Sold our house and ice maker isn't working

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The day we signed our listing agreement we discovered the ice maker wasn't working. We emptied out a large chunk of ice, reset it and expected it to be working the next day. We discussed this with the realtor and decided we would get it fixed therefore we did not disclose it wasn't working. However, we have replaced 2 parts and are waiting for a third to come in and it still isn't working. We obviously want to be fair to the new owners, how do we determine what the fridge is worth at this point? I have seen numbers on depreciating an appliance for a rental, is it the same for a personal home?

Fridge is 4 years old.

TIA!

Why not just buy a new fridge? You don't want to list the house that has a broken fridge. The buyers will eventually just ask you to replace it as part of the sales contract, so just do it now.

You can get a used (simple, low-tech) fridge that looks like new for $400 or less at used appliances store and they typically offer 30, 60 or 90 day warranty, sufficient to get you to the other side of the closing after which you're off the hook.

[Anonymous]

If the fridge is a Samsung, there is a class action lawsuit against them for their ice makers due to faulty design. The ice dispenser in the front, when opened, lets too much air and condensation up and directly to the ice making unit, over time, the condensation turns to ice and prevents the ice maker rotor from turning, seizing the whole thing. There are many stories of owners having to manually de-ice it every now and then to keep it operational.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The day we signed our listing agreement we discovered the ice maker wasn't working. We emptied out a large chunk of ice, reset it and expected it to be working the next day. We discussed this with the realtor and decided we would get it fixed therefore we did not disclose it wasn't working. However, we have replaced 2 parts and are waiting for a third to come in and it still isn't working. We obviously want to be fair to the new owners, how do we determine what the fridge is worth at this point? I have seen numbers on depreciating an appliance for a rental, is it the same for a personal home?

Fridge is 4 years old.

TIA!

Why not just buy a new fridge? You don't want to list the house that has a broken fridge. The buyers will eventually just ask you to replace it as part of the sales contract, so just do it now.

You can get a used (simple, low-tech) fridge that looks like new for $400 or less at used appliances store and they typically offer 30, 60 or 90 day warranty, sufficient to get you to the other side of the closing after which you're off the hook.

Not gonna fly. OP already sold her house and the buyers know what the refrigerator looked like before.

[Anonymous]

As your realtor advised you: prepay for the repair and ask them to let the buyer know when the repair can be made and give them the paid receipt

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For this sort of thing just write a check for like $150 at closing.

$150

that doesn't being to pay for the fridge issue. As the buyer i would demand the value of a new fridge, it's clear the current one is past it's life expectancy.

OP write a check for $500.

Insane. No.

As a buyer, I want it fixed or money towards a new fridge. I don't want $200 to fix something that may not even be fixable

Be careful how you behave. I live in an old townhome community (Howard County), townhomes in the 300's, so not ultra expensive housing, but in a good school zone. Two weeks ago, he listed the home on Thursday. Friday-Sunday they had 63 showings. Monday 5pm, they had 29 offers. If you want to win the bid and be stickler like this, be prepared to keep renting or living in your current home for the foreseeable future. If you tried that on my neighbor, he'd decline your counter, and move on to the next offer.

And for most of DCUM, they are living in much more expensive parts of the area. Most are spending $800K to over $1M. Many have been searching months or years and frustrated with the lack of inventory. You really want to FINALLY have found a house, bid on it and won it, and then quibble over $300-400 when you had to bid $50K or more over listing price just to win the bid?

Grow up and stop acting Veruca Salt. Negotiate like a mature adult instead of a pampered child and you'll probably get a better deal.

Your lecture would be better if it tracked the actual facts. There is no more negotiation. There is a signed contract, and OP represented that there was a working refrigerator and ice machine. Therefore, she has to provide one at closing.

Please read more carefully, and you won't waste everyone's time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of doing this, you should talk to the buyers.

This. Just tell them that the ice maker broke, that you have parts on the way to fix it, and ask what they want to do about it. Maybe they'll just want enough money for the repair once the part comes in, maybe they'll want money toward replacing the fridge (though that seems over the top for an easily fixed fridge component), or maybe they won't even care at this point. No one—not you, not the buyers—is going to let the sale fall through over a broken ice maker.

This. Since the sale already happened, obviously it’s not going to fall through, just tell them that the icemaker broke during the rentback, you have parts on the way to fix it, and see what everyone agrees to do about it. That’s what the escrow on your rentback is for.

OP never said the house sold. Said it broke when they signed the listing agreement. Is the house even on the market? OP, just get it fixed before listing. Or before closing. This isn't rocket science.

We just sold and are renting back. Our dishwasher door broke while we were under contract prior to closing. We paid to have it fixed. Now that we're renting back, anything that breaks is on the new owners.

This is almost certainly wrong. And if it's correct, the buyer's realtor is historically incompetent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of doing this, you should talk to the buyers.

This. Just tell them that the ice maker broke, that you have parts on the way to fix it, and ask what they want to do about it. Maybe they'll just want enough money for the repair once the part comes in, maybe they'll want money toward replacing the fridge (though that seems over the top for an easily fixed fridge component), or maybe they won't even care at this point. No one—not you, not the buyers—is going to let the sale fall through over a broken ice maker.

This. Since the sale already happened, obviously it’s not going to fall through, just tell them that the icemaker broke during the rentback, you have parts on the way to fix it, and see what everyone agrees to do about it. That’s what the escrow on your rentback is for.

OP never said the house sold. Said it broke when they signed the listing agreement. Is the house even on the market? OP, just get it fixed before listing. Or before closing. This isn't rocket science.

We just sold and are renting back. Our dishwasher door broke while we were under contract prior to closing. We paid to have it fixed. Now that we're renting back, anything that breaks is on the new owners.

This is almost certainly wrong. And if it's correct, the buyer's realtor is historically incompetent.

Right. Heck, the rent back agreements explicitly state that this is NOT a landlord/tenant relationship

[Anonymous]

OP, just talk to the buyer. I couldn't care less about an ice-maker. I never use it, in my world an ice-maker is a wasted space in the freezer. I am sure there are others like me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of doing this, you should talk to the buyers.

This. Just tell them that the ice maker broke, that you have parts on the way to fix it, and ask what they want to do about it. Maybe they'll just want enough money for the repair once the part comes in, maybe they'll want money toward replacing the fridge (though that seems over the top for an easily fixed fridge component), or maybe they won't even care at this point. No one—not you, not the buyers—is going to let the sale fall through over a broken ice maker.

This. Since the sale already happened, obviously it’s not going to fall through, just tell them that the icemaker broke during the rentback, you have parts on the way to fix it, and see what everyone agrees to do about it. That’s what the escrow on your rentback is for.

OP never said the house sold. Said it broke when they signed the listing agreement. Is the house even on the market? OP, just get it fixed before listing. Or before closing. This isn't rocket science.

We just sold and are renting back. Our dishwasher door broke while we were under contract prior to closing. We paid to have it fixed. Now that we're renting back, anything that breaks is on the new owners.

This is almost certainly wrong. And if it's correct, the buyer's realtor is historically incompetent.

Right. Heck, the rent back agreements explicitly state that this is NOT a landlord/tenant relationship

Exactly. I remember sweating it out during our 30-day rentback that nothing would break until the following month.

[Anonymous]

OP, do the buyers know that it broke and you are working on fixing it?

If you put in the contract the house had an ice maker, then it should have one. We just sold our home...could have easily sold it with a broken ice maker but we decided to get it fixed so that we could put there was one. If we didn't fix it, we absolutely wouldn't have put it included an icemaker. It's misleading to do so.

Yes they waived continencies because there is no way to win otherwise. But do the right thing and make sure the appliances you said were included actually work. I'm all about karma...I know I would be worried if I treated my buyers like this, then I would be worried that my NEXT house would have some "nice" surprises for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of doing this, you should talk to the buyers.

This. Just tell them that the ice maker broke, that you have parts on the way to fix it, and ask what they want to do about it. Maybe they'll just want enough money for the repair once the part comes in, maybe they'll want money toward replacing the fridge (though that seems over the top for an easily fixed fridge component), or maybe they won't even care at this point. No one—not you, not the buyers—is going to let the sale fall through over a broken ice maker.

This. Since the sale already happened, obviously it’s not going to fall through, just tell them that the icemaker broke during the rentback, you have parts on the way to fix it, and see what everyone agrees to do about it. That’s what the escrow on your rentback is for.

OP never said the house sold. Said it broke when they signed the listing agreement. Is the house even on the market? OP, just get it fixed before listing. Or before closing. This isn't rocket science.

We just sold and are renting back. Our dishwasher door broke while we were under contract prior to closing. We paid to have it fixed. Now that we're renting back, anything that breaks is on the new owners.

Reading comprehension. You have a lot of details wrong.

OP said that they sold the house, and they are currently in a rent-back. The rent back ends at the end of the month (I presume end of June). They assumed that they would have the broken icemaker fixed before they left, but they have had two visits, one replaced some components, but still didn't fix the problem so more parts are on order that will not be in before they leave their rent-back. They don't know if the replacement components will fix the issue since they won't be in the house any more.

OP--you should talk to the buyers and see what they want done. Will they be okay with the repairment coming to replace the parts that have been ordered and you paying for the repair or would they rather have you write a check that can be applied towards a replacement fridge. Then negotiate the price.

But rather than crowd-sourcing, you should just talk to the buyers. If this was pre-listing, then crowd-sourcing ideas to see what seems to be the most popular is appropriate since you are trying to satisfy the biggest potential audience of buyers. But here, you only have and audience of one, the people who actually bought your house. Talk to them and negotiate a deal.

OP never said they were in a rent back.

Yes, she did. Go back to page 3. 06/07/21 13:58, she wrote:

OP wrote:The house sold with no contingencies, but we included ice maker in the listing documents. We honestly thought we would be able to have it fixed without an issue. We are in a rent back for a few more weeks but the part I am waiting on was just delayed so I'm thinking about what to do should the part not arrive in time or fix the issue.