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Anyone's house "fail" inspection?

Discussion in 'Non-Vegas Chat' started by Chicken Dinner, Oct 13, 2016.

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  1. Chicken Dinner

    Chicken Dinner Low-Roller

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    Trying to sell my house that I bought new 4 years ago. Accepted an offer and the buyers conducted their inspection. Turns out the builder installed the tank less water heater incorrectly. Its been collecting water and is all rusted inside. A second plumber came out and recommended it be replaced ASAP. Its gonna cost me 3 grand to fix this. I PO'd the plumber screwed up, the foreman didn't catch it and the original home inspector didnt say anything. Do I have any recourse after 4 yrs? I don't even know who to ask abt this. Thanks.
     
  2. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    Unless you have some sort of guarentee and the installer is still around, nope.
    You could always install a regular water heater for under $1,000

    Sometimes you can negotiate with a buyer and offer $xxxx to repair the heater after closing. They can opt to delay it, or do something cheaper. Unless of course the bank is requiring it to be fixed prior to close.

    I assume you are doing a for sale by owner, as the agent would have suggested the above.
     
  3. BreakEven

    BreakEven High-Roller

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    When you bought the house, you got a crapton of paperwork. This will include things like builder's warranties and what not. I'd bet there's also paperwork related to the inspection. You should review that first.

    I'm sure the paperwork is different everywhere, but in WA, I recall reading the stuff related to the inspection and my interpretation (IANAL) was that it said they're not responsible for mistakes they made. Maybe if you could prove that it was so blatantly obvious, you may have other options. Or at least find the name of the company/inspector and give them a bad Yelp review :)

    Sorry about your situation.
     
  4. Mrs. K.

    Mrs. K. Low-Roller

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    Get a lawyer.
     
  5. Snidely

    Snidely VIP Whale

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    A regular tank HWH installed will cost you less than a lawyer.

    Offer to give the buyer $1500 at closing or just install a tank heater if you need a clean inspection to close.

    Don't use the same plumber.
     
  6. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    This. +1+++

    Hire a lawyer? Fuck. America. Just fix it and move on.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  7. Mrs. K.

    Mrs. K. Low-Roller

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    I don't mean sue. Get a lawyer to read your paperwork and tell you your options. Easier than trying to figure it out yourself. Unless you just want to eat the cost. That's an option of course.
     
  8. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    lol OK. Sorry.

    Couple hours at a couple hundred ... fix it, sell it, move on, money in the bank.
     
  9. Geogran

    Geogran VIP Whale

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    I'm sure every state is different, but there should be a homeowner's warranty for x number of years that may or may not include the water heater. It wouldn't hurt to actually call your builder and describe your situation, they will have someone who can answer yes or no on whether they will cover any of the cost of replacement or replace it themselves if it is covered under your homeowner's warranty.
    If it's not covered, I say either offer the buyer XX dollars to be paid at closing and they can do the replacement or have a new water heater installed.

    IMO it's not worth the money to hire a lawyer - use that money towards one of the above options.
    Best of luck!
     
  10. Jerseyguy

    Jerseyguy MIA

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    Mine failed for a bunch of small stuff 14 yrs' ago. But I knew that A- they really wanted the house and B- her dad was a contractor who was going to do a lot of renovations anyway so I offered to take 1K off the price which was small potatoes , so it worked out.
     
  11. Breeze147

    Breeze147 Button Man

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    I would offer the discount. One of my tasks in government was to try to track down contractors to honor warranties and it was an impossible job. So much to the point that I stopped buying the warranty for roofing jobs. They are not worth the paper they are printed on.
     
  12. makikiboy

    makikiboy VIP Whale

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    I agree with Breeze. Best to negotiate with the buyer or just buy a replacement. Even though there may be warranties it will cost way more to go after the contractor than it is to move on and get the thing replaced. Only other thing is if you live in a developed "community". Then it is possible you could file a class action lawsuit with the rest of the "community" against the contractors. But since 4 years have passed it isn't likely you will get much from the settlement though, most of it will go towards lawyers fees IMHO.

    Even to get a lawyer to look at your paperwork, it will probably cost more and will just add more expenses instead of just buying a replacement or negotiating with the buyer.

    Fortunately or unfortunately a buyer has to do an inspection walkthrough before the sale is approved so they can comment or contest any little thing or problem with the house or yard. Guess your buyers were knowledgeable so they caught the problem before they signed off on the sale. Now the problem is deciding if you want to fix the problem or negotiate a lower sale amount with the buyers.

    As a former realtor I know that walkthroughs are a pain for the sellers because the buyers will go through the house with a fine tooth comb just looking for ways to get your sale price down. I have also had offers cancelled because the buyer and seller couldn't agree.
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2016
  13. Chicken Dinner

    Chicken Dinner Low-Roller

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    thanks all. I think my best bet is to lower the price and let the buyers do what they want to it. I was told a different model heater (read cheaper) would require changes to the gas and water lines that would eat up any savings. I have no interest in installing a new H2O heater when the old one is close to half way thru its warranty anyway. The spiteful, angry, cheap side of me would love to go after the builder, he screwed up royally with the plumbing. Have had to cut holes in the chimney, ceiling and replace my flooring to fix other, separate water problems. But thats so time consuming and potentially more costly. He's gonna get a bad Yelp review though!
     
  14. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    Just come up with a dollar offer and let the buyer deal with the issues.
     
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