question for HomeGuru

[scaryfast]

Hello HomeGuru,
You had started to answer my question below about the seller's liability for undisclosed cat urine in the carpets of the home I just purchased when it broke into a debate over whether or not I had properly applied a $15.99 bottle of enzymatic cleaner. In the (likely) event that this stuff does not work (if it did, professional carpet cleaners would surely be glad to charge me X dollars to apply this stuff themselves, yet they told me the best solution was to tear out the carpet and underlayment), is the seller liable for the replacement cost? Like I said in the other post, there is evidence of prior problems with cat urine on the subfloor (an unfinished can of Kilz in the garage in an (almost) desert climate). Thank you for your time!

[PghREA]

How does an opened can of Kilz, in a desert climate, relate to a cat urine problem?

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by scaryfast

Hello HomeGuru,
You had started to answer my question below about the seller's liability for undisclosed cat urine in the carpets of the home I just purchased when it broke into a debate over whether or not I had properly applied a $15.99 bottle of enzymatic cleaner. In the (likely) event that this stuff does not work (if it did, professional carpet cleaners would surely be glad to charge me X dollars to apply this stuff themselves, yet they told me the best solution was to tear out the carpet and underlayment), is the seller liable for the replacement cost? Like I said in the other post, there is evidence of prior problems with cat urine on the subfloor (an unfinished can of Kilz in the garage in an (almost) desert climate). Thank you for your time!

**A: the Seller is more than likely liable.

[scaryfast]

Thanks HomeGuru!

PghREA: from the Kilz website "KILZ Original primer/sealer has a powerful stainblocking formula that handles most interior stains, including water, smoke, tannin, ink, lipstick, pencil, crayon, felt marker, red wine, dark paint and grease. It even seals the odors caused by pets, smoke, and nicotine."

The stuff is used to either cover up mold or pet odors. There are no mold problems in CO. There have been no water problems in this house, nor had there ever been a fire, and the seller did not smoke. I am 100% sure that when I tear out the carpet, I will find that the subfloor has been painted w/ Kilz. There would be no other reason to prime or paint the subfloor except to seal in the disgusting cat p*iss odor.

[Kansas4me]

Pull up the padding and carpet and you still will have to deal with the walls, and the vents, and sub flooring.

You are trying to find the easy way out, and there may not be one. You are looking at a lengthy fight on this, and odds are even if you win, you will get nothing from the lady.

And Killz is in no way proof of anything. She could have had kids that wrote on the wall, I went through many cans of killz for this. If she had a bright or dark color of paint on the wall the killz could be required for that.

I think you are jumping to conclusions based on bits and pieces, but heck it is your time and money so go for it.

God bless.

[scaryfast]

Kansas4me,
I am fairly confident that the odor is coming from the carpet and underlayment. Walls and vents are not made from absorbent material and can therfore be cleaned. Upon pulling up the carpets, I will have stained carpet and underlayment as evidence. If I find the subfloor to be painted with Kilz, that will be further evidence, as it is not common practice to paint the subfloor unless there is mold or urine damage.

The reason I am on this site is to find out if I have a case. It appears that I do. I do not understand the purpose of your reply - what, exactly, do you suggest that I do?

[Kansas4me]

Does it matter? But since you asked.

People are far to quick to jump on the lawsuit bandwagon. You said you walked through for a final inspection and smelled the cat urine, yet you still signed. In my opinion you accepted it you are stuck with it. Granted I am not a lawyer and therefore that is not meant as legal advice. HOWEVER if I were you and accepted the house after smelling the cat urine, I would suck it up and move on. Work on getting the carpet cleaned (by the way I have since questioned some carpet cleaning companies and all of them said that 99% of the time they can get all the smell out especially in newer carpet as you say you have) and if that didn't work, I would replace the carpet on my own dime. However having had cats and fostered cats I have always been able to get the smell out over time.

I have read this forum for a while now and find it funny how so many people want to know what they can get for this or that wrong that they perceive was done. VERY FEW actually have a real wrong or real loss but because of our wonderful court system things like this will be allowed into court and possibly result in a win for you.

Good luck in your attempts, I hope you get what you wish for.

God bless.

[scaryfast]

Hi Kansas4me,
We should prob take this off-line but...

I agree with you that too many people sue for no reason, however, I truly feel that I was wronged. I also agree with you that I signed the contract AFTER smelling the cat urine. However, I am not a cat owner and, prior to this situation, have had no experience with cat urine, so thought it would be easy to clean. We did not find out about the problem until 1 hr before closing and were hence rushed into a decision. You say you found carpet cleaning companies that could take care of this problem "99% of the time" - if these are national chains (like Stanley Steamer who said they could not remove the odor), please forward their names to me. I will try a few more phone calls.

I should not have to bear the responsiblity to clean up a mess that was undisclosed to me until 1hr before the closing.

[Kansas4me]

No they are not national companies and that may be your problem. NOne of them will give you a 100% promise that it will come out. But if you get one who is honest and willing to try you will get at the very least a huge amount of the smell out. The national companies are more interested in covering their butts than trying to help. Find someone local, even if they can't get it all out you should notice an improvment.

What has me puzzled, and what makes me think that you are pushing the wrong way is this:

You said you NEVER noticed a smell in 3 or 4 prior visits. That you think she over soaked the carpet thereby bringing out the smell. All that is quite possible, but if it is true, than when the carpet dries the smell will go away. If she over soaked them as you think it could take more than a week to completely dry. If the smell was there when you visited prior I would agree that you may need to rip up the carpets, but you said they are only a year old and the did not smell prior to her cleaning them. I think ( and this a non legal opinion) that you should attempt to remedy the situation yourself first. Try cleaning them with a good LOCAL carpet company, than try some febreeze type odor eliminators for a few days after they dry.

You went ahead and signed, you said you were rushed, but legally you could have said, Wait a minute and made them wait so you could check out your options. It seems to me the lady wasn't attempting to scam you as she offered up more than what you said your realtor said it would cost to clean. You choose to go ahead with the knowledge that the carpets stunk, with the provision that she paid the $$$ you (or your realtor) set forth. She paid it, you signed, deal done.

Just MHO.

[scaryfast]

OK Kansas4me,
I am here for advice and AM listening to you. Please do not question the honesty of my statements, however. I, nor anyone else, did smell anything prior, but in hindsight (which we all know is 20/20) I do remember some sort of electric air freshener plugged into the wall near what turned out to be one of the worst spots - I thought it might be for allergies. The smell certainly has not gone away after 1 week, however. Hopefully you are correct about the smaller companies - I do see now that there are some listings under "carpet repair" that might be more appropriate. I certainly do not want to rip out the carpets - they go very well with the house.

I do not appear to be able to get it accross to you that both I and my realtor, being unexperienced in the realm of cat urine, thought that $500 would be more than enough to fix this problem, that is why I went through with the deal. And after talking to you, I learned that maybe it is and I just need to find the right company.

[Kansas4me]

I did not mean to imply that I was questioning your integrity, but merely the path you had decided to go down with the information you had. The lawsuit path seems to be one that we ALL (myself included) jump on at first sign of problems, but because of that the legal system is tied up and you would face a long and stressful time with it, and even if successful you would play heck getting the money out of her (ever tried garnishing wages or bank accounts? I have done it for a living and it is not easy)

Since you said that after a week the smell as gone away, I think you will find it unnecessary to rip the carpets up.