• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Urgent Question in Regards to a Faulty Home Inspection

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

jganto08

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Jersey

Hello,

I am looking for some advise. I recently moved into a condo and 2 days after moving in I noticed that the air conditioning wasn't working properly. The unit turns on and the fan works normally, so during the walk through it seemed like it was working (also was a cool day), however the condo wasn't getting very cold even with the air turned down below 70. I went outside and noticed that the compressor wasn't on. I had it checked and a HVAC technician said that a wire burnt through the condenser and fried the whole unit. He stated that there is no way this just happened in the two days since I moved in. He also discovered that my Furnace was 27 years old. On my home inspection paperwork, and verbally, the home inspector told me that the unit was only 7 years old. I personally would have never purchased the condo for the selling price had I known that the unit was 27 years old. I feel like the misguided information in the inspection led to an unfair sale. This is my first home purchase and I don't know much about home appliances if it seems weird that I wouldn't have checked to see how old the furnace was. The purpose of the inspection was to inform me of the condition of the appliances and if I found issue, would be able to back out of the sale or ask for a lower price on the condo. I contacted the inspector and he said that it was probably just a typo and he meant to type 27.

Is there anything I can do?

Thanks,
Josh
 


FlyingRon

Senior Member
Unfortunately, barring some explicit warranty (which costs extra), the home inspection racket doesn't provide any guarantees that they find anything or everything that is wrong with your house. Still turning the A/C on and seeing if cold air is very straightforward. In addition the "I meant to say" weaseling is pathetic. That's an inexcusable error on his part.

Your case isn't quite what the A/C contractor would have you believe. Wires "burning through" take no time at all. There may be other signs that it happened long ago, but his simple statement proves nothing.

If they won't step up to the board and offer some compensation, you could try suing them, but as stated their contract is so full of weasel wrods about them not having to do anything for the money you give them, probably will make it difficult.

You can also try filing a complaint with the part of the NJ Dept. of Consumer Affairs that covers these:

http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/hiac/hi_consumers.htm
 

jganto08

Junior Member
Just that they were functioning

What did the seller disclose to you regarding the age/condition of these items?
The seller just communicated that the HVAC was functioning. Seller also mentioned when I questioned her about the faulty A.C that it was working when she moved out, but she had called public service to ask why it wasn't getting cool in the condo in the past to which they replied that when its hot out you can only expect the a.c. to cool the house down so much. It was a direct sale and there was no realtor involved, which I probably wouldn't do again. Being this was my first home purchase, I now know the importance of checking these items myself. I was surprised when the inspector told me that the unit was 7 years old since the condo was built in 1987, but I trusted him. I figured the original HVAC lasted roughly 20 years and then was replaced.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top