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Should I be responsible for repairs found after the sale of…

Should I be responsible for...

Should I be responsible for repairs found after the sale of my house?
I paid for chimney repairs (that I signed for in the agreement) and the inspection after the fact advised that additional duct work needed to be fixed. I am now being advised I am responsible to pay this. This doesn't seem right to me especially since my oil company inspected my furnace 1 year ago and found no problems. I have the invoice to prove this. Why should I be responsible because they are finding problems now? By the way...the duct work is....are you ready for this.....a measley 1/2 an inch of an infraction.

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Answered in 1 minute by:

8/4/2010

Lawyer: Harv, Lawyer replied 12 years ago

Harv, Lawyer

Category: Canada Law

Satisfied Customers: 832

Experience: LLB

Verified

Who is saying you have to pay it?

How long ago did you sell your house?

Did the purchasers have a home inspection done prior to completion of the sale?

How much money are they asking for?

Customer reply replied 12 years ago

My lawyer called me the day I was moving and said if I decided to say I wouldn't pay it they could back out of the sale of the house. I felt backed into a corner and too afraid to play 'hard ball' at that point.

The close date of my house was June 30, 2010.

The signed part of the agreement was that I would be responsible for the chimney repair which came about from a buyer's home inspection. This home inspection has no mention of additional duct work.

My lawyer is currently holding $1500 of my profit from the sale of the house. I am told I am responsible for the first $500 of the duct work repairs and if the total cost is any more than that the cost will be split between me and the new owners. So if it ends up to cost a total of $1000 my bill would be $750.

Lawyer: Harv, Lawyer replied 12 years ago

Just so I am clear, I need to ask a few more questions:

There was a chimney repair done already that you paid for, correct?

And the chimney repair was the only thing addressed in the contract of purchase and sale?

Was there an additional agreement on the last day prior to sale regarding the duct issue, is that how it worked?

Was the $1,500 held back for chimney work or for duct work?

How did this 'deal' come about that you pay the first $500 of duct work and the remaining cost is split between you?

Customer reply replied 12 years ago

There was a chimney repair done already that you paid for, correct? -Correct

And the chimney repair was the only thing addressed in the contract of purchase and sale?- Yes Was there an additional agreement on the last day prior to sale regarding the duct issue, is that how it worked?- No. All this was all based on verbal conversation. I was being kind and honest and upfront with my real estate agent and my lawyer who both advised I should not have to pay for any additional work until my moving day and that's when out of no where I get the phone call from my lawyer advising I should now pay. Was the $1,500 held back for chimney work or for duct work?- Duct work. The chimney work was already paid for. How did this 'deal' come about that you pay the first $500 of duct work and the remaining cost is split between you?-All verbal-over the phone. I haven't signed anything for that.

Sorry I have a correction to add.

When I picked up my cheque on the closing day they added a paragraph in the 'Agreement of Purchase and Sale' that states they held back $1500. But my signature isn't on it unless when I signed for my cheque that means I signed and agreed to that???

Lawyer: Harv, Lawyer replied 12 years ago

Thank you for your replies.

If there was $1,500 held back and that has been the case for the last month, there is little doubt that it evidences that a verbal agreement was struck, irrespective of what signatures or intials are on the original agreement.

The difficulty is that there was a side deal made that is now a binding agreement outside the scope of the contract of purchase and sale. Despite the fact that this was all verbal, it is still binding and enforceable. Based on your lawyer's advice, you accepted this side agreement to ensure that the house deal closed - entering into an agreement such as that after having independent legal advice makes it very difficult to get out of. While you may argue that you were under duress at the time, that is an argument that would need to be presented in court and the cost of litigating would well exceed the benefit obtained.

You may want to consider counter-proposing at this stage you that you will share the cost equally with the purchasers so long as a certain sum is not exceeded. You should also ensure that what is being done is not outside the scope of what you actually agreed upon.

I trust that answers your questions. Should you require further clarification I would be pleased to provide it.

Customer reply replied 12 years ago

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.

I just have to say that it's really disheartening that the lesson I learned through the sale of my house is that being honest is pretty much the wrong thing to do in this world we live in. I guess I have a lot more to learn in this life long tiring game of dishonesty and manipulation we as human beings have decided is the norm. This makes me very sad.

Lawyer: Harv, Lawyer replied 12 years ago

You are welcome. And I understand very well what you are saying. If there is a bright side, at least the cost was not higher.

Good luck with this.

Harv, Lawyer

Category: Canada Law

Satisfied Customers: 832

Experience: LLB

Verified

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