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superjew1
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 Thu, Jan 18 2024, 8:14 pm
Wondering if you amazing ladies had any advice for us because we really don't know what to do.
We put in an offer for a townhome last August and on the day due diligence were over, there was a huge fire in the townhouse next door. Ours has smoke damage and lots of soot throughout the house.
Our agent has not been very helpful in figuring out next steps. We are just waiting and at the mercy of the insurance and contractors. We can have a say in paint colors but we don't know what the insurance adjusters said needs to be ripped out. We only know what the sellers agent tells our agent.
So far they are saying they will replace some of the drywall of the wall directly next to the house that burned. But the kitchen is against that wall and they won't be replacing anything there.
For upstairs they said they won't do anything in the bedrooms even though 2 of the bedrooms are against the wall that connects the burned house and ours... and the hallway carpet they are just cleaning it and not replacing it.
We just went to see the house again with a friend of hours who does remediation. He says that for this kind of damage they would remove everything against that wall and any carpet and have a look in the ceilings because theirs probably soot in there too because it seeped through the entire house.
We feel our hands are tied but we also know this is the only house that we have been able to afford in the past 2 years that we have been looking. We don't want to walk away but we don't know who to speak to in order to fight for more things to be paid for by the sellers insurance. It isn't our insurance so we can't fight with the insurance company.
It's such a confusing mess and we don't know what to do and who to go to for advice
We really want this house, we just want it to be fixed properly so there isn't remnants of smoke damage in all the walls and ceilings and floors
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fraimal
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Thu, Jan 18 2024, 8:17 pm
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Maybe ask them to hire a private adjuster and tell them that you will pay for it. They usually take a percentage of the claim but it's worth it because a private adjuster will fight to get a higher claim payouy from insurance.
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rubyred
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Thu, Jan 18 2024, 8:17 pm
You should put in a new lower offer. What does your lawyer say?
They aren’t going to be able to sell the home now anyway with the damage.
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Smile1234
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Thu, Jan 18 2024, 8:17 pm
Just sending hugs because that sounds like such a tough position to be in!
What’s your lawyer saying?
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momsss
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Thu, Jan 18 2024, 8:20 pm
I would hire my own private insurance adjuster
also, reach out to the insurance company yourself
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way2go
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Thu, Jan 18 2024, 8:35 pm
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Do you have a lawyer? It's not your agents department as much as your lawyers to determine what is appropriate and negotiate if the house is no longer in the condition it was when you placed the offer.
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superjew1
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Sat, Jan 20 2024, 6:55 pm
Our agent spoke to her lawyer we used for the contract and he said that since the house is not in the same condition as when we signed it, we can leave the contract without penalty. That's all we really know though. We just keep signing papers to make due diligence continue until the house is in good condition.
The sellers won't share any info about what insurance they have and say it's private info so we don't have a right to it.
Our agent feels if we try to threaten that we will walk away if it's not fixed properly then they will say ok walk away and then they can sell it for way more once it's fixed up.
I am just not convinced that they are going to fix what needs to be fixed and I'm concerned about how we will know if it's fixed properly. Like there is probably smoke all throughout the walls and ceilings which they say they are re not ripping out...
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New2Lakewood
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Sat, Jan 20 2024, 7:03 pm
| superjew1 wrote: | Our agent spoke to her lawyer we used for the contract and he said that since the house is not in the same condition as when we signed it, we can leave the contract without penalty. That's all we really know though. We just keep signing papers to make due diligence continue until the house is in good condition.
The sellers won't share any info about what insurance they have and say it's private info so we don't have a right to it.
Our agent feels if we try to threaten that we will walk away if it's not fixed properly then they will say ok walk away and then they can sell it for way more once it's fixed up.
I am just not convinced that they are going to fix what needs to be fixed and I'm concerned about how we will know if it's fixed properly. Like there is probably smoke all throughout the walls and ceilings which they say they are re not ripping out... |
taking it with whatever fixes they do are certainly a risk, unless you kick the closing date down the road until after it's all done with a clause that you can back out if there are any signs of smoke damage... and frankly I would not sign ANYTHING unless the lawyer says it won't affect your ability to back out.
It's certainly true they might sell it for more than you were going to buy it for as it'll be newly fixed. If you aren't trusting that they'll do as good a fixing as you would, and you back out, you have to be prepared that you will "lose the deal" aka the lower price before they fix it. But it may not be worthwhile.
Ask yourself - would you buy a place with possible damage due to a recent fire that was 'fixed' without walkthrough?
Your lawyer needs to be guiding you at this point.
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kb
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Sat, Jan 20 2024, 7:08 pm
Why is the agent talking to her lawyer? Don't YOU have a lawyer?
Your agent wants you to buy the house. She doesn't get her cut unless you go through with the purchase. She may be your representative, but she is not really on your side.
And honestly I think you're better off losing the house than buying the house without full disclosure of condition and repairs.
Stand firm. If the sellers wanted to get rid of the house, they'll want to get rid of it even more now that it's next door to a fire house.
You need a lawyer to represent you. And then you need to tell the seller their choices (which your lawyer should figure out for you.)
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ddmom
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Sat, Jan 20 2024, 7:17 pm
I'm by far not a professional so feel free to ignore.
My gut feeling is that they can get the money from insurance to fix the house minimally and take the rest of the money for themselves or they can fix it properly and get a bigger offer than yours on a house that's newly redone(with funds they got from insurance).
In that case, they wouldn't cooperate with you, hoping that you would pull out of contract. Since you can without penalty and the house is damaged with no promise to have it fixed. Your losing the house but no money.
I'm assuming they can't cancel the contract. But if they could, they would.
I'm not sure how you can get out of that mess without losing the house.
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superjew1
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Sat, Jan 20 2024, 7:18 pm
| kb wrote: | Why is the agent talking to her lawyer? Don't YOU have a lawyer?
Your agent wants you to buy the house. She doesn't get her cut unless you go through with the purchase. She may be your representative, but she is not really on your side.
And honestly I think you're better off losing the house than buying the house without full disclosure of condition and repairs.
Stand firm. If the sellers wanted to get rid of the house, they'll want to get rid of it even more now that it's next door to a fire house.
You need a lawyer to represent you. And then you need to tell the seller their choices (which your lawyer should figure out for you.) |
I agree with what you said he and this is what I told my husband as soon as it happened. That's kind of what I'm asking in this question.
What kind of lawyer would deal with this kind of thing? Would it be the lawyer handling our contract or another kind of lawyer that deals with cases like this?
It's just such an uncommon thing to happen and I don't know who we should speak to for advice on this.
Have you ever heard of someone going under contract for a property and then it gets ruined from something like flood or fire? I personally don't know if anyone who dealt with this.
I know if we owned the house the next step would be to hire a private adjuster and they help you hire a lawyer to fight for what you should be getting. But we don't own the property which is where it gets confusing...
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kb
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Sat, Jan 20 2024, 7:34 pm
Regular real estate lawyer, but not the one who works for your agent.
Ask the lawyer before you start if he feels like he can handle such a case.
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octopus
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Sat, Jan 20 2024, 7:42 pm
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Do not use the lawyer associated with the real estate agency. They are nogeah.
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questionanswer
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Sat, Jan 20 2024, 8:17 pm
| superjew1 wrote: | Wondering if you amazing ladies had any advice for us because we really don't know what to do.
We put in an offer for a townhome last August and on the day due diligence were over, there was a huge fire in the townhouse next door. Ours has smoke damage and lots of soot throughout the house.
Our agent has not been very helpful in figuring out next steps. We are just waiting and at the mercy of the insurance and contractors. We can have a say in paint colors but we don't know what the insurance adjusters said needs to be ripped out. We only know what the sellers agent tells our agent.
So far they are saying they will replace some of the drywall of the wall directly next to the house that burned. But the kitchen is against that wall and they won't be replacing anything there.
For upstairs they said they won't do anything in the bedrooms even though 2 of the bedrooms are against the wall that connects the burned house and ours... and the hallway carpet they are just cleaning it and not replacing it.
We just went to see the house again with a friend of hours who does remediation. He says that for this kind of damage they would remove everything against that wall and any carpet and have a look in the ceilings because theirs probably soot in there too because it seeped through the entire house.
We feel our hands are tied but we also know this is the only house that we have been able to afford in the past 2 years that we have been looking. We don't want to walk away but we don't know who to speak to in order to fight for more things to be paid for by the sellers insurance. It isn't our insurance so we can't fight with the insurance company.
It's such a confusing mess and we don't know what to do and who to go to for advice
We really want this house, we just want it to be fixed properly so there isn't remnants of smoke damage in all th e wa nlls and ceilings and floors |
I hate to say this, but if they're not being upfront with you they are probably getting a lot lot lot from insurance and not fixing up all that insurance is giving them money to fix and pocketing the difference (potentially tens of thousands). Otherwise, why not be up front with you?
Very likely they dont care or might even want you to break contract as they still come up ahead. They might be able to sell it for more now too.
You need YOUR OWN LAWYER with experience in real estate law letting you know your rights (if you have any) and representing you. (You really shold have had your own lawyer for closing too.)
Your agent, their lawyer are not looking out for YOU.
If the sellers are frum, you might want to call your rav to see what halacha/hashkafa says. Not sure if theres anything there to help you but maybe there is.
You probably will want to hire your own adjuster to help you know what needs to be fixed, but you might not have a position to negotiate from.
You may just have to resign yourself rhat this is not the house for you and thanking Hashem that youre not the buyers theyre flipping it who are not aware of the damage that they made only cosmetic fixes to.
Hotzlocha.
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superjew1
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Sat, Jan 20 2024, 8:41 pm
| questionanswer wrote: | I hate to say this, but if they're not being upfront with you they are probably getting a lot lot lot from insurance and not fixing up all that insurance is giving them money to fix and pocketing the difference (potentially tens of thousands). Otherwise, why not be up front with you?
Very likely they dont care or might even want you to break contract as they still come up ahead. They might be able to sell it for more now too.
You need YOUR OWN LAWYER with experience in real estate law letting you know your rights (if you have any) and representing you. (You really shold have had your own lawyer for closing too.)
Your agent, their lawyer are not looking out for YOU.
If the sellers are frum, you might want to call your rav to see what halacha/hashkafa says. Not sure if theres anything there to help you but maybe there is.
You probably will want to hire your own adjuster to help you know what needs to be fixed, but you might not have a position to negotiate from.
You may just have to resign yourself rhat this is not the house for you and thanking Hashem that youre not the buyers theyre flipping it who are not aware of the damage that they made only cosmetic fixes to.
Hotzlocha. |
It's so sad to let go of this house because it's such a good deal and we can't really qualify for anything else in our area 
But I think we are going to have to just do that...
Regarding lawyer we just have a lawyer that our agent said they use for all their clients. I don't know if it's considered our own lawyer or our agent lawyer. It's not an in house lawyer for the agency.
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Writergirl
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Sat, Jan 20 2024, 8:46 pm
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When buying a house you must have a lawyer that is working for you. Who else do you know really has your back? Even without a fire I don't like the sound of this lawyer situation.
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kb
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Sat, Jan 20 2024, 8:48 pm
The fact that the lawyer isn't even trying to pressure the seller to disclose the insurance information, or tell them that the sale is contingent on your receiving all the insurance payout (and using your own adjuster) is proof enough that the lawyer works for the agent and not for you.
I'd get my own lawyer for this house, or back out of this house. And use a different agent for the next house you look at, because this one cares too much about making a deal and not enough about the buyer getting a decent house.
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Rubber Ducky
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Sat, Jan 20 2024, 8:48 pm
| superjew1 wrote: | | ...Regarding lawyer we just have a lawyer that our agent said they use for all their clients. I don't know if it's considered our own lawyer or our agent lawyer. It's not an in house lawyer for the agency. |
That is your agent's lawyer, not yours.
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questionanswer
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Sat, Jan 20 2024, 8:50 pm
| superjew1 wrote: | It's so sad to let go of this house because it's such a good deal and we can't really qualify for anything else in our area
But I think we are going to have to just do that...
Regarding lawyer we just have a lawyer that our agent said they use for all their clients. I don't know if it's considered our own lawyer or our agent lawyer. It's not an in house lawyer for the agency. |
You need your own real estate lawyer. They are the only ones who will be on your side.
Ask your friends who bought houses for recommendations.
Or ask someone who does investments for recommendations.
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shirachadasha
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Sat, Jan 20 2024, 8:55 pm
I feel mistrustful of the whole situation. Why is this house being sold for such a great price to begin with?
The seller is refusing to disclose reasonable information to you about a specific aspect of the house (repair from smoke damage) which makes me wonder if there's anything else they're not disclosing.
I understand that after along search you finally thought you'd found a house at a price you can afford but if your instinct tells you that something is being hidden, you may be best off walking away.
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