Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New Jersey

Re: Excessive damage; I am about to Close

Mr. Simon is right. You may try getting the seller and his atty to walk through the house with you. Pull up the corners of the rug, expose some pee stained backing and flooring. Make them take a whiff. Tell them taht was NOT what yuou had bargined for, and try to get a financial concession. If you feel you have to back down, then ask for an assignment of all claims he has against the tenant.

He had a security deposit, or at least a tenant-landlord claim for damages. I bet he kept the security deposit. Ask. Sue the tenant. If the tenantt says they paid the landlord, or he kept the security, suggest the tenant counter-claim againt the seller for contribution. You might even have fun with this, as the seller sounds like an ass.

Good luck, and let us know what happened.

Getthe suggested estimate and ask for the credit.

Re: Excessive damage; I am about to Close

I agree with both prior responses, with one additional suggestion, depending upon your contract provisions. If you have the right to a fianl walk-through before closing, raise this issue again and seek to have a closing adjustment at the time of closing. If you are at the closing and raise this issue, people do not usually want the deal to abort at the 11th hour. Have some prices for replacement carpet of the size involved and also the cost for re-cleaning. If the Seller is adament about no adjustments, you may be able to get the brokers to contribute. They also do not want the deal to abort at the 11th hour and possibly lose their commissions. You should take a tough stand at the closing (you can always back off at the last minute) and some concession should be made, particularly if the Seller used the tenant in the interim (to make a few fast bucks) and kept the security deposit when he terminated the tenancy. I disagree that the tenancy may have been fraudulent (if the contract only stated no tenants at time of closing), but gives you some leverage.

Re: Excessive damage; I am about to Close

Most real estate contracts have a provision that specifies whether the property has tenants or not. If the tenant came into possession after the contract was signed, you likely have grounds to get out of the contract, even though the tenant is no longer there. If the property listing specified carpeting, and the carpeting is now substandard, you have grounds to be credited. However, you are in a dilemna because you want to close, yet want to be compensated. Since the seller is not worried about you getting out of the deal, you lose leverage. I suggest finding out the exact dimensions of the rooms, and picking out new carpet at a store, and getting an estimate. Ask for that amount as credit. You will end up with better carpet than is there at present, though you might have to pay some post closing cleaning costs. You might also want to deal with the seller with "pay for this or I walk away." You need to have leverage. Also, you might want to pick out the most expensive carpet, to leave room to buy a lesser priced alternative in case the seller counter offers with a lower amount.

Good luck to you!!