Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Miss leading sale info
I bough a 4 units a weeks ago. On reale state listing list the building with 5 gas meter and the tenants pay for there own gas, but now I found it has only 1 master gas meter and the tenants don't pay gas (in the rental agreement list they pay all utilities except water). He agree to buy a home owner warranty, but when I try to get them to fix the washer I found it does not cover it or cover A/C. Speaking of the A/C he told me that 2 of the tenants asked him to remove the A/C and he storaged both A/c on the closed patios. when I did take over I ask the both tenants to hand the A/C both said the old landlord did remove and take them and they don't have them.
what should I do with the old landlord and his agent who list wrong info.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Miss leading sale info
Write down everything you remember or can look up about your complaints. Have a friend with business experience read it to see if she or he understands it. If not, rewrite the information together, so that a stranger (like a small claims judge) can understand clearly what happened.
Then, take a copy of your complaint to the seller and the seller's agent, and tell both of them that you will file a small-claims action against both of them unless they negotiate with you to solve all the problems to your satisfaction. This may include paying you a price adjustment. If you settle after such a negotiation, you may be asked to sign a release. Be careful not to sign unless and until you have received everything promised in the settlement.
If a negotiation doesn't work, you may have to go to court, or if you agreed to arbitration, the dispute may have to be arbitrated.
The dollar value of the problems seems to be in the small-claims area. If you think the damage to you from not having separate meters, etc. exceeds $10,000, you should probably retain a lawyer to assist you.
I suggest you ask your gas supplier or a contractor what it would cost to install separate meters. Also make an estimate of the cost of the gas you will have to buy and pay for in a typical year, if that's what will happen. If the rental agreements require tenants to pay for all utilities, but you don't have separate meters, you can't collect unless each tenant agrees to a formula for allocating the single bill.
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