M
Montana
Guest
My husband and I closed on our home on 5/16/00. We live in IL. Like idiots, we did not have the home inspected. The owner carry backed a small mortgage ($7200) to cover our down payment. Because of her doing this for us, and lack of time, we've been hesitant to seek action against her.
At the closing, we told the previous owner she could have 3 days to move out. We were not planning on moving in until the first week of June but we wanted to do cosmetic repairs to the home before we moved in. Upon going to the house on the 22nd, we discovered she had left garbage strewn throughtout the house, broken a window to gain entrance, scratched the kitchen tile while moving, left junk in the basement and attic that WE had to clean up and remove, and left an inoperable car in the garage.
I contacted our real estate agent (who had acted as a dual agent) and told him he needed to find her (no one knew her new address or phone number) and tell her to please come and clean the property (it was disgustingly dirty), as our contract stated she had to leave the home in "broom clean" condition, remove her belongings, and pay for the window to be repaired. She came and got SOME of her things (she left over 100 canning jars in the basement with 20 year old pickles in them!), did a sloppy job cleaning, and left. Never fixed the window.
She has left a balance due at every single utility company there is. I had to fight with the phone company for over a month to get our phone turned on as she had left them a $1500 balance. Finally, our agent called them and they turned the phone on. I had to pay $160 to the water company after living here 2 weeks because apparently, a balance due stays with the home, regardless of whomever owes the money. I did recover that money from the title company, however.
The real issue is our basement and flooring throughout the home. The living room had carpet in it which we ripped up on our visit on the 22nd. Underneath, there were the hardwood floors we were promised were there, but they are so stained with pet stains they can't be repaired. Also, the basement leaks and we have standing water in one area. Of course, this was not visible when we viewed the home. We thought we saw some discoloration on the basement walls and asked the realtor if it leaked- he stated the owner told him no. She also signed a statement saying "no" to any known defects. We now know she must of known because she painted all the walls in the basement white to cover the stains(she left the paint cans down there for us,too)and somehow, covered up the disgusting mildew smell down there.
The underlayment flooring is also rotted in the kitchen and bathroom. She did a quickie job with some tiling right before she put the house on the market. The tile in the kitchen has already lifted up in places because it was attached to rotted wood.
What exactly can she be held liable for? Is it possible that a judge would void out the balance due to her in our 2nd mortgage to cover the repair expenses? We've already made our first payment, as I do not want to withhold payment without any "just cause". I will be contacting an attorney this week but I would like to know beforehand what my options appear to be. Thank you in advance!
At the closing, we told the previous owner she could have 3 days to move out. We were not planning on moving in until the first week of June but we wanted to do cosmetic repairs to the home before we moved in. Upon going to the house on the 22nd, we discovered she had left garbage strewn throughtout the house, broken a window to gain entrance, scratched the kitchen tile while moving, left junk in the basement and attic that WE had to clean up and remove, and left an inoperable car in the garage.
I contacted our real estate agent (who had acted as a dual agent) and told him he needed to find her (no one knew her new address or phone number) and tell her to please come and clean the property (it was disgustingly dirty), as our contract stated she had to leave the home in "broom clean" condition, remove her belongings, and pay for the window to be repaired. She came and got SOME of her things (she left over 100 canning jars in the basement with 20 year old pickles in them!), did a sloppy job cleaning, and left. Never fixed the window.
She has left a balance due at every single utility company there is. I had to fight with the phone company for over a month to get our phone turned on as she had left them a $1500 balance. Finally, our agent called them and they turned the phone on. I had to pay $160 to the water company after living here 2 weeks because apparently, a balance due stays with the home, regardless of whomever owes the money. I did recover that money from the title company, however.
The real issue is our basement and flooring throughout the home. The living room had carpet in it which we ripped up on our visit on the 22nd. Underneath, there were the hardwood floors we were promised were there, but they are so stained with pet stains they can't be repaired. Also, the basement leaks and we have standing water in one area. Of course, this was not visible when we viewed the home. We thought we saw some discoloration on the basement walls and asked the realtor if it leaked- he stated the owner told him no. She also signed a statement saying "no" to any known defects. We now know she must of known because she painted all the walls in the basement white to cover the stains(she left the paint cans down there for us,too)and somehow, covered up the disgusting mildew smell down there.
The underlayment flooring is also rotted in the kitchen and bathroom. She did a quickie job with some tiling right before she put the house on the market. The tile in the kitchen has already lifted up in places because it was attached to rotted wood.
What exactly can she be held liable for? Is it possible that a judge would void out the balance due to her in our 2nd mortgage to cover the repair expenses? We've already made our first payment, as I do not want to withhold payment without any "just cause". I will be contacting an attorney this week but I would like to know beforehand what my options appear to be. Thank you in advance!