We had to walk away from the house we were in contract for

we were in contract and days away from mortgage commitment and had to walk. We are so pissed! The sellers hav been a PITA from day one but we just learned that they had never disclosed there was an oil spill under the house that has to be remediated with a vent that blows out gas fumes from the side of the house at yhe inspection, we inquired about a buried tank that had leaked but were assured it was "all cleaned up". The inspector didnt see the vent because of the snow. Well, our atty just got the documents that have the full details (after multiple requests), which detail the mess of the leak and this system to remediate. We called some environmental people who said even if it is safe now, there can be problems in the future with rising water levels (and we are near wetlands). The guy we spoke to said he would not let his own children buy the house. Plus,there is the stigma associated with it which will kill resale. So we are walking. This is so unethical and our attorney is pissed too. Luckily, they hadn't cashed our deposit so we stopped payment and we will fight them for the other monies we put in so far. Our attorney is willing to put a lien on their house. Now, we are back to house hunting. There is nothing out there that we like in our price range and this house was perfect. Our kids were so excited. We are so disappointed

Re: We had to walk away from the house we were in contract for

I am so sorry and I know how disappoitning it is, but keep in mind it is is much much much better to know this now then to own a house w/ such a large (dangerous sounding) problem--especially with kids! You will find your dream home, dont give up!

Re: We had to walk away from the house we were in contract for

Re: We had to walk away from the house we were in contract for

Oh that stinks!! Its so hard especially when you have your heart set on something. It will pay off in Spades in the long run especially with something as potentially dangerous as that. Think of it as a bullet dodged!! We had so many house that I loved but there was stuff that was not tolerable or fixable and we had to walk away. Sorry and good luck with the continued search!!

Re: We had to walk away from the house we were in contract for

Posted by MorningCuppaCoffee

Posted by Michi

I am so sorry and I know how disappoitning it is, but keep in mind it is is much much much better to know this now then to own a house w/ such a large (dangerous sounding) problem--especially with kids! You will find your dream home, dont give up!

I agree.

Also think about all the posters on here lately who have had to walk away and then found something within days.

It's a frustrating, emotional process, but you will find something.

Re: We had to walk away from the house we were in contract for

Good luck!

When we were house hunting, the sellers backed out----decided they didn't want to sell.

We were PI$$ED because we had already spent the $$$$ for the inspection.

Come to find out from a friend who lived across the street, they got robbed not once, but TWICE after taking the house off the market.

As cliche as it sounds, I think these things happen for a reason.

We had to walk away from the house we were in contract for

You aren't going to get any monies put out in this transaction besides your deposits and you definitely arent putting a lien on his house. House sales in New York State are typically as-is and all the seller has to do is pay the $500 disclosure fee and he doesn't have to say anything about whats wrong on the house.

That is the whole point of getting an inspection.

Message edited 3/23/2013 11:48:54 AM.

Re: We had to walk away from the house we were in contract for

Re: We had to walk away from the house we were in contract for

Sorry you are going through this; it is so disappointing when you think you have found "your house" and then things don't work out.

But I agree with others that you have to believe it's for the best. I've had many clients lose out on houses for one reason or another, only to find a better one.

As far as disclosing/not disclosing -- In New York, it's pretty much "buyer beware." You, as the buyer, have a duty to investigate and do your due diligence (and part of that is hiring an inspector, which you did).

One thing I would say is - In the future, do NOT sign the contract and give over any of your down payment until you have paperwork in hand backing up what you've been told. So in this case - it sounds like you were told there had been a leak at one time, but that it had been cleaned up. And it sounds like that's true - but the method of cleanup is perhaps not ideal or there could still be some repercussions from the leak. In hindsight, which I know is 20/20, you could have waited to get all of the documentation re: the underground tank and cleanup to review and investigate BEFORE you put your money down and signed. Same thing if there was no leak, but the owners said they had abandoned an underground tank and installed an above ground one. You need to see the paperwork to make sure it was legally abandoned before buying the house. Or if the owner says they have C/Os for something or have a termite system in place -- GET DOCUMENTATION OF EVERYTHING FIRST.

Sometimes sellers aren't lying, but in good faith, make mistakes. Not saying that is the case with what happened, but could be the case with other houses.

NY does require a property condition disclosure form to be filled out by the sellers and given to the buyers, BUT the only penalty for non-compliance is a $500 fee. I've never known a real estate lawyer to allow their seller clients to fill out the form... usually, the credit to the buyer is given at closing as a matter of course. Also, certain types of properties (estate sales, for example), are exempt from a disclosure requirement.

Also, keep in mind that while the seller has little obligation to disclose (e.g., they don't need to tell you if a murder happened in the house), they can't misrepresent something. So if you ask if there's an underground oil tank and they know there is one, they can't say "no." And a seller can't actively conceal a material defect... so if the basement floods, they can't paint the walls to hide evidence of water damage (if the problem is ongoing ... of course, if there is an old leak that was fixed, and the seller paints over old water damage that won't reoccur, there's no issue). So they may not have to volunteer info, but sellers can't lie if asked about something, and they can't try to hide a problem and prevent the buyer from finding out through reasonable investigation (inspection, etc.).

Good luck! I am sure you will find something soon.

We had to walk away from the house we were in contract for

I've been there. It DOES suck but it's always for the best because something better is out there for you.