Under contract for townhome and home next door burned down

superjew1

Sat, Jan 20 2024, 10:52 pm

I'm confused now. We are supposed to have our own separate lawyer other then the One handling the sale that has our earnest money? My friends who bought houses just used whatever lawyer their agents recommended.

Our agent is a frum woman in our community so I don't think she is out to screw us. I do think she probably just wants the same to go through probably...

The house is cheap because it's a small townhouse in a neighborhood that only has a couple of townhomes complexes close enough to shul and the house is not in great repair but we knew that going in. The house has been sitting empty for like 8 years. The children of an older woman who passed away a while ago are selling it now. It has some leaks with one of the toilets and the roof. And it's a little ugly but we don't mind that. We got the price lowered further due to some of the issues found during the inspection.
Also prices keep going up rapidly where we live.

We are young and don't really know what we are doing hence me asking about it here.

Maybe we are just not ready to buy a house. I thought an agent is supposed to walk you through everything and everything was going fine until this happened and we don't know what we are entitled to and who to talk to.

superjew1

Sat, Jan 20 2024, 11:20 pm

I want to make sure I understand what everyone is saying.
The closing attorney was chosen by us on the recommendation of our agent. Is that not our lawyer? Are we supposed to get a lawyer just for advocating for us separate from this lawyer? I thought the lawyer we chose would be our lawyer. Is that not correct?
Are we supposed to have a lawyer handling the actual transaction and also have a lawyer to talk to about this situation?

Smile1234

Sat, Jan 20 2024, 11:25 pm

have you spoken to the lawyer about renegotiating now that there’s more damage? About insisting on a full inspection post fire? I don’t think you mentioned the lawyer at all?
You need to pick up the phone and call your lawyer, not the agent. Find out what the contract says about such a situation.
You can’t buy a fire damaged house, but the seller is for sure making lots of money from insurance for repairs. You must must must speak to your lawyer.

way2go

Sat, Jan 20 2024, 11:29 pm

Speak with your closing attorney. Here before closing you do a home walk through to ensure that the condition of the house is still satisfactory and it was as you saw it upon entering contract. If it is different he negotiates what needs to be done or deducted. He should be handling the details of this for you. Once you are in contract the agent has no role except to collect their fee.

questionanswer

Sat, Jan 20 2024, 11:31 pm

Smile1234 wrote:

Exactly. You keel mentioning your agent. This is lawyer territory.

Sat, Jan 20 2024, 11:51 pm

Talk to the lawyer DIRECTLY. Assuming that you are going to be paying him, he works for you, and you are his client. Leave the agent (and her partiality) out of this.

Explain that

1) you still want the house
2) you want to make sure repairs post-fire are to your satisfaction
3) you want full disclosure that the sellers aren't pocketing insurance money for repairs that aren't being done properly

Or

1) you want the house
2) you want to take care of all repairs yourself so that you know they're done properly
3) all insurance money should be put into escrow for you to use post sale

hello12341

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 12:25 am

superjew1 wrote:

Yes, he is your lawyer. But you need to talk to him directly, not through the agent. The agent has nothing to do with this.

superjew1

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 7:40 am

MayimChayim wrote:

Tangent - is it normal to be under contract on a house for 4+ months? Where I live houses typically close within 30 days.

No it's not normal but because of the fire situation everything got stalled

cbg

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 8:13 am

IMHO- I think you should back out and find another house. I think this is HASHEM’s way of saying, it’s not fou you

This is just out of the box thinking
Has the house been inspected yet
Perhaps have an inspector say what needs to be done.
Not sure if this makes sense or not. But at least you’ll know if it’s safe to live in the house.
Another thought, will you be able to get home insurance since there is pre- existing damages that may not be fixed. Once a payout on the damages have been made, you will not be able to claim it in the future

number

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 4:08 pm

I know someone who had to deal with a similar situation. The townhouse next door was on fire and they ended up with tons of damage. They had so much Agmas nefesh from it. I would not want to deal with such a house, at all. Another house will come up iyh.