Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I am a first time home buyer and am currently in escrow with a short sale. When I originally made an offer on this house, nearly 4 months ago, it had a very nice stainless steel gas stove. When I walked through recently, they had removed the stove and put in a very crummy electric stove.

The sellers addendum that I signed shortly after I saw the house originally states that the current stove and all appliances are included. When I questioned the sellers agent they stated that the stove was removed sometime between when I saw the house and when I signed the addendum, so the crummy stove IS the current stove that is specified.

Should there have been some kind of disclosure? Does anyone know if there's a specific disclosure law that I can state?

I know that this is minuscule overall, but the original stove was very high end and the one they replaced it with, you'd have to pay someone to take it away.

Thank you so much for your help,

-KP


Asked on 8/04/09, 3:21 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Nina Ortega

If you litigate the issue, it will be question of proof. Can they prove that they switched the stoves before you signed the addendum? Can you prove that the stove that is there now is not the one that was there when you saw the house? Can you prove exactly what kind of stove was there originally? Does the listing brag about a fancy stove? It is not an easy case to prove and the burden of proof will be on you, at least initially.

If you are up for it, you can try handling the lawsuit yourself in small claims court. More information here:

http://www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_generic.jsp?cid=10581&id=2175

What they did is wrong, no doubt. A more practical solution might be to register a complaint with both the listing agent's broker and the local Board of Realtors.

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Answered on 8/04/09, 3:43 pm
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Complain firmly to your RE broker, that is what they get paid commissions for, to help you. There are certainly other people, brokers, customers, that saw the good stove, to prove your allegations. What you saw is what was for sale.

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Answered on 8/04/09, 3:58 pm


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