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janjanjan2
LIF Infant
Member since 3/17 62 total posts
Name:
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help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
Ever since we moved into this house 3+ years ago, we have been finding one issue after another.
Most recently, we learned that -- although the house was marketed as a gas-heating house and has a gas system -- it was never fully disclosed/permitted.
At the time of looking/buying, we had a buyer's RE agent (who we gave a nice commission too!!), a RE attorney, hired an inspector, etc.
Is there any recourse here?
Basically, we are now responsible for the costs as if we doing oil-to-gas conversion de novo!!! And originally, we ONLY looked at gas-heated houses b/c we did not want that additional responsibility and expense.
Any insights? help? please and thanks!!
this of course is just one of the surprises/expenses that we've encountered, but this seems to be the most egregious since it was listed as a GAS heated home on the listing and that is what everyone told us.
I haven't gone back to check the contract, but I wonder if it is there as well!....does that help? matter?
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Posted 5/2/17 2:38 PM  |
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jams92
Member since 1/12 6105 total posts
Name:
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Re: help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
From my understanding (I am not a lawyer or realtor) the purpose of the final walk through is to sign off on the house as is and proceed to closing. Once you do that, the house is yours as is and so are all the wonderful headaches that come with home ownership. so unfortunately I do not think there is anything you can do.
Our house was listed as having 200 amp electrical service and it did not...but our inspector caught that prior to closing. Listings can be wrong and I do not think there is an recourse at this point
Message edited 5/2/2017 3:15:06 PM.
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| Posted 5/2/17 3:13 PM |
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help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
Unfortunately, permit and CO issues get missed all the time, and the new homeowner gets caught holding the bag. We had a CO issue with our house, because the Town incorrectly issued our CO. So it looked like the house had a CO, but it didn't. We were stuck paying to fix it.
In an ideal world, you would have asked if it was permitted and checked with the town. It's your responsibility to do your due diligence before you buy to make sure the work done in the house is legal, especially if this was something you were specifically looking for. You can't just assume that because the house has gas that it was done properly. Typically, these issues are only discovered when you go to do something else, and the town realizes a permit is missing.
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| Posted 5/2/17 3:35 PM |
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loveus
LIF Adolescent
Member since 9/13 684 total posts
Name:
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help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
As a buyer it is your responsibility to do due diligence. Sorry but I don't think you have any recourse.
I was just reading today how someone bought a house 10 years ago with a deck and now they want to sell. The deck did not have a permit and now they have to get money. It costs money and time and as the owner it's your responsibility.
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| Posted 5/2/17 5:13 PM |
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NYCGirl80
I love my kiddies!
Member since 5/11 10413 total posts
Name:
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Re: help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
Posted by loveus
As a buyer it is your responsibility to do due diligence. Sorry but I don't think you have any recourse.
This. It was your responsibility to check on this prior to closing. Your RE agent or lawyer should've notified you if there were open COs.
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| Posted 5/2/17 6:39 PM |
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chilltocam
LIF Adult
Member since 11/11 9141 total posts
Name:
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help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
Pretty much what everyone has said - once you sign the closing papers, the house - and all that comes with it, is yours. Unless there was real fraud, there's nothing you can do.
Also, it would be very unlikely that you paid any commission to your broker. The commission is almost always paid by the seller and if there are 2 agents, they split it.
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| Posted 5/2/17 10:44 PM |
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janjanjan2
LIF Infant
Member since 3/17 62 total posts
Name:
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Re: help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
Posted by chilltocam
Pretty much what everyone has said - once you sign the closing papers, the house - and all that comes with it, is yours. Unless there was real fraud, there's nothing you can do.
Also, it would be very unlikely that you paid any commission to your broker. The commission is almost always paid by the seller and if there are 2 agents, they split it.
umm. nope. we paid! wrote out and signed the check. so I know that for a fact!
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| Posted 5/3/17 10:45 AM |
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alli3131
Peanut is here!!!!!!
Member since 5/09 18388 total posts
Name:
Allison
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help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
I am confused though. Does the gas heating system work? if so then the listing was not wrong it is gas heat just not permitted/CO correctly.
That would not be a listing error.
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| Posted 5/3/17 10:51 AM |
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Ian&EmmesMommy23
My family is complete!
Member since 11/08 12970 total posts
Name:
Diana
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Re: help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
Posted by alli3131
I am confused though. Does the gas heating system work? if so then the listing was not wrong it is gas heat just not permitted/CO correctly.
That would not be a listing error.
im confused too. do you just want it inspected?
i dont understand why you gave a commission to the RE. their commission comes out of the cost of the house and gets split with the seller's fee.
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| Posted 5/3/17 12:27 PM |
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MissJones
I need a nap!
Member since 5/05 22136 total posts
Name:
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help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
I'm confused, too. How have you been heating the house the past 3 years?
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| Posted 5/4/17 5:45 AM |
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Re: help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
Many people who convert to gas don't get the C/O for it.
How did this even come up?
Why do you need to get the C/O? It's not a visible thing that anyone will report to the town or the town will see.
I can see if you have a safety concern, but if you have a contract with a heating company, or just do periodic maintenance/inspection, there shouldn't be a concern.
Honestly, on LI, there are several improvements where it is not customary to get C/Os even though it's technically required.
So for example, central air and finished basements. Many attorneys I know carve these out of the contract in terms of representing C/Os. Most people just don't have them for these items.
Something like an extension or a dormer or a garage would be a different story, and you would definitely want a C/O. But it's impractical to expect every little thing in the house to have a C/O.
If you are doing work on your house and this came up because the town realized you have a gas heating system with no C/O, then it is not as if you are starting from scratch. They usually inspect the system and make sure everything is up to code. If not, you make modifications. But they are usually not huge or costly.
Are you most concerned about safety or cost?
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| Posted 5/4/17 12:23 PM |
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Katareen
5,000 Posts!
Member since 4/10 7180 total posts
Name:
Katherine
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Re: help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
Posted by Ian&EmmesMommy23
Posted by alli3131
I am confused though. Does the gas heating system work? if so then the listing was not wrong it is gas heat just not permitted/CO correctly.
That would not be a listing error.
im confused too. do you just want it inspected?
i dont understand why you gave a commission to the RE. their commission comes out of the cost of the house and gets split with the seller's fee.
I agree...on all accounts lol.
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| Posted 5/4/17 1:18 PM |
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janjanjan2
LIF Infant
Member since 3/17 62 total posts
Name:
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Re: help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
Posted by Christine Braun - Century 21 American Homes
Many people who convert to gas don't get the C/O for it.
How did this even come up?
Why do you need to get the C/O? It's not a visible thing that anyone will report to the town or the town will see.
I can see if you have a safety concern, but if you have a contract with a heating company, or just do periodic maintenance/inspection, there shouldn't be a concern.
Honestly, on LI, there are several improvements where it is not customary to get C/Os even though it's technically required.
So for example, central air and finished basements. Many attorneys I know carve these out of the contract in terms of representing C/Os. Most people just don't have them for these items.
Something like an extension or a dormer or a garage would be a different story, and you would definitely want a C/O. But it's impractical to expect every little thing in the house to have a C/O.
If you are doing work on your house and this came up because the town realized you have a gas heating system with no C/O, then it is not as if you are starting from scratch. They usually inspect the system and make sure everything is up to code. If not, you make modifications. But they are usually not huge or costly.
Are you most concerned about safety or cost?
we are in NYC, and this was brought to our attention by ConEd. apparently we've been paying the "cooking" rate as opposed to the heating rate. (didn't even realize there were different rates - and don't really understand why - but that's a separate point). in order to get things straight with coned, we need to have paperwork submitted. coned then looked at the DOB site and noted that no conversion was noted and that permit needs to be filed too.
maybe its easier to do this on LI ,but this is turning out to be quite annoying/expensive.
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| Posted 5/4/17 1:28 PM |
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janjanjan2
LIF Infant
Member since 3/17 62 total posts
Name:
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Re: help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
Posted by alli3131
I am confused though. Does the gas heating system work? if so then the listing was not wrong it is gas heat just not permitted/CO correctly.
That would not be a listing error.
yeah. I see your point here.
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| Posted 5/4/17 1:28 PM |
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janjanjan2
LIF Infant
Member since 3/17 62 total posts
Name:
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Re: help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
Posted by Katareen
Posted by Ian&EmmesMommy23
Posted by alli3131
I am confused though. Does the gas heating system work? if so then the listing was not wrong it is gas heat just not permitted/CO correctly.
That would not be a listing error.
im confused too. do you just want it inspected?
i dont understand why you gave a commission to the RE. their commission comes out of the cost of the house and gets split with the seller's fee.
I agree...on all accounts lol.
sadly, the sellers commission rate (when split with the buying agent) did not cover the rate we agreed to. the seller used a family friend with a very low rate. so we were responsible for the difference 
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| Posted 5/4/17 1:30 PM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
Posted by janjanjan2
Posted by Katareen
Posted by Ian&EmmesMommy23
Posted by alli3131
I am confused though. Does the gas heating system work? if so then the listing was not wrong it is gas heat just not permitted/CO correctly.
That would not be a listing error.
im confused too. do you just want it inspected?
i dont understand why you gave a commission to the RE. their commission comes out of the cost of the house and gets split with the seller's fee.
I agree...on all accounts lol.
sadly, the sellers commission rate (when split with the buying agent) did not cover the rate we agreed to. the seller used a family friend with a very low rate. so we were responsible for the difference
You should have worked that into the sale price of the house.
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| Posted 5/4/17 3:19 PM |
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janjanjan2
LIF Infant
Member since 3/17 62 total posts
Name:
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Re: help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
Posted by ave1024
Posted by janjanjan2
Posted by Katareen
Posted by Ian&EmmesMommy23
Posted by alli3131
I am confused though. Does the gas heating system work? if so then the listing was not wrong it is gas heat just not permitted/CO correctly.
That would not be a listing error.
im confused too. do you just want it inspected?
i dont understand why you gave a commission to the RE. their commission comes out of the cost of the house and gets split with the seller's fee.
I agree...on all accounts lol.
sadly, the sellers commission rate (when split with the buying agent) did not cover the rate we agreed to. the seller used a family friend with a very low rate. so we were responsible for the difference
You should have worked that into the sale price of the house.
it didn't make sense at the time. owners weren't going any lower (competing offers within 2 days of the house on market).
if it was to increase the price, that wouldn't be good either, since we'd be paying interest on it. so it is what it is.
just stuff like this is super annoying b/c I feel we paid for a premium service of having a buyers agent who was looking into all the c/o type of issues (for other houses that we passed on, she was all over c/o issues and brought them to our attention). but apparently, not with this one
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| Posted 5/4/17 3:26 PM |
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alli3131
Peanut is here!!!!!!
Member since 5/09 18388 total posts
Name:
Allison
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Re: help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
Posted by janjanjan2
Posted by ave1024
Posted by janjanjan2
Posted by Katareen
Posted by Ian&EmmesMommy23
Posted by alli3131
I am confused though. Does the gas heating system work? if so then the listing was not wrong it is gas heat just not permitted/CO correctly.
That would not be a listing error.
im confused too. do you just want it inspected?
i dont understand why you gave a commission to the RE. their commission comes out of the cost of the house and gets split with the seller's fee.
I agree...on all accounts lol.
sadly, the sellers commission rate (when split with the buying agent) did not cover the rate we agreed to. the seller used a family friend with a very low rate. so we were responsible for the difference
You should have worked that into the sale price of the house.
it didn't make sense at the time. owners weren't going any lower (competing offers within 2 days of the house on market).
if it was to increase the price, that wouldn't be good either, since we'd be paying interest on it. so it is what it is.
just stuff like this is super annoying b/c I feel we paid for a premium service of having a buyers agent who was looking into all the c/o type of issues (for other houses that we passed on, she was all over c/o issues and brought them to our attention). but apparently, not with this one
If there was never a permit opened for the work there would never be a c/o.
I really don;t think you have recourse. The agents did their job. The listing was correct- it was gas heat. Maybe your atty should have asked about C/Os for work done on the house but it will cost you more to sue him than what you would ever get.
IMO lesson learned on buying a house. Just because you hire people does not let you off the hook for asking questions. and its been 3 years - you mention you have had things go wrong int he house - that is just home ownership. We all wish we had recourse every time something goes wrong but its just part of it all!
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| Posted 5/4/17 4:30 PM |
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bunnyluck
LIF Adult
Member since 1/14 3196 total posts
Name:
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help (realtors/lawers come in!) - previous owner screwed us
I feel your pain. It totally sucks. These people dont care. They just want to close deals and get paid. The last thing people want to search for are red flags. The whole fiduciary duty comes into question when their commission is based on sales price and closing deals. Not saying ALL realtors are dishonest either, but it's tough to find a really great one. I'm 6 weeks over my on or about and still no set closing date and it's all the attorneys who can't coordinate. Only in NY.
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| Posted 5/4/17 8:15 PM |
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