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My husband & I just purchased a house in Richmond VA from out of state (we live in NY). We were unable to travel to VA during the inspection and final walk through. On the 1st day of moving in the furnace broke & we were advised that there was no automatic garage door (when in fact it was broken & hidden by a stack of moving boxes during the home inspection). Both the seller's agent & our agent did the final walk through and stated that they did not see the garage door & the seller's agent that the furnace worked when the seller's moved out. The inspector stated that the furance was old but would be ok for "at least 5 more years".
1) how can I found out if there was any other service calls on this furnace prior to us buying the house (without calling every heating company in Richmond)?
2) who is reponsible for the non-disclosures?
3) can this be handled by small claims court or do we need a real estate attorney?
I'm not sure where you are going with the furnace issue. Your own inspector said it was working. As for the garage door, did someone tell you there was an automatic door?
At what point was it disclosed that there was no garage door opener? And how was that disclosed? Did the seller disclose it or the inspector?
If the inspector was wrong about the furnace I don't think it is a disclosure issue. If you turned it on, it worked and then it broke I think the inspector was wrong about the 5 more years. What was there for the sellers to disclose if the furnace was working for them?
Well there isn't an automatic garage door. It was broken and not working, hence there isn't one. It might be that the sellers had planned to pull it down and just never got around to it. I don't know. That seems like an appropriate disclosure to me. I guess they could have said there was a broken one there, but they clearly disclosed you wouldn't have one. If you want them to haul it to the dump, then I think that would be fair to ask them to do that.
As for the furnace, it sounds like it was working. Personally I am stunned that any home inspector would put in writing that it was good for another 5 years. That's just stupid. Old furnaces can die anytime which is what appears to have happened to you.
If you want to know when the furnace was last serviced just ask the sellers. At least out here, contractors won't disclose work they did for someone else without the clients authorization. Calling around wouldn't help you out here, but not sure what they do out there. I think you have a very, very weak case, but you can take them to small claims if your contract allows for that.
In VA sellers are responsible for disclosing "material adverse facts" about a property.
Thanks for all the answers, althought I do feel that the sellers didn't disclosed & the inspector missed the issues with the furnace. I just don't know how to prove any of this or if it is going to waste my time running around in circles.
BTW we found out about the automatic garage door opener until the day we moved in, while didn't the sellers just state the the opener was broken instaed of lying? How did both agents not walk in the garage & see the opener bolted to the ceiling?
We bought the house and had hired the actual teacher of the local ASHI Inspectors, considered to be the governing authority on a national level .. and he said the furnace (it was an oldie) worked, and might last another five years. Next time it was turned on, in November, it bit the dust.
It may be likely the inspector said something similar like "it might last you up to five years"..
anywhoooo we had to get a new furnace.. ca-ching.. and a few months later the water heater failed.
I won't scare you with any more details of older homes. The new furnace is efficient (and once it was paid for) and has saved us money from its clean and precise burning system.
Best of luck.. sorry to hear about the situation.
Thanks for all the answers, althought I do feel that the sellers didn't disclosed & the inspector missed the issues with the furnace. I just don't know how to prove any of this or if it is going to waste my time running around in circles.
What exactly is it you think the sellers should have disclosed about the furnace?
What exactly is it you think the sellers should have disclosed about the furnace?
That there was a cracks in the heat exchanger inside of the furnace. Our repair man stated that they should have heard banging or popping sounds during the last winter when they used it. I'm just going by what our guy is saying that this issue was not new and that somebody should have noticed something wrong.
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same thing happened to me
