After the Sale-False Claims and Harassment!

[blueyzz]

What is the name of your state? ANY STATE
We recently sold our home and have been continually harassed by the buyer of the our old home over one issue or the other! It all started with some shelves he seemed to think were conveyed to him when we closed the sale. They WERE NOT part of the deal, nor did he have his Realtor with him to make an itemized list for the final walkthrough. Nothing was listed on any form other than the contract was "As Is". This man is a lunatic-he insisted on coming to the home the day of the closing, (right after it) when we had made arrangements with him to be moved out by the next day and he freaked out and tried to get us "evicted" off his property as we were moving out! He called the Sheriff and told them some lies about us "stealing his property" over the shelves he thought were his. They pretty much kicked him out of the house and told him if they were not conveyed, we had the right to take them with us. He left by their order so we could move our stuff out and had to be out by Midnight that night. Now he keeps harassing us by claiming we damaged one thing or the other when we moved out. He also was flaming mad that he had to pay our closing costs-which he agreed to in the contract. Now he keeps itemizing things he thinks we "damaged" or took that were his-including a listing for "garbage and clean up fees". Just how am I supposed to clean up the house when I had to be out by Midnight and we lost an hour of moving time by his lies to the Sheriff! I personally think he is just trying to re-coop his closing fees. He kept ranting about how he "gave us $4,000." He keeps coming up with lies and having his Realtor contact our Realtor about this matter. We are NOT HIS LANDLORD-the house was 'AS IS" and it is his problem now. I think we should get our attorney to write him a letter ordering him to stop harassing us about his mistake. Has anybody else out there had this type of problem before? We just want to get on with our lives and stop hearing from him about his lack of proof and his own stupidity of not having his Realtor come with him for the final walkthrough. I am sick of dealing with this loser. Any ideas out there? I am thinking of getting a restraining order on him if this continues. This man has obvious anger management issues and we have witnesses from that night to back us up on his irrational behavior-including the Sheriff's report on his actions. By the way, his listing of "supposed damages" was written on a plain piece of paper with his own personal estimates on prices-nothing is "official" I would like to respond by giving him a bill for-"Pain and Suffering" over his harassment, but am waiting until we hear from the Lawyer first. Any ideas on how to get this idiot to shut the hell up?

[Ellerge]

Get a new UNLISTED phone number. If he comes to your house in person, get a restraining order and/or call the cops. If he calls you before you get the new phone number, tell him that your ATTORNEY insists that ALL communications be in WRITING - and then hang up! Do NOT write him or talk with him - this is VERY important! You do NOT have to communicate with him because his Attorney says so. Only write him on the order of the Court! And then get an Attorney of your own. (Do NOT pay for an Attorney now - it's NOT necessary)

Did the purchase agreement contain an arbitration clause? If so, the buyer is breaching the contract. Arbitration is designed to resolve any and all issues between the buyer and seller, post closing. It also prohibits lawsuits from being filed.

[blueyzz]

I am not sure-I'll have to look over the paperwork again. It has been such a nightmare. It is really too bad there have to be bad apples like him in the world. Makes me kind of sad to think such a jerk is living in our old home, would have much rather had it go to someone who was a decent person. All we want to do is go on with our lives and start fresh in our new home. I'll take a look at the paperwork to see if that particular clause in in there. That would be nice if it is, so we can stop having to hear his problems-almost a month after the sale!

[Ohiogal]

Originally Posted by blueyzz

I am not sure-I'll have to look over the paperwork again. It has been such a nightmare. It is really too bad there have to be bad apples like him in the world. Makes me kind of sad to think such a jerk is living in our old home, would have much rather had it go to someone who was a decent person. All we want to do is go on with our lives and start fresh in our new home. I'll take a look at the paperwork to see if that particular clause in in there. That would be nice if it is, so we can stop having to hear his problems-almost a month after the sale!

Were the shelves attached to the walls?

[blueyzz]

At one time they had been used for storing equipment and had been attached to the wall, but when he came to do the final walkthrough 2 weeks before closing, they were not on the wall and were packed up and waiting to be moved. He had the opportunity at that time to have his Realtor present to make a FINAL itemized listing of things that were conveyed and things that were not, as well as things he thought might need to be repaired. He failed to do this, and chose to have only him and his wife walkthrough the property at that time. This was surprising to us especially since he went to the effort to climb up to the roof and count 15 shingles that he was worried about a month before that! He also never mentioned an interest in the shelves until right after the closing. Had he said something then, we could have discussed it way before he signed on the dotted line. He also seems to think things like a shower rod, which is just placed on the top of the shower and not attached to it in any way are his property. The Sheriffs department noted this information to him when he was instructed to leave the premises, that "unless it was in the final contract we did have the right to take our belongings". Now he keeps coming up with bogus things he thinks we damaged when we moved out and creating his own estimate on the value of the item. He was very aggressive with his own Realtor several times during the whole negotiation of the home. One time when we were making offers back and forth it was told to us from our Realtor that he became VERY IRATE and PSYCHOTIC toward his own Realtor regarding the closing costs he agreed to in the contract. We also had a decorating allowance in our terms for repair of items in the home that were already there when we left. (Kids had out some various holes in doors, etc.) He also had an outburst at the closing meeting in front of several witnesses. At one time when he was screaming at my husband about the shelves, I thought he might get violent; as he was screaming at the top of his lungs and pointing his finger in my husbands face. (As he was trying to move the vehicle out of the way so we could take a load to our new home.) When he was instructed to leave he was also told to calm down or he would be escorted off the property. Like I said, he seems to be quite bitter about the closing cost that he agreed to and trying to re-coop his money by all these claims.