Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts
What if something is in the offer but not in the Purchase and Sale agreement
I recently bought a house. The refridgerator was in the offer, but mistakenly left out of the house. After the P and S was signed, my real estate agent contacted the buyers agent who claimed that they would leave the refridgerator. When I did the walk through to my suprize the sellor had not moved out of the house. At closing, the sellors lawyer agreed to let me look at the house prior to registering the deed, but then after closing refused to give me the keys until the deed was registered. When I finally went into the house the refridgerator was gone.
Do I have any recourse against the real estate agents since I was not given a walk through with the sellors belonging removed?
Could I bring this to small claims court to get the fridge back? Would I have a chance at winning?
Who could I write to complain about the sellors lawyer. She verbally agreed to let me look at the house after closing, but then refused to give me the keys until the deed was registered and I was the official owner.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: What if something is in the offer but not in the Purchase and Sale agreement
The problem with going to small claims court is that the P&S did not include the refrigerator and the Seller will say that was negotiated out of the agreement. You will need a third party to support your position that the refrigerator was to be included and that the Seller prior to closing promised to include it. Technically, the agreement and law will be on Seller's side, however small claims court sometimes is more interested in equity than black letter law.
As to complaining about the attorney, she did nothing wrong. She said she would let you walk through before recording the deed, you could have insisted upon that, but she would have had to go with you or the agent would have to go with you. As a general rule, Sellers do not give the keys to the house to the Buyer until the deed is recorded. The attorney did not do anything that would indicate that you have a legitamate complaint. Moreover, she takes direction from her client, whether it is the Seller or the Lender.
You could complain to your real estate agent or the managing broker. They might be willing to do something.
Your situation is why buyers should have an attorney review any P&S before signing it.
I hope this is helpful.
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