Breach of Contract

[ZORIN]

What is the name of your state? MI

I was wondering if you could possibly shed some light on a problem my wife and I are having regarding a home inspection that was done on our property as a condition of sale for our house?

Basically, the Offer to Purchase was written up with the condition of a home inspection being warranted within 5 business days of acceptance of the offer and subject to the buyer's satisfaction of the report. The inspection took approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours and both my wife and I assumed all went well with it and that the condition of the inspection would be removed. However, the very next day the buyer’s withdrew their offer and were requesting the return of their deposit of $1000. They cited the reason for the withdrawal was the garage, mainly its size in regards to it being a double attached. They said the home inspector thought the narrowness of the garage was an area major concern. He wrote in his report that the garage was at best a one to one and a half size garage and not a double as we had sold it. They even went as far as to move items in our garage so as to park both the buyer’s vehicle and the inspector’s in their together to see how much room their would be.

My wife and I were under the assumption that the sole reason for a home inspection was for the purpose of identifying any structural or mechanical failings of a house and in no way had anything to do with dimensions of the garage. We felt that the buyer was using the home inspection to reneg on the deal and thus felt we were entitled to the $1000 deposit that was submitted along with the Offer to Purchase.

My wife and I have done some research regarding the home inspectors role regarding a home inspection and have found that things like dimensions or the size of rooms, including the garage, are not part of the home inspection and he in no way should have even taken the time to move items in our garage so he and the buyer could park their vehicles in it. It was the buyer’s responsibility to do this before even submitting an offer to us, which he had ample opportunity to do so. If the garage was such a concern, he could have tested out its size when he first looked at the house. They would have then known that the garage was not the size they were looking for for their vehicles and thus, would not have even submitted an offer to us. It would have also saved them the time and expense of going through a home inspection if only they had done this themselves, rather than waiting for the inspection. We feel they used the inspection as a bargaining tool in what we feel is an "after the fact" matter and a breach of contract.

Any feedback or help, including any recommended courses of action that can be taken in regards to this that anyone can suggest would be greatly appreciated.

[JETX]

Far too long for anyone to read for free. Make it shorter, concise, brief.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by ZORIN

What is the name of your state? MI

I was wondering if you could possibly shed some light on a problem my wife and I are having regarding a home inspection that was done on our property as a condition of sale for our house?

Basically, the Offer to Purchase was written up with the condition of a home inspection being warranted within 5 business days of acceptance of the offer and subject to the buyer's satisfaction of the report. The inspection took approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours and both my wife and I assumed all went well with it and that the condition of the inspection would be removed. However, the very next day the buyer’s withdrew their offer and were requesting the return of their deposit of $1000. They cited the reason for the withdrawal was the garage, mainly its size in regards to it being a double attached. They said the home inspector thought the narrowness of the garage was an area major concern. He wrote in his report that the garage was at best a one to one and a half size garage and not a double as we had sold it. They even went as far as to move items in our garage so as to park both the buyer’s vehicle and the inspector’s in their together to see how much room their would be.

My wife and I were under the assumption that the sole reason for a home inspection was for the purpose of identifying any structural or mechanical failings of a house and in no way had anything to do with dimensions of the garage. We felt that the buyer was using the home inspection to reneg on the deal and thus felt we were entitled to the $1000 deposit that was submitted along with the Offer to Purchase.

My wife and I have done some research regarding the home inspectors role regarding a home inspection and have found that things like dimensions or the size of rooms, including the garage, are not part of the home inspection and he in no way should have even taken the time to move items in our garage so he and the buyer could park their vehicles in it. It was the buyer’s responsibility to do this before even submitting an offer to us, which he had ample opportunity to do so. If the garage was such a concern, he could have tested out its size when he first looked at the house. They would have then known that the garage was not the size they were looking for for their vehicles and thus, would not have even submitted an offer to us. It would have also saved them the time and expense of going through a home inspection if only they had done this themselves, rather than waiting for the inspection. We feel they used the inspection as a bargaining tool in what we feel is an "after the fact" matter and a breach of contract.

Any feedback or help, including any recommended courses of action that can be taken in regards to this that anyone can suggest would be greatly appreciated.

**A: post word for word the exact home inspection approval contingency clause in your contract. DO NOT interpret or use your own words.

[pojo2]

Originally Posted by ZORIN

My wife and I were under the assumption that the sole reason for a home inspection was for the purpose of identifying any structural or mechanical failings

Would not a garage that was represented as one thing and might be another be a STRUCTURAL issue?

So is it an oversized 1 car or a full size 2 car garage?

If the first then you may have misrepresented it in listing it as a 2 car garage.