Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Minnesota
I recently closed on a house. The water softener was marked as owned. We also put it as an item on our purchase agreement (along with washer/dryer, etc). The seller was an estate. I got an e-mail about a week after the sale of the house, from the estate, about where to send the check for the water softener rental. I contaced the company, and they gave me a quote to buy the softener for $650. Through my realtor, I told the estate that they owed the softener company the $$. They basically told me to go fly a kite. Of couse, I signed originally for arbitration ($250). I don't think I'll loose, but, I'm worried that the estate has $0, because the house has been for sale for over a year. I went back to the softener company, they won't go after the estate, telling me that the correct course of action is to get the $$ from me. I already paid for this water softener once, I don't want to pay for it twice. Is the water softener legally mine? Should the company go after me or the estate? Am I screwed?
2 Answers from Attorneys
The estate did not own the water softener and, as a result, could not sell it. As a result, you do not own the water softener. THe company that leases the softener may remove it or request that you pay to purchase it or lease it pursuant to their contract terms.
Your remedy would be against the seller of the home as a breach of contract
Did you get a "warranty bill of sale" from the seller? That would certainly help you with the claim against the seller. You could ask the company which leases the water softener to send you a copy of the lease, so you can be sure that it was a lease and not a sale.
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