In need of advice about difficult home buyers? Long sorry :(

[Bonita]

We recently sold our house because we relocated to another state, and things went pretty smoothly up until closing...

We were right in the middle of finishing building our shed when we found out about the relocation, and decided to go ahead with putting our house on the market anyway, despite the shed not being done.

We actually got multiple offers, so we selected an offer and moved forward in the process.  The people did their inspection and along with their repair requests, they stated "Shed to be completed OR the materials to complete the shed to be left."

Well due to the fact that I was only at our house 1 1/2 days of the week (I was flying back every weekend) the month before closing, and the weather not cooperating at all (it's been much more rainy than normal)...we weren't able to fully complete the shed.  The only thing left (in my mind) was for the doors to be put together and hung, and 3 sides of the shed painted (I was able to get 2 coats on 1 side of the shed).

On the day of closing during their final walkthrough the buyer's agent makes a huge fuss about the shed not being 100% complete, and states that we will have to pay for the shed to be completed and will have to sign an addendum at closing.  At closing (30 minutes after their walkthrough) they inform us that they have gotten a quote to finish the shed for $859.00.  We were a bit confused by everything, but to be nice we agreed to sign an addendum that stated we would hire a third party to finish the shed and that we would obtain all quotes within 7 days.

We did that, we selected a quote for $425.  All the materials are on the property in the shed at this point (all the wood for the doors, the paint, etc.), so it's mostly just getting someone to come out and finish things.  The buyers started raising a HUGE stink - it started with the quote is too vague, in their eyes the quote doesn't fully bring the shed to completion and progressed to things like they feel they should be allowed to select the color...the door design...what recourse do they have if the door falls off after one week...and just got more ridiculous.

I realized they were throwing a tantrum anytime we suggested using someone other than the contractor they got a quote from just before closing, so I started to get curious and did some research.  The company they want to use/got the quote from is the Homeowner's/Buyer brother-in-law...so I feel stuck/helpless at this point.

I feel like any quote we have, or go with they're just going to keep questioning every.little.detail and basically make it nearly impossible for us to use anyone else except their brother-in-law.  They keep saying "If the shed isn't finished to our standards, can we cash the check that is in escrow and finish the shed how we see fit?"

I guess I'm not sure what to do...I've asked to see their quote because we considered just hiring their contractor who also happens to be the brother-in-law and pay him/his company directly, but after 2-3 days of asking we haven't gotten anything from them yet.  I don't know if we should just let them cash the check and feel like we got screwed over, hire one of the contractors we got a quote from and risk that the shed will never be "up to their standards" and they'll keep asking for repairs, hire their contractor but ask to see the formal quote from them and pay the contractor/brother-in-law directly?

WWYD?

[Susie]

I'd direct a lot of this to my attorney or realtor who represented me in the sale transaction. This is nonsense. If the buyers hear it from someone who isn't the other party to the transaction they may be more likely to compromise.

[AmyRI]

Well, I probably wouldn't have signed the addendum in the first place since you never agreed to bring the shed to completion. If they wanted it completed by their BIL, they should have said so then. And now, you REALLY don't have to use the BIL. I bet they are going to take your $900 and BIL would do the work for free (and I question whether or not BIL knew he was going to get paid).

Ask the BIL if he'll match the quote, or at a minimum explain why the $425 is too low.

You are following through with the contact by picking anyone you want to do the work. Get the shed up, caulked, roofed, and painted in the color you started with. If they didn't want it that color, they should have specified that in the contract or should pay for painting themselves.

Sheds come with instruction manuals, so make sure that whoever does the work for you follows the directions. Then if "their standards" aren't met, you can say it's above and beyond and an unreasonable request.

[Bonita]

Jul 31, 2013 10:31:14 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

This is what I thought as well, but our realtor said that we basically had to sign it.  In an email prior to closing I told her that it looked like we would have the shed completed prior to closing, and she relayed to their realtor that we would have it completed.  She said that emails are now official documents/communication I guess? 

Our realtor feels bad, and said that if we do end up letting them just cash the check that she will give us $250 back because she feels partly responsible - one for relaying to them that we would complete it, and two that our addendum was so vague as to the definition of "complete"

Ugh...this all just makes me infuriated and kind of sad

[sjh722]

They're being ridiculous.

Quote is for $425, if they want to use a different contractor, that's on them.

You will either use your contractor, or release $425 to them to use for the contractor of their choice.

You've already done more than they asked for (provided materials to complete the shed). People like this will push you until you push back. I would in no way shape or form release $900 to them. Whoever pays, picks. That's why you pay for your own inspectors - you're paying the bill. If seller pays, he/she gets to pick.

[sailorgray]

I would let an attorney r agent handle it. What s yours saying?

[sjh722]

Jul 31, 2013 10:41:15 GMT -5 Bonita said:

Jul 31, 2013 10:31:14 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

This is what I thought as well, but our realtor said that we basically had to sign it.  In an email prior to closing I told her that it looked like we would have the shed completed prior to closing, and she relayed to their realtor that we would have it completed.  She said that emails are now official documents/communication I guess? 

This gets a little sticky and probably depends on what's enforceable in your state and how your contract is written. I don't want to give you bad advice so I won't comment on it.

That said, if it were me, I'd stick to offering the $425 and chalk it up to experience. Misunderstandings/miscommunications happen and it sounds like your agent is willing to take some of the responsibility - $425 minus $250 would be worth it to me to be done with pesky buyers.

[AmyRI]

Jul 31, 2013 10:41:15 GMT -5 Bonita said:

This is what I thought as well, but our realtor said that we basically had to sign it.  In an email prior to closing I told her that it looked like we would have the shed completed prior to closing, and she relayed to their realtor that we would have it completed.  She said that emails are now official documents/communication I guess? 

Our realtor feels bad, and said that if we do end up letting them just cash the check that she will give us $250 back because she feels partly responsible - one for relaying to them that we would complete it, and two that our addendum was so vague as to the definition of "complete"

Ugh...this all just makes me infuriated and kind of sad

Ahh, so your realtor made the promise when it shouldn't have been made and now you're on the hook for the bill. That explains why she forced you into signing the addendum at closing, at least.

"Complete," to me, is well defined by the instructions on the shed. We just bought a shed, and we added extra stuff to improve the shed to our level of satisfied, not just the level laid out in the manual. We didn't expect the installers to do it because it's "complete" without it. If they want to add extras, or change it in any way, it's still on them. Stick to the $425 and give them the choice between paying the BIL the difference themselves (and being responsible for any added costs if he doesn't complete it to their specifications) and using your contractor, who will be responsible for doing things according to instructions.

You should not feel bad at all about not giving them $900. If your realtor wants to pay the difference, and make it VERY clear that you are not responsible for any further costs in regard to anything about the shed, then that's on her. But I wouldn't split the difference since it's all her fault.

[new2this]

Ditto the PPs. I would offer to either have the work completed by your contractor to YOUR specification (no upgrades) or you can release the $425 for them to use as they please AFTER they sign an addendum saying they are releasing you from any further obligations to the shed.

Definitely don't hire the BIL. Have you officially closed on the property now?

[stephm0188]

Agreed with what the others have said about hiring your guy or offering $425. We went through something similar when we sold. Our buyers wanted to choose the people we hired and threw a huge fit about it.

[Bonita]

Jul 31, 2013 12:57:43 GMT -5 new2this said:

Ditto the PPs. I would offer to either have the work completed by your contractor to YOUR specification (no upgrades) or you can release the $425 for them to use as they please AFTER they sign an addendum saying they are releasing you from any further obligations to the shed.

Definitely don't hire the BIL. Have you officially closed on the property now?

Yes, we closed a week and a half ago now and this is still dragging on because every time we're ready to go ahead with our contractor they find something else to question...including "What recourse do we have if/when the doors fall off a week after they're installed!?"

At this point they're just throwing a temper tantrum because they can't have it their way which I think is they get the almost $900 and then just DIY or BIL does it for the family rate.

[sjh722]

What recourse do they have? The same as they would with any other contractor, including their $925 person. Not.your.problem.

I would, at this point, not communicate with them directly and have your agent send a strongly worded email to the buyer's agent communicating what you are offering. (2 options, both fair, both fullfill your end of the bargain - $425 or the repair done by your person.)

Do they know that you know it's their BIL? I would mention that outright to get them to knock it off, if you haven't already.

[Bonita]

So far all of our communication has been going through our realtor to their realtor, and I think our realtor hasn't made her emails strongly worded enough possibly - I am getting ready to send her this email:

"*** and I feel like we have given sufficient enough time to the buyers to furnish the quote from their contractor, and since they have been unable we need to move forward with a decision on this without it.

At this point, our offer is to either have the work completed by our contractor (Contractor, Inc.) to OUR specification (no upgrades, the work completed will be what we had planned to have done for ourselves, no more) or we will write them a new check for $425 for them to use toward the contractor of their choice after they sign an addendum saying they are releasing us from any further obligations to the shed."

Does this sound good? I need more practice in being firm and direct - ha ha

[new2this]

I think it's too friendly and a little off topic (since you're not using their contractor regardless). How about:

Dear ____,
We would like to settle the shed issue with our property. As you know our contract states that the shed will be finished by a third party. We have selected a third party (_____ company). They estimate the cost of the work is $425. We understand the buyers would like upgrades to the shed. In lieu of hiring ____ to finish the shed we are willing to write the buyers a check for $425 to use toward the contractor of their choice after they sign an addendum saying they are releasing us from any further obligations to the shed. We are unwilling to change the terms of the addendum, including hiring their choice of contractor or paying for unnecessary upgrades. Please let us know their decision by X date.

[AmyRI]

Jul 31, 2013 17:02:10 GMT -5 new2this said:

I think it's too friendly and a little off topic (since you're not using their contractor regardless). How about:

Dear ____,
We would like to settle the shed issue with our property. As you know our contract states that the shed will be finished by a third party. We have selected a third party (_____ company). They estimate the cost of the work is $425. We understand the buyers would like upgrades to the shed. In lieu of hiring ____ to finish the shed we are willing to write the buyers a check for $425 to use toward the contractor of their choice after they sign an addendum saying they are releasing us from any further obligations to the shed. We are unwilling to change the terms of the addendum, including hiring their choice of contractor or paying for unnecessary upgrades. Please let us know their decision by X date.

I like this much better, and I agree with sjh722 that it's worth mentioning that you know they have a familial connection to the company they want to use. You are not obligated to pick their family as your contractor.

[SusanBAnthony]

We had a similar experience with a difficult buyer, although ours fell through, thankfully. We googled the buyers when they started to get difficult, and found out they were both lawyers. It was creepy- they were requesting that we write things in certain legal language, which we refused to do- it was clear they wanted us to open ourselves to a lawsuit later on. We were desperate to sell the house, but so thankful when they walked.

It sounds like you are on fine legal footing to refuse to pay more than the 400$. Your realtor needs to get strong. Also, if she is from a bigger firm, they may have a lawyer on staff that she can escalate things to if she can't handle it on her own.

[Bonita]

<sigh> And the saga continues...

I sent our realtor the email I posted here yesterday afternoon, and she came back stating that the buyer's agent approached her buyers about the contractor being their brother-in-law. Apparently they admitted that he was their brother-in-law, but they didn't see anything wrong with it since he's a reputable contractor in the area (According to Angie's List we aren't even in his service area). Pffft!

Our realtor suggested that maybe we consider a "median" price from the quotes (which includes theirs) that we received since that seems "fair" :-P I wrote her back and reiterated that we were interested in hiring Contractor A for $425, or that in lieu of hiring Contractor A we would give the buyers $425 and they could do as they please. Of course, they still didn't have the quote (I asked for it on Sunday morning) because their contractor is so busy on a big job. :-P

Just a little bit ago our realtor sent us an email containing their quote, and said:

Here is the written quote from their contractor. It looks like they have taken the price down....let me know if you would like to proceed with this one as I have no way of enforcing them to sign an addendum that says they will not bother you any further with other means............ I would still be willing to send you $200 which would mean you would pay a total of $425, which is what you were willing to pay Contractor A...let me know.

Is this a good option?

The only thing that makes me unsure about their quote is that it states:
1. Paint 4 walls of shed.
2. Assemble, install, prime and paint shed door.
Paint color: match siding color.
-per sellers all door hardware and lumber on site in shed and therefore not needed for work to be completed.
*Assumes their is not issue with materials and no materials to construct doors are needed.

Contractor to provide all painting materials.

I don't like the "Assumes their is not issue with materials and no materials to construct doors are needed." part.

It also states at the bottom of the proposal "Brother-in-law, owner, will supervise every aspect of your project" - I don't know if I'm being irrational or not, but I kind of would like to know who exactly is going to be performing the work. The homeowner told us the day of closing that he used to do remodeling work on the side over the weekends, so I want to make sure that the homeowner isn't going to DIY and the brother-in-law will "supervise" the project :-P

Should we go ahead with what our realtor has offered?

[new2this]

Screw that. Seriously. You've closed on the house. You're following your contract. Just because they want to change the terms doesn't mean you have to follow along. I wouldn't budge with this. I feel like there's something more going on here. Like BIL is going to screw up or find missing materials or something. The fact that the price is now lower than what they verbally quoted you just makes me feel more uneasy about the whole situation. If they wanted to have the work done themselves they should have asked for that. When we bought our house there was some work that we wanted to do ourselves - we didn't ask the sellers to fix it because we wanted to oversee the work. That's what they should have done. This is sketchy.

"Dear ___,
As we have stated before, we are unwilling to change the terms of the contract regarding the shed. We are obligated to hire a third party to finish the shed. We have chosen ____ company to do so. Since we do not have access to the property we need the buyers to assist in scheduling a time for the work to be completed. Alternatively, we are still willing to give them a check for $425 if they would like to use the contractor of their choice, however, if they choose to do so they must sign an addendum stating they are releasing us from further obligations to the shed. Otherwise we will move forward with ____ company. We appreciate you offering to cover $200 of the cost to the buyers but it does not change our position on altering the contract at this point. Please let me know the buyers decision by X date."