error on sellers disclosure

Hi
We are about 1 week away from closing and we come to find out that there is an error on the sellers disclosure.

The disclosure states that the sewage holding tank was replaced in 2012.
We now come to find out that it was not the sewage storage tank but the well holding tank that was replaced.

This is a huge difference.

What are our rights?

I know that this is grounds for breaking the contract but we don't want to, we still want the house - we got a descent price and the new sewage tank was a huge bonus but it will be very rare to find another house with that so we are will to move forward.

But we feel that the sellers should not get away with making this just a little mistake.

other then walking away, what should we do? Can we ask to money at closing? or to drop the price?

error on sellers disclosure

I would talk to your attorney and see what you can do. I do not know your legal rights. Good luck. Maybe you can get some money!

error on sellers disclosure

It is nowhere near as easy as you think to break contracts or get the seller to "owe" you something. Just be prepared for them to tell you to kick rocks. I lost thousands of dollars due to a sellers dishonesty and was held in contract for months with no end in sight. Even if I had sued her, it would have cost more than what we lost and we could've still lost in court.

Re: error on sellers disclosure

Are you on Long Island? What do you mean by "disclosure"? Are you referring to a property condition disclosure form?

In NY, the sellers either need to fill out the property condition disclosure form (answering questions about the property), or pay the buyers a $500 credit at closing. But around here, everyone just pays the $500 credit at closing; no real estate attorney I know will let their client fill out the form (for fear that an innocent misrepresentation or misrecollection of facts could open them up to liability). So I am wondering if you are buying out of the area.

You really do need to consult with your attorney about your options. If you were looking to break the contract, you would really have to see what provisions or contingencies in the contract allow you to do so. But since you said you still want to buy the house, I am not sure exactly what you are looking for.

Is your point that you would not have agreed to the selling price had you known the tank was older than you thought? Realistically, how much less would have have paid? Is there anything wrong with the tank other than it's older than what you thought? It sounds like the only thing you can really do if you still want to buy the house is try to negotiate a reasonable credit back at closing.

But most of the house's value comes from factors like land, square footage of house, # of rooms, and overall condition/capital improvements. Not from the age or newness of any one particular item or system in the house. So I guess you have to ask yourself, what would you have paid for the house if you had known the tank was older? If it's honestly a negligible amount, and the sellers have been otherwise honest and cooperative throughout the process, I might just let it go at this point.

Re: error on sellers disclosure

thank you for proving why I have never allowed one seller to fill one out

Re: error on sellers disclosure

It would make me nervous that these buyers are so cheap that they'd be willing to expose themselves to so much liability just to save $500. But that's a separate issue.

Realistically, what's probably going to happen is that you're going to ask for some kind of credit, they are going to say no (or agree to a very minimal amount), and you are going to close anyway. It would make no sense for you to walk away a week from closing over something like this.

Re: error on sellers disclosure

I would contact your real estate agent immediately. Keeping in mind that unless you have a contract with a buyer's agent, the real estate agent represents THE SELLER. So any comment like "We don't want to lose the house over this but..." will bolster their negotiations.

The best thing to do is have them knock some money off the price of the house. It knocks down everything from the principal you're paying on the house, the taxes you pay based on the price of the house, etc.

The real estate agent may try to get them to put some money is escrow to fix it rather than lower the sale price. Keep in mind the real estate company & agency gets commission on the sale price so it's not in their best interest to lower the house price.

When we were buying a house, after we bid on it, etc, we were told they didn't have the CO on a deck. I made them take money off the price of the house. It was a seller's market & everyone was convinced we would lose the house. I was pretty sure that the buyers had mentally sold the house & knew we were a solid buyer with a pre-approved mortgage. When you are selling a house, knocking a few grand off is nothing.

Also price out what it would take to replace the sewage storage tank.

Message edited 5/23/2013 11:40:36 AM.

Re: error on sellers disclosure

is there an issue with it or you just thought it was new?