S
Strad_man
Guest
What is the name of your state? What is the name of your state? Washington
I received a letter in the mail from the realtor representing the people who bought my house claiming that I am in breach of contract because of the condition of the house. They are requesting an unnamed amount of money for compensation, and my realtor is out on vacation so I'm not sure what to do.
The new owners are complaining that the house was dirty when they moved in, that the oven and microwave were dirty, and that three bags of cat hair was vacuumed from the floors. In addition, they are complaining that there is discoloration of the paint on the walls, and are requesting that we pay for the entire house to be repainted and all the trim replaced to bring it "up to standard." They claim that none of this damage was there when they initially viewed the home. They are also requesting reimbursement for a cleaning service they hired to clean the house.
They are also complaining that a window was not replaced as per the contract.
Now...here's my side.
The week we moved we vacuumed the house daily as we were packing boxes and moving furniture around preparing for the moving company. The day of the move my wife vacuumed the entire upstairs floor after the movers took the first load, but because the movers were so extremely slow we were unable to go back and re-vacuum the house after they left. The movers didn't leave until 45 minutes before we were to turn over possession of the house, and we were already paying them overtime as it was.
When the movers were at my new house, I cleaned the entire kitchen downstairs including the appliances the new owners claim were dirty.
The window replacement was part of the contract. I called a glass company recommended by the builders of my house, since this company also handles the reimbursement of warranty claims. A representative came to the house, gave us the price to replace the window, and we paid for the replacement of the window. Unfortunately the company is extremely busy and was not able to replace the window prior to closing. So we left the receipt for the new owners, with a note explaining that the bill was paid and all they needed to do was call and arrange for the replacement date.
The paint discoloration was found in the location where my 35" TV sat. It never moved in the three years I lived there, so that explains the discoloration.
The bottom line is the house is THREE years old and was not brand new...so I don't know what these people were expecting.
So my question is this: What cleanliness standards are expected when a family moves out and a new owner moves in? And what about the cleaning service...am I required to reimburse them when I didn't know there was a problem until AFTER they hired the company?
These people were extremely pushy to get into the house early, and if our sloth movers had done their job right we would have been able to look over the house one last time and note any damage we didn't know already. Plus, they seem extremely greedy as their initial offer for the house was $25,000 less than our listing, plus they wanted all of our appliances. We finally agreed on no appliances and $13,000 below our listing. (we needed to sell for financial reasons)
So the way I see it...we've already taken a loss on the house, they got the house for nearly what WE paid for it before we made upgrades, and then they're demanding more money to bring the house "up to standard." I can't find anything in my contract that addresses cleanliness, so what can I do?
Thanks!
I received a letter in the mail from the realtor representing the people who bought my house claiming that I am in breach of contract because of the condition of the house. They are requesting an unnamed amount of money for compensation, and my realtor is out on vacation so I'm not sure what to do.
The new owners are complaining that the house was dirty when they moved in, that the oven and microwave were dirty, and that three bags of cat hair was vacuumed from the floors. In addition, they are complaining that there is discoloration of the paint on the walls, and are requesting that we pay for the entire house to be repainted and all the trim replaced to bring it "up to standard." They claim that none of this damage was there when they initially viewed the home. They are also requesting reimbursement for a cleaning service they hired to clean the house.
They are also complaining that a window was not replaced as per the contract.
Now...here's my side.
The week we moved we vacuumed the house daily as we were packing boxes and moving furniture around preparing for the moving company. The day of the move my wife vacuumed the entire upstairs floor after the movers took the first load, but because the movers were so extremely slow we were unable to go back and re-vacuum the house after they left. The movers didn't leave until 45 minutes before we were to turn over possession of the house, and we were already paying them overtime as it was.
When the movers were at my new house, I cleaned the entire kitchen downstairs including the appliances the new owners claim were dirty.
The window replacement was part of the contract. I called a glass company recommended by the builders of my house, since this company also handles the reimbursement of warranty claims. A representative came to the house, gave us the price to replace the window, and we paid for the replacement of the window. Unfortunately the company is extremely busy and was not able to replace the window prior to closing. So we left the receipt for the new owners, with a note explaining that the bill was paid and all they needed to do was call and arrange for the replacement date.
The paint discoloration was found in the location where my 35" TV sat. It never moved in the three years I lived there, so that explains the discoloration.
The bottom line is the house is THREE years old and was not brand new...so I don't know what these people were expecting.
So my question is this: What cleanliness standards are expected when a family moves out and a new owner moves in? And what about the cleaning service...am I required to reimburse them when I didn't know there was a problem until AFTER they hired the company?
These people were extremely pushy to get into the house early, and if our sloth movers had done their job right we would have been able to look over the house one last time and note any damage we didn't know already. Plus, they seem extremely greedy as their initial offer for the house was $25,000 less than our listing, plus they wanted all of our appliances. We finally agreed on no appliances and $13,000 below our listing. (we needed to sell for financial reasons)
So the way I see it...we've already taken a loss on the house, they got the house for nearly what WE paid for it before we made upgrades, and then they're demanding more money to bring the house "up to standard." I can't find anything in my contract that addresses cleanliness, so what can I do?
Thanks!