central heat disput

What is the name of your state? california
we sold a near 100 year old remodeled home that had a gas furnace in the basement and an air conditioner outside. It had a thermostat in a central part of the house and air vents in all downstairs rooms. The upstairs finished attic did not have air vents but we simply left door open or closed to upstairs to regulate air flow. As we bordered 2 counties, on 1 mls form we put we had central heat and on other county's mls form we put forced air heat. The other options on both forms were wall units, baseboard heat, etc.- obviously none of those. Now buyer says we owe him for a central air/heat system as the house did not have it. (as it was not ducted upstairs). The system was a newer high quality system and was in top working order. There were no fake ducts anywhere and the buyer had 3 inspections done, one of which said the heating was forced air heat. We feel we did nothing wrong - we did not try to hide anything - it was never a problem for us. Are we guilty of misrepresentation and do you think we owe them for a new heat/air system? By the way, the home sold for about $10,000 below market value according to 3 real estate agents who visited our home and the buyer happened to be a real estate agent himself.

[HomeGuru]

[quote]Originally posted by simpletime
[b]What is the name of your state? california
we sold a near 100 year old remodeled home that had a gas furnace in the basement and an air conditioner outside. It had a thermostat in a central part of the house and air vents in all downstairs rooms. The upstairs finished attic did not have air vents but we simply left door open or closed to upstairs to regulate air flow.

**A: did you disclose all of this information in your TDS?
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As we bordered 2 counties, on 1 mls form we put we had central heat and on other county's mls form we put forced air heat.

**A: that is crazy.
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The other options on both forms were wall units, baseboard heat, etc.- obviously none of those.

**A: so what. Do not let a form keep you "in the box" and from disclosing the facts. On the MLS you could have not checked any of the boxes and made a comment on the comments section something to the effect of: see TDS, contact listor for type of heating or specifically listing the type. There were other options as well to handle this type of situation.
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Now buyer says we owe him for a central air/heat system as the house did not have it. (as it was not ducted upstairs).

**A: he may be correct. Did he know that the attic had no ductwork? Did you disclose to him in writing that the attic had no ductwork? Were there any home inspection or other report such as an HVAC inspection, past repair invoice etc. given to the Buyer that indicated there was no ductwork in the finished attic?
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The system was a newer high quality system and was in top working order. There were no fake ducts anywhere and the buyer had 3 inspections done, one of which said the heating was forced air heat.

**A: so what. Read my response above. Forced air heat does not mean no ductwork in the finished attic.
And as a Seller, you were required by law to disclose the facts. You cannot depend on a third party such as an inspector to disclose facts that the Seller would be required to disclose.
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We feel we did nothing wrong - we did not try to hide anything -

**A: I disagree. You were gulity of ommission of a material fact.
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it was never a problem for us. Are we guilty of misrepresentation and do you think we owe them for a new heat/air system?

**A: I think that you owe some sort of compensation.
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By the way, the home sold for about $10,000 below market value according to 3 real estate agents who visited our home and the buyer happened to be a real estate agent himself.

**A: so what. JUst because you sold the property for less than market value and the Buyer got a good deal has no bearing on your failure to disclose pursuant to State disclosure law.
And just because he is a real estate agent himself does not make you as a Seller less liable and responsible for pproper and dilgent disclosure.
I suggest you contact your real estate agent's principal broker and review the disclosure law, the MLs and other property information sheets and the TDS. Then consult with an attorney.

Instead of him buying a new unit, couldn't he just run a duct to the finished attic? Wouldn't that be cheaper?

[HomeGuru]

[quote]Originally posted by toasted
[b]Instead of him buying a new unit, couldn't he just run a duct to the finished attic? Wouldn't that be cheaper?

**A: yes he could and it would be cheaper, but if you read the post, he doesn't want to do anything. He wants the Seller to pay for a system.

I read that part. However I just thought that if he gave in he might consider doing that versus what the buyers are saying he *owes* him.