Seller Neglected House b/w Contract & Closing

[cdwrites]

What is the name of your state? New York

We closed on our house 2 weeks ago. Since we have moved in we have discovered numerous things that the previous owner neglected. Some are small annoyances, such as a broken sliding door and locks that don't work. The seller did not come to the walk-through and was not here to demonstrate how the gas fireplace and oven works. She didn't give us any manuals of operation or warranty information for our boiler and the roof (she claimed was 3 years old but we have no receipt or proof). She basically did not show up at walk-through and then, showed up at the closing to collect her cash. THE MAJOR PROBLEMS: She didn't shut off the spigots before the winter season so yesterday a pipe burst and flooded our basement. Isn't this complete negligence? We went under contract in Oct., she moved out and across the street where she lives now in Dec., we closed in Feb. She was responsible for the house even if she wasn't living in it, right? She didn't clean out her gutters and we fear that she didn't have the sprinkler system winterized either, which basically means she may have completely ruined the sprinkler system. QUES. Since the sprinkler system was part of the deal, is she liable for having not winterized it and possibly ruined it?
NEXT QUES: Is she liable for anything at all?

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by cdwrites

What is the name of your state? New York

We closed on our house 2 weeks ago. Since we have moved in we have discovered numerous things that the previous owner neglected. Some are small annoyances, such as a broken sliding door and locks that don't work. The seller did not come to the walk-through and was not here to demonstrate how the gas fireplace and oven works. She didn't give us any manuals of operation or warranty information for our boiler and the roof (she claimed was 3 years old but we have no receipt or proof). She basically did not show up at walk-through and then, showed up at the closing to collect her cash. THE MAJOR PROBLEMS: She didn't shut off the spigots before the winter season so yesterday a pipe burst and flooded our basement. Isn't this complete negligence? We went under contract in Oct., she moved out and across the street where she lives now in Dec., we closed in Feb. She was responsible for the house even if she wasn't living in it, right? She didn't clean out her gutters and we fear that she didn't have the sprinkler system winterized either, which basically means she may have completely ruined the sprinkler system. QUES. Since the sprinkler system was part of the deal, is she liable for having not winterized it and possibly ruined it?
NEXT QUES: Is she liable for anything at all?

**A: did you get a home inspection and do a walk-through days priror to closing?
Why did you close prior to getting appliance instructions etc. What is your Realtor doing to help you?

[cdwrites]

New York.
We did an inspection and a walk-through just a few hours before closing. We were told that she would have the manuals, etc. at the closing. She had nothing with her. We asked her about them and she said she would look around for things and get back to us. We trusted people that we should not have trusted, including our lawyer who did nothing. The engineer who did the inspection in Oct, months before closing (Feb.), told us to get these manuals and warranties by closing. Because it's the wintertime, we could not get a demonstration of sprinkler system anyhow. She did not attend the walk-through so she didn't demonstrate use of the fireplace, oven, etc. which we have been clueless about since we have no experience with gas. Our realtor has been in touch. She has called the other realtor but we have heard nothing back yet about the manuals. There's also a C.O on the deck that was not received, however, we signed an agreement and there's 2,500K in escrow to take care of it. We will need to get the building permit from the previous owner and then, set up the appointment with town inspector. We know that the deck is not built to code and that railings need to be put up. I expect a fight down the road for the deck also.

[cdwrites]

New York.
We did an inspection and a walk-through just a few hours before closing. We were told that she would have the manuals, etc. at the closing. She had nothing with her. We asked her about them and she said she would look around for things and get back to us. We trusted people that we should not have trusted, including our lawyer who did nothing. The engineer who did the inspection in Oct, months before closing (Feb.), told us to get these manuals and warranties by closing. Because it's the wintertime, we could not get a demonstration of sprinkler system anyhow. She did not attend the walk-through so she didn't demonstrate use of the fireplace, oven, etc. which we have been clueless about since we have no experience with gas. Our realtor has been in touch. She has called the other realtor but we have heard nothing back yet about the manuals. There's also a C.O on the deck that was not received, however, we signed an agreement and there's 2,500K in escrow to take care of it. We will need to get the building permit from the previous owner and then, set up the appointment with town inspector. We know that the deck is not built to code and that railings need to be put up. I expect a fight down the