Buyer suing us.. Yikes!!!

What is the name of your state? California
Hi..
We sold our home in may of this year, escrow closed and everyting went fine... NOT!!!!!. About three weeks after escrow closed we received papers informing us that the sellers were suing us in small claims court. It seams that 54 year old home we sold them has a problem, the 54 year old floor heater stopped working. They had the gas Co. come out and look at it, and they say the pilot light will not stay lit, so they Red Tagged it. They are saying that we knew about it all along and sold them a house with out a functionig heating system. They have had a dbl sided wall heater installed to the tune of $2500 and want us to pay. There home inspector was there in the final walk through and they signed an As Is Statement. After the tenting of the house the Gas Co. came out and lit the pilot and everything was fine.
Do these people have a case??? I thought once you closed Escrow it's a done deal. Any help you can give would be great!
Thanks..

[HomeGuru]

Originally posted by ibme
What is the name of your state? California
Hi..
We sold our home in may of this year, escrow closed and everyting went fine... NOT!!!!!. About three weeks after escrow closed we received papers informing us that the sellers were suing us in small claims court. It seams that 54 year old home we sold them has a problem, the 54 year old floor heater stopped working. They had the gas Co. come out and look at it, and they say the pilot light will not stay lit, so they Red Tagged it. They are saying that we knew about it all along and sold them a house with out a functionig heating system. They have had a dbl sided wall heater installed to the tune of $2500 and want us to pay. There home inspector was there in the final walk through and they signed an As Is Statement. After the tenting of the house the Gas Co. came out and lit the pilot and everything was fine.
Do these people have a case??? I thought once you closed Escrow it's a done deal. Any help you can give would be great!
Thanks..

**A: what did you disclose about the floor heater in your TDS and what did their home inspector report?

Hi..
We did not disclose anything about it because it worked fine for us the 8 years we lived there. There home inspector suggested that the buyer have a more detailed inspection of the floor heater because he could only do a visual inspection. We had a plumbing and heating guy give it the once over and he gave a statement that it works just fine. The people that they had come out and try to fix it tore the thing apart and I guess found something in there that was not attached right. They told the buyer that it was an exisisting problem that we would have known about.

Thanks..
[email]ibme@cooper.net[/email]

[HomeGuru]

Originally posted by ibme
Hi..
We did not disclose anything about it because it worked fine for us the 8 years we lived there.

**A: ok.
******

There home inspector suggested that the buyer have a more detailed inspection of the floor heater because he could only do a visual inspection.

**A: do you have this in writing and was it in the inspection report?
***********

We had a plumbing and heating guy give it the once over and he gave a statement that it works just fine.

**A: was this done before closing and did you give a copy of the statement to the Buyer's?
*********
The people that they had come out and try to fix it tore the thing apart and I guess found something in there that was not attached right.

**A: was this done before or after closing? Who are "the people" as in are they licensed floor heater contractor's?
*******

They told the buer that it was an exisisting problem that we would have know about.

Thanks..
[email]ibme@cooper.net[/email]

**A: ok, the more documentation that you have the better.

The suggestion that the home inspector made is in his report to the buyer.. and yes we have a copy.

The inspection we had done was before the close of escrow and yes the buyers got a copy.. There suing him as well..


the people they had come out was done after the close of escrow.. and they were a Lic. plumbing and heating Co.

I would love to get a copy of the Gas Co. service call when they re-lit the pilot light 6 days before the close of escrow but they will only give it to me with a court order. Bummer. I don't htink there is enough time.

[HomeGuru]

[quote]Originally posted by ibme
[b]The suggestion that the home inspector made is in his report to the buyer.. and yes we have a copy.

The inspection we had done was before the close of escrow and yes the buyers got a copy.. There suing him as well..


the people they had come out was done after the close of escrow.. and they were a Lic. plumbing and heating Co.

**A: ok, sounds like you are in a good position.
***********
I would love to get a copy of the Gas Co. service call when they re-lit the pilot light 6 days before the close of escrow but they will only give it to me with a court order. Bummer. I don't htink there is enough time.

**A: what do you mean not enough time?

Enough time..
The court date is set for July 31. I just assumed that getting a court order for a large company to release records would take a while.. My realtor was in the house when the gas Co. lit the pilot on the heater.. I could call him as witness but there suing him as well
I would like to say thanks for all your Info..
ibme
[email]ibme@copper.net[/email]

[tigger22472]

Are they also suing the county for allowing such an event happen?? geezzzz... I realize buying a home and having to put out 2,500 right away can be a pain.. but get over it... sorry to hear you are going through that.

To funny...
One bummer is.. Is that I have to drive 8 hours this thursday back to Los Angeles, where they filed the suit. So I can file a counter suit for lost wages, hotel, gas and such. When it's all over I will post a message about how it all turned out.. You never know, I might loose.. If I do I wonder.. Should I let them get a judgement and put a lien on my home.. I don't plan on selling this place for a long time..
Thanks again..
ibme
[email]ibme@copper.net[/email]

[tigger22472]

I would think since THEIR inspecter told them to have the heater checked out more and they didn't.. that's their fault. They closed on the house knowing there COULD BE something wrong with the heater. I'm sorry they are out 2,500 but hey sometimes it simply happens... What if it would of been the refrigerator if it was included or anything else?

[Souix]

I would be interested in hearing how this turns out also. This is why I always push the parties to purchase a $325 home warranty. When something covered breaks, the deductible is only $25. Good luck to you!

Hi..
I did buy them a home waranty.. I don't think is was 325.00 though. When the buyer tried to get them to pay for it, the home waranty Co. told them they do not cover Pre-existing problems.

[Souix]

Originally posted by ibme
Hi..
I did buy them a home waranty.. I don't think is was 325.00 though. When the buyer tried to get them to pay for it, the home waranty Co. told them they do not cover Pre-existing problems.

***According to the terms of our Home Warranty contract (its AON) the listing agent must do a walk through at the time the listing agreement is signed to make sure everything is in working order and also a walk thru at least 14 days prior to closing. Was this done? Definately, if you have this on the home, fight it because according to what you said, it was not a pre existing condition. You may have to get your agent involved to attest to this, and show proof - like furnishing them a copy of the inspection report regarding the furnace.

[HomeGuru]

Originally posted by ibme
Enough time..
The court date is set for July 31. I just assumed that getting a court order for a large company to release records would take a while.. My realtor was in the house when the gas Co. lit the pilot on the heater.. I could call him as witness but there suing him as well
I would like to say thanks for all your Info..
ibme
[email]ibme@copper.net[/email]

**A: have your attorney subpeona all witneses to testify at trial. There is enough time to do that.

When you a 54 year old house things are going to break simple as that! Sounds like you have all your bases covered, good luck!