Q: We bought our home in August 2014. One of the key items was a spa in the back. On two separate visits, the spa was running and looked great. On our final walk-through while the owner was in Florida, the spa was off and we could not find the switch to turn it on. We called the lawyer’s office, and they where unable to contact the owner.
We were told it was probably a switch that needed to be turned on. Two days later, after we took title, we found out the circuit breaker was off and there was no switch. We turned the spa on, and the next day the water was down 3 inches. I filled the spa up and left it on. The next day it was empty.
We called a spa company that came over and found a 2-inch crack in the base. The attorney called the owner, who said the spa had been patched. The spa company said the spa could not be patched because the problem was on the bottom, and the stress of water and people would not allow any repair to work. We asked our lawyer to seek compensation, as that was a selling point of the home, but the lawyer for the previous homeowner did not respond.
We sent a registered letter to the homeowner in Florida asking for compensation but we did not hear back from him. Our lawyer also has not responded to any inquires.
Can I sue the previous homeowner for the cost of replacing the spa? Do we have any rights?
A: You should get at least two estimates to repair the spa to working condition. Why? Because litigation is time-consuming, expensive and always uncertain.
I would not like to see you spend $30,000 (for example) on litigation if you can get the spa working for $10,000.
Can you sue the owner? That’s a tough question. I would have to review the sales contract. Did you buy “as is”? Playing devil’s advocate, I would argue in defense of the previous owner that you knew there was a problem before you took title (you could not check before the closing if the spa was working), and yet you went to closing. Did you reserve any rights regarding the spa? Did you escrow any funds at settlement just in case the spa was not functioning?
If your attorney is not responding, then I suggest you get another one. Your lawyer should be giving you specific advice based on the law in your state, rather than the general comments I can only make.
I always tell my clients that while I am completely sympathetic to your loss and do not belittle the amount of money you may have to pay, sometimes it is best to just bite the bullet, fix the problem and move on with your life.
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Obviously, if the amount in question is very large, you may want to litigate.
Q. I was happy with your response in a recent column about home inspections. While our home was not as old as the one in the column, we did indeed have some issues that needed to be addressed before putting it up for sale. For about $350, we hired a home inspector about six months before putting our house up for sale. After a three-hour inspection and getting a report with photos of things that we needed to fix, we were able to spend about $3,000 for what we think was probably a $20,000 increase in our sale price. Subsequently, the buyer’s inspector found no issues at all.
There also was a home warranty insurance policy at a cost of $380 that protected us from any unseen issues. This was also money well spent.
A: Your advice is well taken; if you have questions or concerns about the condition of the house you are about to sell, it makes sense to hire a professional home inspector before you start the marketing.
I did find it interesting that the buyer’s inspector found no issues; that’s very unusual. I am not in any way trying to be critical of home inspectors, because I believe they have an important role in any real estate sale. However, from my experience, rarely will an inspector find a house in perfect condition. They are professionals, so they usually find something.
Benny L. Kass is a practicing attorney in Washington and Maryland. No legal relationship is created by this column; [email protected].