My question involves real estate located in the State of: Rhode Island
Thank you to anyone who reads through this and can give advice.
I received a lawyer's letter saying that I conspired and lied to get a home buyer to purchase my home and I willingly concealed problems with the house.
A bit of background...before putting my 1949 house on the market, I had an energy audit done. Mold was found in the attic, and it was recommended (obviously) that it be taken care of. They also recommended insulation and a vapor barrier in the crawl space under the house, which was just bare earth. The heating system is located in the crawlspace, it is attached to the floorboards and sits a couple of feet off the ground. It's easily accessible from the house and I had been down there many times to change the filter. The crawlspace is probably about 5 feet high and getting it insulated and having a barrier down was something I always wanted to do so when I was offered a good price, I took them up on it figuring it would help to sell the house.
I hired a company for mold remediation and $7000 later, it was done. I had a thick layer of new insulation blown into the attic and also had the recommended work done in the crawlspace, as well as some other small work that was recommended (like pipe insulation, weather stripping). I put my house up for sale, disclosed what I knew, and got full price a week later. At the time, the buyer asked for a repair for something that was on the disclosures. I complied and we signed the papers. The buyer used an FHA loan.
I had a certain amount of time according to the sales agreement to find another house for myself. I was not careful with the date and it passed without me finding a house. I panicked and tried to back out of the sale, my agent said the buyer didn't agree so I called a lawyer and was advised to find something quick or rent, which I did and the sale went through.
The buyer had the home inspection and the date to ask for repairs came and went. A couple of weeks after the date passed, I was given a list of repairs. None were health or safety related so I refused. In fact, most were of things already disclosed on the P&S agreement. My agent said the drop dead date was passed and the buyer couldn't back out now, but I offered them that option anyway. I still wanted out so I said no to the repairs and gave them the option to walk away. The buyer came back and said they still wanted the house, even without the repairs.
So now we're a year later and I get this letter saying the buyer has recently learned that the mold wasn't taken care of and their entire family now has chronic respiratory problems.
*It also says that the crawlspace was insulated with a vapor barrier with intent to conceal raw sewage (!?) that is seeping in from the septic, which is above foundation grade (they're pretty level as far as I know and septic was there when I bought the house and I have never seen or smelled raw sewage).
*It says the heating system is sitting in water and there is evidence of past flooding that I didn't disclose. I lived in the house for 10 years, there is a pump under the house that turned on during heavy rains but the water never got above the pump line that I'm aware of.
*It also says the yard floods from the dishwasher not draining into the septic. I have no knowledge of this at all, the yard never flooded when I was there and I always assumed the dishwasher was hooked to the septic. In fact, the water goes where the water from the kitchen sink goes, which would be the septic wouldn't it?
*The letter says that rain water from the roof drains directly onto the electrical meter and this is a big enough problem that I would have known about it. I have no idea what they're talking about here, there are gutters that work as far as I know, I cleaned them twice a year.
*Also, it says a storage room addition was built on a rotting deck that sits directly in dirt and I didn't disclose that. It was built on a solid, ground level, deck and the contractor insisted on putting cement footings in before adding the room. However, it was built without a permit (I did disclose that).
*The last thing in the letter says that the house has been called uninhabitable. I have no idea who called it this, or if this is an official assessment. Also the letter says that it is not a complete list.
I feel this is a fishing expedition, trying to get me to hand over some cash. I have the paperwork that says the energy audit recommended the crawlspace work, and I have the invoice from the mold remediation company. Wouldn't the other things come up in the home inspection, especially for an FHA loan? And wouldn't the home inspector know if the mold remediation hadn't been done? These are not things talked about during negotiations at all. Some of the letter is blatant lies, like the mold not being treated. Or the heating system sitting in water when it doesn't even sit on the ground. Or that I conspired to get them to buy the house when, in fact, I tried to get out of it.
So what do I do? I have 10 days to respond. Should I pay a lawyer to send a letter back? Can I respond myself, should I respond myself? Should I send the paperwork that I have? Is there any chance I could be liable for some of this?
Oh, I should also say that I've been called several times by the buyer's agent over the last year for names of contractors that have been to the house. I only gave one name and it was of the septic company because they had done work for me and it was under warranty (also in the disclosures). Other names I didn't give because it sounded like they wanted to make trouble for things "not being installed correctly", and I usually hired from the local paper and I don't remember who installed what. I left all that paperwork for the buyer, but their agent said he knew nothing about that. Maybe they tossed it, I don't know.
Again, thanks for reading.
Thank you to anyone who reads through this and can give advice.
I received a lawyer's letter saying that I conspired and lied to get a home buyer to purchase my home and I willingly concealed problems with the house.
A bit of background...before putting my 1949 house on the market, I had an energy audit done. Mold was found in the attic, and it was recommended (obviously) that it be taken care of. They also recommended insulation and a vapor barrier in the crawl space under the house, which was just bare earth. The heating system is located in the crawlspace, it is attached to the floorboards and sits a couple of feet off the ground. It's easily accessible from the house and I had been down there many times to change the filter. The crawlspace is probably about 5 feet high and getting it insulated and having a barrier down was something I always wanted to do so when I was offered a good price, I took them up on it figuring it would help to sell the house.
I hired a company for mold remediation and $7000 later, it was done. I had a thick layer of new insulation blown into the attic and also had the recommended work done in the crawlspace, as well as some other small work that was recommended (like pipe insulation, weather stripping). I put my house up for sale, disclosed what I knew, and got full price a week later. At the time, the buyer asked for a repair for something that was on the disclosures. I complied and we signed the papers. The buyer used an FHA loan.
I had a certain amount of time according to the sales agreement to find another house for myself. I was not careful with the date and it passed without me finding a house. I panicked and tried to back out of the sale, my agent said the buyer didn't agree so I called a lawyer and was advised to find something quick or rent, which I did and the sale went through.
The buyer had the home inspection and the date to ask for repairs came and went. A couple of weeks after the date passed, I was given a list of repairs. None were health or safety related so I refused. In fact, most were of things already disclosed on the P&S agreement. My agent said the drop dead date was passed and the buyer couldn't back out now, but I offered them that option anyway. I still wanted out so I said no to the repairs and gave them the option to walk away. The buyer came back and said they still wanted the house, even without the repairs.
So now we're a year later and I get this letter saying the buyer has recently learned that the mold wasn't taken care of and their entire family now has chronic respiratory problems.
*It also says that the crawlspace was insulated with a vapor barrier with intent to conceal raw sewage (!?) that is seeping in from the septic, which is above foundation grade (they're pretty level as far as I know and septic was there when I bought the house and I have never seen or smelled raw sewage).
*It says the heating system is sitting in water and there is evidence of past flooding that I didn't disclose. I lived in the house for 10 years, there is a pump under the house that turned on during heavy rains but the water never got above the pump line that I'm aware of.
*It also says the yard floods from the dishwasher not draining into the septic. I have no knowledge of this at all, the yard never flooded when I was there and I always assumed the dishwasher was hooked to the septic. In fact, the water goes where the water from the kitchen sink goes, which would be the septic wouldn't it?
*The letter says that rain water from the roof drains directly onto the electrical meter and this is a big enough problem that I would have known about it. I have no idea what they're talking about here, there are gutters that work as far as I know, I cleaned them twice a year.
*Also, it says a storage room addition was built on a rotting deck that sits directly in dirt and I didn't disclose that. It was built on a solid, ground level, deck and the contractor insisted on putting cement footings in before adding the room. However, it was built without a permit (I did disclose that).
*The last thing in the letter says that the house has been called uninhabitable. I have no idea who called it this, or if this is an official assessment. Also the letter says that it is not a complete list.
I feel this is a fishing expedition, trying to get me to hand over some cash. I have the paperwork that says the energy audit recommended the crawlspace work, and I have the invoice from the mold remediation company. Wouldn't the other things come up in the home inspection, especially for an FHA loan? And wouldn't the home inspector know if the mold remediation hadn't been done? These are not things talked about during negotiations at all. Some of the letter is blatant lies, like the mold not being treated. Or the heating system sitting in water when it doesn't even sit on the ground. Or that I conspired to get them to buy the house when, in fact, I tried to get out of it.
So what do I do? I have 10 days to respond. Should I pay a lawyer to send a letter back? Can I respond myself, should I respond myself? Should I send the paperwork that I have? Is there any chance I could be liable for some of this?
Oh, I should also say that I've been called several times by the buyer's agent over the last year for names of contractors that have been to the house. I only gave one name and it was of the septic company because they had done work for me and it was under warranty (also in the disclosures). Other names I didn't give because it sounded like they wanted to make trouble for things "not being installed correctly", and I usually hired from the local paper and I don't remember who installed what. I left all that paperwork for the buyer, but their agent said he knew nothing about that. Maybe they tossed it, I don't know.
Again, thanks for reading.
Seller Disclosure: Home Buyer Wants Money for Issues "Not Disclosed" at the Time of Sale
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