house dilemma with the sellers

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Cutehumor

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We bought our first home and close on 4/30. Well, my buyer agent calls me today and says that the seller cleaned the koi pond at the house and says the bill is $500. The seller wants me to pay for it or give 4 koi fish to the koi pond cleaning guy and he will charge $250 instead. The seller did not ask for my permission and did not notify my agent that the koi pond was being cleaned or of any charges. He notified us after he had the koi pond cleaned. Will I be legally responsible to pay this koi pond cleaning guy $500??

Our walkthrough is 4/23 and the seller is supposed to show me how to operate the koi pond pump. My agent knew I was pretty upset on the phone, he said he will not bring it up at closing. Seriously, I'm picturing being harassed about this $500 bill from the cleaning folks who did the work. The seller is moving to Arizona. anyone have any experience with a situation like this?
 
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I agree w/ you. He ordered the work, he should pay the bill. Stick to your guns.
 
you havent closed yet.....And if current stuff is not in the contract, you dont owe a dime. You dont take over until the 30th when you get the keys. If it's NOT in the contract you don't deal with it........Maybe a deal breaker would fix his attitude. You don't own it until you close

500.00 to clean a koi pond.......I'd fill that sucker up with cement

To answere your question NO you are not legally responsible
 
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The seller sounds like a moronic idiot. You shouldn't reinforce the seller's actions by even entertaining the notion of paying for this "value-added service" that you DID NOT ORDER.
 
What is the market like? If there is a line of buyers (doubtful) then you may need to suck some of it up.

If the house has been on the market for a long time, suggest they take the Koi pond with them since they just spent $500 of their own money on that pond.

If it's $500 to clean it, tell the seller you don't want it, and would hate to see their investment go to waste, they are free to take the pond with them when they leave.
 
Originally Posted By: DieselTech
you havent closed yet.....And if current stuff is not in the contract, you dont owe a dime. You dont take over until the 30th when you get the keys. If it's NOT in the contract you don't deal with it........Maybe a deal breaker would fix his attitude. You don't own it until you close

500.00 to clean a koi pond.......I'd fill that sucker up with cement

To answere your question NO you are not legally responsible

As a retired former Realtor...you are not responsible for any charges unless it is written in the Purchase Agreement (contract).

The seller can not ask you to pay for anything thats not specifically mentioned in the contract. Seller can add an addendum for things like this... but it has to be agreed and signed to by both the seller and the purchaser (you).

I don't think you'll lose the home as long as you have complied with the contract...but you'll have a not very happy seller.
 
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Originally Posted By: Oregoonian
Originally Posted By: DieselTech
you havent closed yet.....And if current stuff is not in the contract, you dont owe a dime. You dont take over until the 30th when you get the keys. If it's NOT in the contract you don't deal with it........Maybe a deal breaker would fix his attitude. You don't own it until you close

500.00 to clean a koi pond.......I'd fill that sucker up with cement

To answere your question NO you are not legally responsible

As a retired former Realtor...you are not responsible for any charges unless it is written in the Purchase Agreement (contract).

The seller can not ask you to pay for anything thats not specifically mentioned in the contract. Seller can add an addendum for things like this... but it has to be agreed and signed to by both the seller and the purchaser (you).

I don't think you'll lose the home as long as you have complied with the contract...but you'll have a not very happy seller.


Yup and your agent should explain that to him. This makes it off of you.
 
CUTE:
Was there ANY talk or verbal agreement about the KOI pond? Maybe he said, "I'll clean up that koi pond for you" and under his breath "for 500 bucks ..." and then talking loud again, "How's that sound?" and You said, "great!". Hope all goes well, but if its not in the agreement, then you do NOT owe a dime. Anything else in the agreement like: pumping a septic tank, or fixing a loose stair railing, or Boiler servicing?
 
In our contract, the seller was to demonstrate the functioning of the koi pond pump on our final walkthrough and that was it. (as well as the gas fireplace and the 2nd door garage which was not plugged in during inspection). Since our walkthrough is this saturday, something tells me the koi pond pump wasn't working correctly, especially since it cost $500 for "maintenance and cleaning".

I haven't spoken to the seller at all. Everything has gone through our agents. I have a coworker who has a koi pond and I was going to ask them advice on how to clean it.
 
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Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
In our contract, the seller was to demonstrate the functioning of the koi pond pump on our final walkthrough and that was it. (as well as the gas fireplace and the 2nd door garage which was not plugged in during inspection). Since our walkthrough is this saturday, something tells me the koi pond pump wasn't working correctly, especially since it cost $500 for "maintenance and cleaning".

I haven't spoken to the seller at all. Everything has gone through our agents. I have a coworker who has a koi pond and I was going to ask them advice on how to clean it.


You dont owe it, I agree there was a problem with the pump and he knew it was going to have to be fixed before this could go through. I'm sure if it was just due for a cleaning an amendment would have been made and you guys could have agreed to split the cost.

He just learned for the next time
 
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Ask him personally (be diplomatic about it). I'm leery of RE agents, so if this were me, I would consider the possibility he told his agent and subsequently his agent failed to notify your agent, and the two agents are putting the blame on him. I find it hard to believe he would do something this egregious on his own thereby putting the sale at risk
 
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Originally Posted By: tonycarguy
Ask him personally (be diplomatic about it). I'm leery of RE agents, so if this were me, I would consider the possibility he told his agent and subsequently his agent failed to notify your agent, and the two agents are putting the blame on him. I find it hard to believe he would do something this egregious on his own thereby putting the sale at risk


my buyer's agent did say that there was no request put in writing or anything. so it's possible that it was asked of my agent verbally and he never got back with them. First time I have a conversation with my agent in 3 weeks and the $500 koi pond cleaning and maintenance is what he calls me about!
 
Someone on a legal forum told me this:
"You need to make sure the seller takes care of the fish guy BEFORE closing so he cannot come back and file a lien against the property. Make sure the Fish Guy has signed a release of all claims. If it isn't at closing, I would either plan on paying the Fish Guy out of your pocket or hold up closing until the release is presented"

Should I tell my buyer agent to tell the seller to pay this bill? my buyer agent acts like he doesn't want to talk about this issue again because it could jeopardize the home sale since this seller is very difficult to deal with (he works in homeland security). do I really need to threaten to hold up closing until this is resolved? I don't want a lien put on my new house for nonpayment.
 
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I agree I would Highly suggest you tell your Agent that closing will not happen until it paid in full. A lein can be put on the property and it wouldnt be your fault.

I would also inform hoim this issue isn't going away and your not paying it so stop ignoring the possibilities. This is business not friendship and being buddy buddy.
 
Tell them you will pay the $500 for the koi pond if they pay $1000 toward closing costs.
thumbsup2.gif
 
This guy is pulling a fast one on you - you agreed he would 'demonstrate the functioning of the pond'.....well guess what - that just became 'oh, it needed a cleaning to function properly', and got a guy he knows to do the work, knowing he can put a lien to get it back.

You're going to end up paying this, whether you like it or not!
 
If it wasn't in the written contract documents, including costs, you owe nothing.

I'd also require them to provide a full release at closing and provides documentation that the bill is paid in full.

As an example, the house we bought had recently been fully recarpeted. As part of the closing, the seller was required to provide documentation that the work was paid in full along with lien waivers and full release for any claims for the buyer. You do not want to end up with a mechanics lien on the property, and knowing about a bill out there means it needs to be dealt with or no closing.
 
I doubt the fish people have the wherewithal to actually file a lein. And if it's for services performed before you're listed as the house title-holder you should be off the hook.

My house former owners made an 11th hour call to sell us custom curtains for $250, we laughed it off and they STOLE SOME LIGHT BULBS after the final walk-through.
lol.gif
 
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