Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts

I purchased my first home from fannie mae this past thursday. When we did the final walk through, we found a burst pipe in a first floor heater. The water was flowing through the hardwood floors into the finished basement below. The walls, ceilings, and raised flooring in most of the basement are destroyed and so is the hardwood floor in the room where the leak occured. We called the sellers real estate agent, and she said don't worry about it, they would have it all fixed asap. They had a crew in, and fixed the leak, then had a contractor in to quote the damage repairs... Now they are backpedaling... Trying to cover their own hides since they were supposed to winterize and didnt. It turns out that the reason for the pipes freezing was that they left the heat on and the oil tank ran dry. Of course, since my real estate agent was assured everything would be fixed asap, we went ahead with the closing, and then two days later the back-pedaling began, I believe because they realized that the damge was much more severe thatn they had previously imagined... What rights do I have? I can not afford to fix the damage myself, and my insurance will not cover damage that occured before closing. I have since had to pay a restoration crew to come in and clean up, and dry everything, to try to avoid further damage ($1,000.00 so far out of pocket). This is also something they originally were going to do, then came back and said I had to do it, or risk further damage to the house. The house is in Massachusetts.


Asked on 1/30/12, 12:10 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Christopher Vaughn-Martel Charles River Law Partners, LLC

I am assuming that you did not have an attorney representing your interests in this deal. If you did, you should contact the attorney immediately. No attorney would have gone ahead with a closing on "assurances". Your options may depend somewhat on the various communications, notices, and agreements of the parties. You should take your paperwork to an attorney.

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Answered on 1/30/12, 12:15 pm
Craig J. Tiedemann Kajko, Weisman & Colasanti, LLP

What you have described sounds like a complicated -- but, unfortunately, not uncommon -- situation following closing where certain promises/representations were made in order to get the closing to occur, but are not thereafter fully honored or, in some cases, even enforceable. The answer here almost certainly depends on the precise terms of the P&S agreement; including whether representations prior to closing made as to the "defects" -- and any agreement as to how they would be addressed thereafter -- actually survived passage of the deed, and/or could have been (arguably) rendered unenforceable by the concept of "merger" due to the passing of the deed.

This is a complicated analysis heavily dependent on all of the surrounding circumstances. A detailed review of the closing documents and the facts/representations/agreements is necessary to further advise you concerning this, unfortunately.

I agree you should quickly consult with experienced counsel, beginning with any closing attorney you hired to handle this (if any), but not necessarily limited solely to that attorney. In my prior experience with these issues, these situations often raise potential claims extending beyond just the seller/broker depending on the facts. Feel free to contact me directly to discuss further.

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Answered on 1/30/12, 4:46 pm


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