights. And I would make sure you get it in cash. I think it is too late to try to wrap it into the mortgage, but anything like this would mean that you don't have the actual money.

I hate when previous homeowners take advantage of you and then you have to decide the appropriate course of action. Of course, most of the time it is easiest to just not go back after them and they know it. I hate dishonest people that take advantage!

Good Luck and Congratulations!

P.S. Yeah for the person who got the new hot water tank! SCORE!

But $600 probably IS replacement value for a used fridge. Even in a court of law you're never going to get brand new to replace used...

 

[Ephany]

We did the walk-through the morning of closing. That's when we discovered the previous owners were smokers. They'd had all of windows open whenever we stopped by before and were burning scented candles so the smell wasn't noticeable. We ended up having to wash and paint walls as well as replace all of the carpeting in the house. We were doing a military move and needed to be moved in ASAP so we didn't have time to search for another house. I can't imagine doing a walk-though with the previous owners still there; I've heard too many horror stories about homes missing fixtures, cabinets, wiring etc...

Personally I'd take the $600 and chalk it up to a lesson learned. We had a side-by-side fridge that conveyed with the house, but it quickly moved into the garage. We ended up purchasing one that had the freezer on the bottom instead and I love it.

 

[Feralpeg]

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?

I live in Kansas City for 40 years and bought four houses while living there. Normally, closing is put after the sellers are out of the house. That way, you can do a walk through prior to closing. Possession can take place on closing day (the norm) or after. To close while the selling party is still residing in the home is very unusual.

 

[disbridemimi]

Take the 600 and change the locks. Their old fridge may crap out after a year, a new one will last you a much longer period.

My parents bought a house, and a MONTH after they moved in, the previous owner came in and stole all of the chandeliers, light switch plates, light bulbs, and a whole bunch of other little cheap odds and ends. My mother was furiouos about the chandeliers. The neighbors had watched him pull up & carry it out, (they all hated him) and told my parents. They called the police and the police said that they needed to call the realtor, not the police. The realotis said call the police.

Anywho, they changed the locks and didnt get anything back. The guy moved out of state, no idea why he even wanted that stuff. SOme of it was just weird stuff to take. The POLICE really let my parents down, in my opinion this was a robbery.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Wow, that is really horrible! The sellers in this case seem like good honest people and I doubt we would have any poblems. Not to mention their new house is in the community so it's not like they could hide somewhere. They have a couple of kids and just needed a bigger house.

ETA: The kid aspect has made things a little interesting. The kids' rooms are very obviously kids' rooms. One of the spare bedrooms had teddy bears on three of the walls. Thank God they were decals that peeled off easily. Those came down immediately! The Princess light plate in the other room may be the next thing to get taken down.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

We did the walk-through the morning of closing. That's when we discovered the previous owners were smokers. They'd had all of windows open whenever we stopped by before and were burning scented candles so the smell wasn't noticeable. We ended up having to wash and paint walls as well as replace all of the carpeting in the house. We were doing a military move and needed to be moved in ASAP so we didn't have time to search for another house. I can't imagine doing a walk-though with the previous owners still there; I've heard too many horror stories about homes missing fixtures, cabinets, wiring etc...

Personally I'd take the $600 and chalk it up to a lesson learned. We had a side-by-side fridge that conveyed with the house, but it quickly moved into the garage. We ended up purchasing one that had the freezer on the bottom instead and I love it.

My goodness! That is absolutely terrible. In this case, there was no deception. I don't want it to sound like they are awful people because they are not. I think in the chaos of moving they just forgot it. Really, they have been very easy to work with. When we went in yesterday, the carpets were vacuumed, the grass was cut, and literally only two things got left behind: a little kid car and a vase. They even left us a note warning us about the freezer line. I can't say enough good things about them, all things considered they have been very easy to work with.

 

[onelilspark]

I'd also agree with others, take the $600, chalk it up to experience. Be glad you're getting that. When I bought my place, there was the walk through and I went immediately to closing.

Whether or not you think they're good people, it's a good idea to change the locks. Don't need something else to learn the hard way...

 

[Mom2Nick]

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?

Here in NJ you close on the house and it's immediately yours. You can move in immediately afterwards. That means that the morning of the closing, unless you have agreed otherwise, the sellers need to be out or on their way out. Walkthrough is one of the last things you do then. You are looking for damages that may have been hidden by furniture and things that they took that they should not have taken.

In your case - I would take the $600 and just be done with the hassle of all of it although they really should pay for the entire cost of the new fridge. It's just not worth it though because people can be jerks.