Potential Buyer Damaged My House - What to do?

[SellerZ]

What is the name of your state? Hawaii

The issue is, what recourse does a seller (me) have when a potential buyer, during the C-51 inspection period, damages our home.

We are selling our home and found a potential buyer. We signed the agreement to sell w/the standard C-51 inspection clause. We filled out our seller's disclosure statement and listed all defects to the best of our knowledge. During the inspection period, the buyers brought their contractor in to follow up on some of the home inspector's "problem" areas. While the buyer's contractor was inspecting the bathroom, he poked a hole in our shower surround, knocking a small hole in the wall and knocking out two tiles.

The buyers and their contractor were alone in our house, because our realtor couldn't make the appointment. We don't know what really happened but the contractor said that he just tapped on the tiles and the wall broke b/c of some settlement or water damage (we're not sure, and were not aware of a problem). We use that bathroom daily, with young children, and have never encountered this problem.

What can we do? Our realtor tells us that she will not request on our behalf that the potential buyer (who has decided not to buy the home) should repair the tile. We plan to request it ourselves, but need to know what are rights are. It seems so wrong that they could damage our home and then not repair it.

Any and all advice is welcome. Thank you in advance.

[Bigfoot]

There are several approaches to your problem.

1. How did the contractor gain entry into the house? Did the Realtor give the contractor the combination to get in, or did you open the door and let them in? If the Realtor gave the combo, (which is usually a no-no) there's some responsibility there.

2. You stated this as 'your Realtor'. Is this a dual agent, representing you AND the buyer or did the Buyer have their own Realtor? This is who should have escorted them into the Buyers into the house.

3. The contractor should have his own insurance. Do you know if this is a licensed contractor or just a handyman?

4. When the contractor admitted fault, was this orally or in writing?

The Realtor's broker in charge should be informed of this problem to establish who is at fault and payment of damages.

[nextwife]

Originally Posted by SellerZ

the buyer's contractor was inspecting the bathroom, he poked a hole in our shower surround, knocking a small hole in the wall and knocking out two tiles.

If the wall had proper integrity, tapping it would NOT have knocked a hole in the wall, nor knocked tiles off. I have a home built in 1951, and it takes a crowbar to get a tile off the wall. Your wall had to already be fairly degraded if it was "damaged" so easilly.

[justalayman]

Bigfoot does have a point. Who llet the people into the house? Never let people into your house without your Realtor.

If you suspect the damage is unreasonable, you are going to have to get an independant estimate from a builder. He will have to determine if the wall actually was in poor condition. If it was in poor condition, you are fighting a losing battle.

On the other hand, if the builder tells you there is nothing that would have caused the tiles to fall etc., except sopmebody banging on the wall, send them a demand letter for the damages and take them to small claims court if neccessary.

If the prospective buyers had no right to be in the house (like the RE agent told them to go ahead and didn't have your permission (including what may be in the contract) your agent would also have some responsibility for this.

[SellerZ]

Thanks for the feedback. This was a last-minute appointment that our realtor recommended that we make, and allow an accomodation for, to try and move the sale of the home along. Because it was so last minute, our realtor and her associate said that they couldn't come, so they gave the potential buyer's realtor (who did accompany them) the lockbox number. You're right that we shouldn't have let them in the house without our realtor being present, and will learn from our mistake.

[LindaP777]

Bottom line - are your buyers buying the house or id they back out?

I gotta go with Nextwife on this one. Tapping would not have cause the hole. If (hypothetically) your floor was rotted, but covered with a nice carpet, but collapsed when you buyer stepped on it, are they responsible? I wouldn't think so. Part of the inspection is to find defects. Looks like they found one.