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Real estate question

Dammit I come here looking for permission to get out of this and only get sense spoken. We will just pay him off

honestly, you don't owe them anything. the house is no longer yours, they should have done all of this prior to closing. they are not very bright to go against lawyer, and i would rather you not pay them a dime for their idiocy.

having said that, if the work was not listed on the original inspection (prior to closing) i would not do any of it. they paid a professional (i say that loosely) to perform the inspection. they cannot keep adding on as they desire...the rest of the work in the original inspection i would bring in an arbitrator contractor (both agreed upon) and cut a check and gtfo.
 
It's almost like you should have used a professional to advise you through this whole process.
 
Do the work in the original inspection. I'd get in touch with the original contractor and try to understand why everything wasn't done, but the chances of him ever going back to that house since he's been paid are slim and none. Still, I'd definitely verify that whatever the new owners are demanding be repaired was in their original scope of work from the inspection.

I'm not a lawyer, but your verbal and email agreement to pay for the repairs could represent a binding contract.
 
It's almost like you should have used a professional to advise you through this whole process.

I did on this issue but wanted to share for other opinions. Lawyer’s advice was to make an offer even though closing was completed but buyers didn’t go for it. So the options are to be a dick and force him to sue in small claims and still potentially lose and be out more money and time or give buyers what they are asking. Like I said we will probably just go with the latter.

Biggest lesson for me here is get a trustworthy and competent contractor.
 
Get one more quote, that likely will be in the middle of the low-ball initial quote and the much higher quote they got. Pay them the middle quote or an average of the 3. Seems more than fair.
 
here's another option: burn house down with candle - insurance pays to build you a brand new house for free

/thread
 
how would lawyers have prevented buyers from getting estimates that came back a lot higher than the original estimate?

have you considered it's possible that the job could be done for $1500?
 
Maybe it could have, but you'd have to manage the GC/handyman actually finishing the job.
 
Maybe it could have, but you'd have to manage the GC actually finishing the job.

"manage" as in "talk to the guy when he comes to your house?"

wtf kinds of contractors are ya'll dealing with for small jobs? smart people over-complicate everything

find a reliable contractor for this kind of thing and pay him well.
 
Yeah, $1,500 won't get most GCs out of be in the morning these days anywhere in Charlotte. It's hard to find someone reliable, competent, and prompt to do much of anything.
 
plenty of competent, honest dudes with LLCs driving in around in beat up F150s looking for work. most don't advertise because they get all their work word of mouth, which makes it difficult to 'find' them. if you're looking for them via google you're going to get outfits organized enough to advertise, which has its perks but tend to be more expensive
 
Can't wait till the bullshit real estate industry gets disrupted. 6% commission is highway robbery for the amount of work they do.
 
Can't wait till the bullshit real estate industry gets disrupted. 6% commission is highway robbery for the amount of work they do.

Plenty of companies already doing/trying to do that. OpenDoor, Redfin, Zillow, Offerpad, etc. Seems dumb not to at least go through the simple process of getting an "instant cash" offer with them. I did one for fun a while back on my townhouse, and the offer was a bit below market value, but not 6% below.
 
I did on this issue but wanted to share for other opinions. Lawyer’s advice was to make an offer even though closing was completed but buyers didn’t go for it. So the options are to be a dick and force him to sue in small claims and still potentially lose and be out more money and time or give buyers what they are asking. Like I said we will probably just go with the latter.

Biggest lesson for me here is get a trustworthy and competent contractor.

If they won't take your compromise $$ offer, offer to have your own guy do the work - assuming the work was included in the original agreement as to what you would cover. If they won't take that, screw 'em. Document all of your offers. If they take you to small claims court, worst case should be what you have offered anyway.
You agreed to do the work and paid a contractor - for some reason he didn't do it all. They want the rest done - their estimate for that was a multiple of your estimate - they can't expect you to pay that without a clear explanation for the discrepancy. You offered a compromise amount which they rejected. If you then offer to have your own guy do the work, what fair basis do they have to reject that offer?
 
If they won't take your compromise $$ offer, offer to have your own guy do the work - assuming the work was included in the original agreement as to what you would cover. If they won't take that, screw 'em. Document all of your offers. If they take you to small claims court, worst case should be what you have offered anyway.
You agreed to do the work and paid a contractor - for some reason he didn't do it all. They want the rest done - their estimate for that was a multiple of your estimate - they can't expect you to pay that without a clear explanation for the discrepancy. You offered a compromise amount which they rejected. If you then offer to have your own guy do the work, what fair basis do they have to reject that offer?

The fact that his guy didn't do the work correctly in the first place?
 
The fact that his guy didn't do the work correctly in the first place?

Doesn't mean he has to use the same guy this time. And anyway, if he agrees to have the work done - that is all he has to do. If the work is again unfinished or poorly done, then they can deal with it then.
 
Doesn't mean he has to use the same guy this time. And anyway, if he agrees to have the work done - that is all he has to do. If the work is again unfinished or poorly done, then they can deal with it then.

Right, so he ends up paying some other handyman more money to finish the job, which is where he is at right now anyway.
 
yeah, i do find that people that live in/around the ivory tower of Important Jobs have a difficult time figuring out how to handle simple, salt of the earth problems like "find someone to fix a leaking pipe, fix the damaged drywall and paint it"
 
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