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I signed a contract to buy a fixer upper in Fort Madison on June 14. As is. At that time the Electric Power Meter was on the house. Power was off. Meter was working though. I went back on July 3rd and found it missing. Spoke to the woman next door and she said it might have been removed after the storms a couple of days earlier but was not sure. She didn't know if the power company did it or someone else. Clearly it was there for a couple of weeks after the contract signing.
I signed a contract to buy a home with a power meter and not without one. I spoke to my Uncle who used to be a Lineman and retired as an Executive VP at Northeast Utilities in Hartford, CT and he indicated it is the Seller/Owner's responsibility to correct the problem. Have also heard this from a real estate agent I used in Indiana. And a friend that has flipped homes said the same thing. The owner is responsible for fixing it.
A non profit in DE owns the home. The home was gifted to them. They have never seen it. Their insurance does not cover issues like this and I suspect their revenue stream has never included the sale of a home where the proceeds go to their organization. That being said it has become evident they don't want to deal with the issue and the real estate agent who represents me and the Seller said they "might" issue a credit to have it installed if I get it done. I find this unacceptable and unethical to say the least. The agent is not in Fort Madison but five hours away in NW IA. Neither he nor the Seller is interested in going to the house to look at the gaping hole in the siding.
To compound the problem, the property has no trees on it and the only tree nearby on an adjacent property does not have limbs or branches that reached to the part of the yard where the power lines were running to the meter from the utility poles in the alley. I noted cut tree branches and broken branches covering up the coax cable probably for the internet but the power lines were also gone like the meter. They did not appear to be branches from the tree next door. I know that a power company will not cut or remove power lines unless they are a direct danger to the property or power lines and meter. It appears someone cut these branches on another property and moved them into the property to cover up the removal of the meter. They were partially obscuring the hole where the power meter was from the backyard and until the woman next door told me about it, I didn't see it. Power has been off since the non profit took ownership of it which makes it even more difficult to resolve. They are unwilling to install the meter and have the power turned on to insure it is fixed.
It is evident that I am not responsible for having to have this fixed since it didn't happen BEFORE I signed the contract. It happened a couple of weeks later. I would not have signed a contract to buy it if the meter was not there. The Contract I signed said As Is and that means AS IS at the time of the signing. Major changes of any kind following the Contract signing is not a part of the deal. If that was the case, they could raze the home two weeks after the signing and still expect me to buy it. The only other time I had something even close to this occur was when I tried to buy a home in Rome, NY in 2004. Two weeks before closing the Title company said they could not provide a full Warranty Deed and only a Quitclaim. I canceled the deal. Out the Title fee but nothing else.
I've owned five homes and sold five homes and I have never pulled a stunt like this with a Buyer before. If this happened with a home I was selling I would fix the problem myself before pushing it onto the Buyer especially since it happened AFTER the contract was signed by a good two weeks.
Anyone else have this issue and if they have what did you do? From a legal stand point they've violated the sale contract since the contents of the home has changed and a major fixture has been removed. Even if the Seller is not at fault, it is still their responsibility to fix the problem.
At this point I am ready to cancel the deal due to their attitude. The fact that neither the Seller or Real Estate agent representing them wants to call the utility company to find out if they removed the meter or it was stolen defies logic. They are just trying to pass of the problem to me. No thanks.
Doesn't matter what your uncle the lineman in Connecticut says, or a real estate agent in Indiana. Did you call the power company? The actual meter head almost always belongs to the power company. In most cases, the box/can it sits in belongs to you. I expect it's a simple matter of calling them and having the power transferred and turned on in your name once you take ownership.
I'm not even sure you'd be able to use this as an 'out', because it's really no big deal.
Doesn't matter what your uncle the lineman in Connecticut says, or a real estate agent in Indiana. Did you call the power company? The actual meter head almost always belongs to the power company. In most cases, the box/can it sits in belongs to you. I expect it's a simple matter of calling them and having the power transferred and turned on in your name once you take ownership.
I'm not even sure you'd be able to use this as an 'out', because it's really no big deal.
This is very suspicious. Everyone I've talked to and these are NOT yes men, have told me the responsibility for that meter being replaced rests with the current owner. The fact that the current owner is unwilling to call and find out what happened or even their agent representing them is disturbing and shady. From what I saw it almost looks like a crime scene in that yard. Seriously.
I don't own the home. It is not my responsibility to call on it. I signed a contract for a Power Meter installed and it was there at the time of the contract signing. And now it is not there. That is sufficient grounds to nix the deal.
I should add this is no different than if a window or other fixture was removed after the deal was signed and it was part of the home. Unless it was agreed to in writing that if a window was going to be removed after the contract was signed, then the deal is violated. This is no different. I will have to pay for something that was included in the initial sale and at the contract signing but was then removed by someone and the owner is not willing to learn who did it or why. That flawded logic does not fly.
Last edited by WILWRadio; 07-09-2023 at 06:11 PM..
To further illustrate my point. Let's say you had a deal to buy a car as is and it had a spoiler on back that was part of the deal. You signed for the car and the spoiler was there at the time of the contract signing. You agree to pick up the car two weeks later but when you have the car delivered the spoiler is gone. And the owner is not saying what happened to it and you realize that you will have to pay to get a new one installed if you want that spoiler and that car. At that point you would realize the Seller was not acting in good faith and not fulfilling their part of the bargain and honoring the contract. You would like end the deal.
This sums it up. The home is no longer in the condition it was when I first viewed it and then signed the contract. Clause from the contract. Yard debris is not part of this clause and I would be required to take care of that. Not an issue. But the meter removal is a major issue as outlined below, regardless of the reason.
10. CONDITION OF PROPERTY.
a. The property as of the date of this agreement including buildings, grounds, and all improvements will be preserved by Seller in its
present condition until possession or closing, whichever takes place first, ordinary wear and tear excepted. Buyer shall be permitted to make a walk through inspection of the property prior to possession or closing, whichever is sooner, in order to determine that there has been no material change in the condition of property.
This is very suspicious. Everyone I've talked to and these are NOT yes men, have told me the responsibility for that meter being replaced rests with the current owner. The fact that the current owner is unwilling to call and find out what happened or even their agent representing them is disturbing and shady. From what I saw it almost looks like a crime scene in that yard. Seriously.
I don't own the home. It is not my responsibility to call on it. I signed a contract for a Power Meter installed and it was there at the time of the contract signing. And now it is not there. That is sufficient grounds to nix the deal.
I should add this is no different than if a window or other fixture was removed after the deal was signed and it was part of the home. Unless it was agreed to in writing that if a window was going to be removed after the contract was signed, then the deal is violated. This is no different. I will have to pay for something that was included in the initial sale and at the contract signing but was then removed by someone and the owner is not willing to learn who did it or why. That flawded logic does not fly.
Have you talked to the power company yet? The current owner probably doesn't care because they know that in the vast majority of cases the meter itself belongs to the power company. NOT them, and not you. There could be any number of reasons they took it out. It is absolutely NOTthe same as a fixture being removed. Call the power company!
Have you talked to the power company yet? The current owner probably doesn't care because they know that in the vast majority of cases the meter itself belongs to the power company. NOT them, and not you. There could be any number of reasons they took it out. It is absolutely NOTthe same as a fixture being removed. Call the power company!
It may belong to the power company but it was on the house which they own and it is the responsibility of the owner of the home to handle this. Every single person I've talked to in real estate and also my Uncle that I mentioned said the Seller assumes responsibility for this. After seeing the property it is far from certain the power company removed it. Probable but not definite. Those tree branches are from trees not on the property and appear as though they were placed there to hide the spot where the meter was. There are no trees on that property and the only one nearby in the yard next door does not appear as though it lost any limbs or dropped branches into the property since the tree limbs do not extend to the path of the lines where they were from the alley to the home and meter. No other branches in the yard or even close to that tree is what is really odd.
If the Seller can't at least take the time to find out what happened to their property and the meter, then I am not about to make the initial call. This is very suspicious. The bottom line is that the condition of the home has changed since I first saw the home and signed a contract. It HAS to be in the same shape as it was at the time of the viewing and then signing. It is not and now after more than a week after I informed them it is evident the Seller has no inclination to fix the problem.
Last edited by WILWRadio; 07-10-2023 at 07:50 AM..
So is it just the meter that's gone, or the base and all? Is the service overhead or underground?
Meter only but a nice gaping hole without a cover that has now had at least five inched of rain fall on the side of the house and I have to presume some of that has found its way inside the walls. Overhead service.
I also posted this at the Real Estate page because of the lack of activity on this board. If you want to read more about it check out this link.
Have you talked to the power company yet? The current owner probably doesn't care because they know that in the vast majority of cases the meter itself belongs to the power company. NOT them, and not you. There could be any number of reasons they took it out. It is absolutely NOTthe same as a fixture being removed. Call the power company!
Right? The poster seems to want to talk to everyone they know in real estate, their family, and strangers on the internet...just call the power company and take care of it!
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