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Who is responsible?



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amother
Salmon


 

Post Mon, Aug 24 2015, 10:48 am
So I bought a house a 2 months ago. As is to be expected there were some issues here and there that we did not know about when we were negotiating the price. A certain shower is leaky, the water pressure in one of the bathrooms is bad, the doorbell doesn't work and is very complicated to repair....ect. We didn't notice these issues nor did the engineer and the house was sold "as is" and I feel that its not reasonable to bring it up. However, there is one issue that's different. the house has central air conditioning and when we were walking thru the house back in June it was very hot. My husband specifically asked the owner if the central air is working and he said yes. He even turned it in and we heard it working. We left the house 20 minutes later or so and therefore didn't see how effective the air condition was. Fast forward to last week and the house is just not cooling off. I called a repairman down and he told me that there are all sorts of problems with the central air and it'll be $1800 to repair. I respect the fact that houses are sold "as is" but since my husband specifically asked the previous owner about the AC and was informed that it worked fine, this case might be different. How would you handle it.
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amother
Taupe


 

Post Mon, Aug 24 2015, 10:52 am
amother wrote:
So I bought a house a 2 months ago. As is to be expected there were some issues here and there that we did not know about when we were negotiating the price. A certain shower is leaky, the water pressure in one of the bathrooms is bad, the doorbell doesn't work and is very complicated to repair....ect. We didn't notice these issues nor did the engineer and the house was sold "as is" and I feel that its not reasonable to bring it up. However, there is one issue that's different. the house has central air conditioning and when we were walking thru the house back in June it was very hot. My husband specifically asked the owner if the central air is working and he said yes. He even turned it in and we heard it working. We left the house 20 minutes later or so and therefore didn't see how effective the air condition was. Fast forward to last week and the house is just not cooling off. I called a repairman down and he told me that there are all sorts of problems with the central air and it'll be $1800 to repair. I respect the fact that houses are sold "as is" but since my husband specifically asked the previous owner about the AC and was informed that it worked fine, this case might be different. How would you handle it.


I think your written contract trumps any verbal exchange.
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OldYoung




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 24 2015, 11:56 am
Did you have an inspection?
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amother
Salmon


 

Post Mon, Aug 24 2015, 12:14 pm
of course. Inspections for the most part are a complete waste of money.
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 24 2015, 12:41 pm
Actually inspections aren't a waste of money when done by someone competent. The HVAC system problems for starters would have been revealed and you would have had a case against the inspector if he hasn't discovered it.

Is don't know what is wrong with your HVAC but competent people have instruments to measure whether it is cooling and whether the capacity is adequate.

Also many homes are sold with insurance to cover the major systems for a year or so afterwards and they are relatively cheap.

However an oral assurance would be difficult to prove.
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amother
Mint


 

Post Mon, Aug 24 2015, 1:39 pm
amother wrote:
of course. Inspections for the most part are a complete waste of money.


Completely untrue.

We had an accepted offer on a home, subject to an inspection. The inspector found that the roof was about shot; there was termite damage, but he couldn't tell the extent; non-conforming electrical system; tree starting to cause damage to the foundation; HVAC system on its last legs; and that's just for starters. We didn't buy the house.

Anon bc I tell this story all the time.
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amother
Mint


 

Post Mon, Aug 24 2015, 1:45 pm
amother wrote:
So I bought a house a 2 months ago. As is to be expected there were some issues here and there that we did not know about when we were negotiating the price. A certain shower is leaky, the water pressure in one of the bathrooms is bad, the doorbell doesn't work and is very complicated to repair....ect. We didn't notice these issues nor did the engineer and the house was sold "as is" and I feel that its not reasonable to bring it up. However, there is one issue that's different. the house has central air conditioning and when we were walking thru the house back in June it was very hot. My husband specifically asked the owner if the central air is working and he said yes. He even turned it in and we heard it working. We left the house 20 minutes later or so and therefore didn't see how effective the air condition was. Fast forward to last week and the house is just not cooling off. I called a repairman down and he told me that there are all sorts of problems with the central air and it'll be $1800 to repair. I respect the fact that houses are sold "as is" but since my husband specifically asked the previous owner about the AC and was informed that it worked fine, this case might be different. How would you handle it.


While I haven't seen your contract, and certainly cannot opine on what it says, most "as is" contracts specifically state that you're not relying on any statements or warranties of the owner.

In any case, you've owned the house for two months, and since you say it was hot in June, I assume that you live in the Northern Hemisphere and, therefore, owned the house throughout the summer. It is entirely possible that it gasped its last gasp in June, when the owner turned it on, and broke in the two months you've owned the house.
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MagentaYenta




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 24 2015, 1:47 pm
Oh and the doorbell is easily replaced with a wireless doorbell. I was just pricing them at Home Depot the other day. $39.95.
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Frumdoc




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 24 2015, 4:45 pm
Is it working ? Yes - it turns on

Is it working effectively? You didn't ask

Is it on its last legs and might just about turn on but is unlikely to do so in the next few weeks? Didn't ask that either.

Sadly, unless you ask detailed questions, you don't necessarily hear the detailed answers you want.
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malke1188




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 24 2015, 5:27 pm
I would check with another ac repair usually is just need freeon and that cost about $200 and usually fix the problem
And if is true that it cost so much to repair usually is cheaper a new machine which is very rear. Hatzlucha
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BrachaBatya




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 24 2015, 8:39 pm
Home inspections are CRUCIAL!!!!!!!! I can't believe someone would say they are a waste of money. Yikes.
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amother
Tangerine


 

Post Mon, Aug 24 2015, 8:49 pm
I moved recently and my new apt had central AC which "worked".
We ended up spending $1000 to have it work for real....
These things happen....
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