Fraudulent Home Buying Experience (1 Viewer)

[Caesar]

Gotcha.  I do understand wanting to be loyal to the guy but unless using the seller's agent as your own increases your odds of getting the sale (the biggest advantage is they know what the seller wants more than anyone) then you should also find another agent. Have your guy refer someone for you so he gets paid while you get good representation.

That all makes sense. 

If I do decide to consult a lawyer on this, what should I be looking for to get the best representation I can find?  If it goes that route, can I ask for the lawyer fees to be conered as part of any settlement that might happen? 

I have never in my life considered suing someone and I honestly don't even know how to go about it.

 

[James Daulton]

That all makes sense. 

If I do decide to consult a lawyer on this, what should I be looking for to get the best representation I can find?  If it goes that route, can I ask for the lawyer fees to be conered as part of any settlement that might happen? 

I have never in my life considered suing someone and I honestly don't even know how to go about it.

Won't his attorney fees basically offset whatever money he might win?  

 

[belljr]

Side note.

Emergency heat just mean it's running like a normal heating unit without a heat pump I hate using the heat pump on my unit. I bumped mine to use the furnace at like 50

 

[xulf]

How many times do people ask you to take less than normal to do your job? I swear to God real estate is the only business where people think it's ok to ask a person to work for less than his normal wage. SMDH.

No offense but you have no clue what you are talking about.  Henry Ford mentioned that lawyers are asked this all the time and the truth is, anyone in a  "service" industry is asked this.  

Heres the thing about RE agents...and I have had my RE license - got it 12 years ago.  A RE agent 95% of the time brings nothing to the table.  Go ahead and say you have to take classes and pass tests and all that...and you are likely a good agent that falls into the top 5% who gives a damn and actually cares.  But, I took the classes for the test studied for an hour and got a very high score (95%+) on the exam.  

You unfortunately work in an industry that education doesn't mean a whole lot.  HS dropouts flock towards it and saturate the industry.  The reality is that 99% of agents just want to close the deal ASAP because 1.5% of a $2,000 savings for the buyer or seller simply isn't worth it for the agent.

I work in a research and financial field.  I am a CPA and have a Masters from Northwestern in Predictive Analytics.  I have clients all the time ask me to do speeches, webinars, addons for free.  They seem shocked that I can't do that and have to charge them for my time and services.  

So, you are not alone in the service world.  But, I unfortunately, never have had clients do 99% of the work and only require me to open a house up for 30 mins and sign a piece of paper as they do all the ground work and negotiate pricing.

 

[fruity pebbles]

Three professions that are no longer needed

real estate agents

travel agents

new car sales

im sure there are others

 

[Zegras11]

No offense but you have no clue what you are talking about.  Henry Ford mentioned that lawyers are asked this all the time and the truth is, anyone in a  "service" industry is asked this.  

Heres the thing about RE agents...and I have had my RE license - got it 12 years ago.  A RE agent 95% of the time brings nothing to the table.  Go ahead and say you have to take classes and pass tests and all that...and you are likely a good agent that falls into the top 5% who gives a damn and actually cares.  But, I took the classes for the test studied for an hour and got a very high score (95%+) on the exam.  

You unfortunately work in an industry that education doesn't mean a whole lot.  HS dropouts flock towards it and saturate the industry.  The reality is that 99% of agents just want to close the deal ASAP because 1.5% of a $2,000 savings for the buyer or seller simply isn't worth it for the agent.

I work in a research and financial field.  I am a CPA and have a Masters from Northwestern in Predictive Analytics.  I have clients all the time ask me to do speeches, webinars, addons for free.  They seem shocked that I can't do that and have to charge them for my time and services.  

So, you are not alone in the service world.  But, I unfortunately, never have had clients do 99% of the work and only require me to open a house up for 30 mins and sign a piece of paper as they do all the ground work and negotiate pricing.

you must have been a real ####ty agent.  Or.... it sounds like by what you wrote, you passed your test and never really sold any real estate.  Your I passed the test mantra is pretty ignorant when it comes to what a RE agent actually does.

I bring a ton to the table in every deal. Just closed another 5 minutes ago,  Four in four days , all multiple offer situations (8, 5, 3, and 2 offer and won them all) and one with a wall that needed removal to make a deal.  All of them took skilled negotiations from both agents to get it done.  And then it's off to the inspections where it often times takes skilled negotiations to handle any issues that come up.

Unless you are very experienced with real estate, not using an agent is one of the dumbest things anyone can do. FSBO owners open themselves to tremendous liabilities, especially in negotiating inspection issues if they are not handled correctly.

There are occasional deals that go very smooth where I feel I might be over paid  a tad on those, but those certainly make up for the times when you do a tremendous amount of work and one party walks away for a very lame reason a day before closing.  And that happens more often than the easy ones.

 

 

[xulf]

you must have been a real ####ty agent.  Or.... it sounds like by what you wrote, you passed your test and never really sold any real estate.  Your I passed the test mantra is pretty ignorant when it comes to what a RE agent actually does.

I bring a ton to the table in every deal. Just closed another 5 minutes ago,  Four in four days , all multiple offer situations (8, 5, 3, and 2 offer and won them all) and one with a wall that needed removal to make a deal.  All of them took skilled negotiations from both agents to get it done.  And then it's off to the inspections where it often times takes skilled negotiations to handle any issues that come up.

Unless you are very experienced with real estate, not using an agent is one of the dumbest things anyone can do. FSBO owners open themselves to tremendous liabilities, especially in negotiating inspection issues if they are not handled correctly.

There are occasional deals that go very smooth where I feel I might be over paid  a tad on those, but those certainly make up for the times when you do a tremendous amount of work and one party walks away for a very lame reason a day before closing.  And that happens more often than the easy ones.

 

I admittedly only did a few deals.  But, I have bought and sold several homes and rentals with a RE agent.  The "help" they brought to the table was negligible.  We only look at houses we had an expectation to put an offer on (generally 3 or less) and the for sale houses were in contract within a week or two.

On a sell and buy situation the agent is making $15k and putting in the effort of taking pics, putting it on the mls, and opening a door.  I may have more knowledge than the average Joe, but a RE agent making $1-2k an hr seems silly.

Curious, what do you consider a "win".  Are multiple offers a win or does that means its underpriced?  Do you go for the competition to drive it up?

I am only experienced in the central Ohio market where there are thousands upon thousands of agents in a small area.  Like I said, there are a % that are good, quality agents...but here, there are not many. 

 

[Zegras11]

I admittedly only did a few deals.  But, I have bought and sold several homes and rentals with a RE agent.  The "help" they brought to the table was negligible.  We only look at houses we had an expectation to put an offer on (generally 3 or less) and the for sale houses were in contract within a week or two.

On a sell and buy situation the agent is making $15k and putting in the effort of taking pics, putting it on the mls, and opening a door.  I may have more knowledge than the average Joe, but a RE agent making $1-2k an hr seems silly.

Curious, what do you consider a "win".  Are multiple offers a win or does that means its underpriced?  Do you go for the competition to drive it up?

I am only experienced in the central Ohio market where there are thousands upon thousands of agents in a small area.  Like I said, there are a % that are good, quality agents...but here, there are not many. 

I was the buyers agent on all four deals. Two were under priced on purpose. The market has turned white hot here in Boise the last three weeks.

$1-2K an hour is simply not remotely true.  There's a lot more than what you listed.

I agree on the last statement.  Would have had 5 deals in 4 days if were not for a very new agent that received our full price offer and another less than full.  They then sent out a request for highest and best due in 36 hours.  My buyer was pissed and wanted to see more homes. Think the other buyer walked also because it's not pending and the deadline was 27 hours ago.

75% of new agents don't make it past their first year.   75% of those left don't do it full time.  The crappy rep is deserved and earned by those that do it part time.  Maybe those are the ones that skate by without doing much.    I've had over 30 loan apps filled out since March 1, mostly because I leave no stone unturned in the process and I get a lot of referrals now. It took two years to get to this point from scratch. It's a very hard business. People are total bat #### crazy when selling their homes.

 

[cstu]

you must have been a real ####ty agent.  Or.... it sounds like by what you wrote, you passed your test and never really sold any real estate.  Your I passed the test mantra is pretty ignorant when it comes to what a RE agent actually does.

I bring a ton to the table in every deal. Just closed another 5 minutes ago,  Four in four days , all multiple offer situations (8, 5, 3, and 2 offer and won them all) and one with a wall that needed removal to make a deal.  All of them took skilled negotiations from both agents to get it done.  And then it's off to the inspections where it often times takes skilled negotiations to handle any issues that come up.

Unless you are very experienced with real estate, not using an agent is one of the dumbest things anyone can do. FSBO owners open themselves to tremendous liabilities, especially in negotiating inspection issues if they are not handled correctly.

There are occasional deals that go very smooth where I feel I might be over paid  a tad on those, but those certainly make up for the times when you do a tremendous amount of work and one party walks away for a very lame reason a day before closing.  And that happens more often than the easy ones.

 

I felt a lot like xulf until my wife became an agent. I won't say it's the most difficult job in the world or requires the most amount of education, but neither do a lot of jobs.  From first hand experience I know much work the job is (for a good agent).  There's a reason why most people still don't sell their own house even though they say they don't respect agents.

 

[Zegras11]

I felt a lot like xulf until my wife became an agent. I won't say it's the most difficult job in the world or requires the most amount of education, but neither do a lot of jobs.  From first hand experience I know much work the job is (for a good agent).  There's a reason why most people still don't sell their own house even though they say they don't respect agents.

You live in LA and she is over paid 

 

[Zegras11]

I felt a lot like xulf until my wife became an agent. I won't say it's the most difficult job in the world or requires the most amount of education, but neither do a lot of jobs.  From first hand experience I know much work the job is (for a good agent).  There's a reason why most people still don't sell their own house even though they say they don't respect agents.

National Assoc of Realtors has a stat that FSBO sellers get 16% less on their sales than those using agents.

And I just finished a conversation with a PT agent from deal tonight.    She sent the wrong form and potentially had her seller agreeing to sell her house to two different parties for the same price.  I had to walk her through the fix....  oof...

A lot of agents don't get properly trained after getting their license. My broker fortunately trains us 24/7.  Hardly anything you learn taking the tests is used in real life.

 

[xulf]

National Assoc of Realtors has a stat that FSBO sellers get 16% less on their sales than those using agents.

And I just finished a conversation with a PT agent from deal tonight.    She sent the wrong form and potentially had her seller agreeing to sell her house to two different parties for the same price.  I had to walk her through the fix....  oof...

A lot of agents don't get properly trained after getting their license. My broker fortunately trains us 24/7.  Hardly anything you learn taking the tests is used in real life.

As an aside I was not trying to be critical of anyone in this thread or their spouses, etc.  My comments were based on the vast majority, not the select few, who give a damn and do good work.  My $1-2k per hour comment was about the realtors I've used when I set the ball on a tee on both ends.  

I know the pain of showing 20 homes only to have the buyer decide they aren't ready.  I don't at all mean that is the typical rate, just the rate of super prepared buyers and sellers who are very motivated (me).

 

[Binky The Doormat]

As an aside I was not trying to be critical of anyone in this thread or their spouses, etc.  My comments were based on the vast majority, not the select few, who give a damn and do good work.  My $1-2k per hour comment was about the realtors I've used when I set the ball on a tee on both ends.  

I know the pain of showing 20 homes only to have the buyer decide they aren't ready.  I don't at all mean that is the typical rate, just the rate of super prepared buyers and sellers who are very motivated (me).




 

My wife has been a realtor the last 5-6 years.

"Its a tough racket" - swirls lowball glass ...ice tinkles

 

[James Daulton]

you must have been a real ####ty agent.  Or.... it sounds like by what you wrote, you passed your test and never really sold any real estate.  Your I passed the test mantra is pretty ignorant when it comes to what a RE agent actually does.

I bring a ton to the table in every deal. Just closed another 5 minutes ago,  Four in four days , all multiple offer situations (8, 5, 3, and 2 offer and won them all) and one with a wall that needed removal to make a deal.  All of them took skilled negotiations from both agents to get it done.  And then it's off to the inspections where it often times takes skilled negotiations to handle any issues that come up.

Unless you are very experienced with real estate, not using an agent is one of the dumbest things anyone can do. FSBO owners open themselves to tremendous liabilities, especially in negotiating inspection issues if they are not handled correctly.

There are occasional deals that go very smooth where I feel I might be over paid  a tad on those, but those certainly make up for the times when you do a tremendous amount of work and one party walks away for a very lame reason a day before closing.  And that happens more often than the easy ones.

 

Donald, is that you?

lol at real estate agents.  Mortgage brokers worked really hard to get great deals during the 2000's too.

 

[renesauz]

Here is the happenings.

My wife and I were home shopping at the end of October.  We had to settle a litlte bit on the house because no mortgage company would count my military retirement until after I got a proof of income, which I couldn't get until I was retired.  Stupid system, but not the point here.  We settled on a decent home which I knew had some minor cosmetic issues, but nothing major in that respect.  Mostly, you could tell a lot of the stuff was DIY.  The guy had some skills, but was clearly not a professional handyman.

Anyway, settle on the house.  Home inspector does his walkthrough and asks me to give him a call so he can discuss his report.  He goes through it and talks about some things here and there that are of small concern.  There is nothing too bad, but just some advice and recommendations for me.  There was two items I was truly concerned with out of the 15 listed.  The first was some indication of water in the basement.  The owner said that someone had unplugged his brand new sump pump and it just came up through the cracks a little.  This story checked out in every detail and the home inspector told me he believed it to be true as there was no other signs of water down there, like rust spots on the floor or mold or mildew.  So, I put in the contract to have a professional come out and make an assessment, which he did.

The other issue was the heat pump.  The home inspector told me that it was not coming on and that the house was running on emergency heat.  So, of course I make sure one of the stipulations of sale is that the heat pump be fixed.  At closing, a paper was produced (photocopy) of the business card for an HVAC guy, a note about the system running great, and a reciept for $495 for services, which included a new thermostat (which I didn't really care about).  OK, great.  Documentation that it was fixed is there.  We close on the house in mid December.

Fast forward to last Friday and I am getting a quote from a contractor on my basement finsihing job.  We notice the AC (same unit as heat pump) breaker is tripped.  Reset the breaker and when the unit should kick on, it trips.  Turns out the compressor is grounded, and in bad shape, and of course, the unit is out of warranty.  Soooooooo, new compressor which is going to run roughly 2K-3K with labor and the freon charge OR a whole new unit which will probably run me 5-7K.  (I am guessing here mostly)

Let me get this out of the way.  I am an idiot for not verifying operation, but hey, life sometimes gets in the way and it was a very mild winter here in Cincinnati.  Emergency heat (thought I didn't know that was the heat source) was keeping us warm and in talking to others, my electric bill was high, but not ridiculously out of the realm of feasibilty, so I never checked.  I suspected something wasn't right, but I just didn't have the opportunity to get someone out to look at it.  I am an idiot. 

But here is where it really gets interesting to me.  The realtor was representing both parties.  This is legal in Ohio, though I know it is not legal in some states.  Anyway, I call him and see if there is anything I can do about it since it was in the contract.  Well, we start by calling the technician who did the work in November.  Sure enough, I get an email back saying it was his card, but that was not his invoice form and not his handwriting on the receipt.  WTF?  So, here I sit at my new job, waiting for the realtor to call me back, wondering if this dude is going to get away with fraud.

So, what do you think?  Do I have recourse?  Even if its not fraud, something is not right. 

Sounds like fraud to me. You should have legal recourse.

 

[renesauz]

Blame your government. To make a long story short- banks have to show that they did everything that they could in due diligence to prove that you should be able to repay the loan. If not, they may be on the hook for a few billion to hand over to the government. Huge liability here now and a big part of the reason mortgages are such a pain in the rear now. Went from too loose to too tight in underwriting and verification.

Yeah...I'm in the middle of trying to buy a house now. Some of the crap they've been asking for is an absolute joke. I had to get a letter from my WIFE, that stated I had full access to our checking account. Mind you...the earnest money deposit came from that account, and my name is the only one on the statement since I'm the primary, AND MY PAYCHECK is automatically deposited there. When I laughed at him, his answer was..."well, she isn't on the loan. how do we know who she is?" Umm....she's on my joint tax return you already have?

As if someone faking everything else couldn't whip up a random note from someone they never met?!

 

[ghostguy123]

Realtors are scum.  Home inspectors are scum.  Both want your money.  Neither gives a flying #### about you.

 

[ghostguy123]

When I bought my house the electrical panel needed some sort of upgrade.  Work was done by the seller per our negotiations, and I #### you not the receipt was hand written on some sort of paper a 3rd grader would use, like the wide ruled kind.  Just written out, a few words with an illegible dollar amount, signature, and absolutely no way to even tell who did the actual work or what work was done.   Nothing was typed, and it was supposedly an actual business.  Needless to say I called bull#### and ended up getting money off the asking price and just had the work done myself. 

That and the home inspector I had was a total moron, though I did not realize it at the time.  I have come to realize that in order to become a home inspector you don't actually need to have any sort of credentials.  It's embarrassing. 

My house had a heat pump, but the home inspector though it was just an A/C unit, so when we did the inspection it was very cold outside, and he said we could not test the A/C.  The house also had baseboard heating as a secondary heat source, but the guy said that must  have been the main heat source.  The guy wasn't even qualified enough to know that the house had a heat pump, yet this guy is a home inspector?  Embarrassing.

As for your home warranty, sucks they cap any work at 2 grand.  I ended up getting a brand new A/C and furnace when my heat pump conked out a few weeks after I moved in (see my home warranty jackpot thread )

Bottom line, the world will be a better place when the role of the realtor is nothing more than just completing a contract.

Oh, and NEVER use a home inspector that your realtor recommends.  Ever.  Never.

 

[renesauz]

When I bought my house the electrical panel needed some sort of upgrade.  Work was done by the seller per our negotiations, and I #### you not the receipt was hand written on some sort of paper a 3rd grader would use, like the wide ruled kind.  Just written out, a few words with an illegible dollar amount, signature, and absolutely no way to even tell who did the actual work or what work was done.   Nothing was typed, and it was supposedly an actual business.  Needless to say I called bull#### and ended up getting money off the asking price and just had the work done myself. 

That and the home inspector I had was a total moron, though I did not realize it at the time.  I have come to realize that in order to become a home inspector you don't actually need to have any sort of credentials.  It's embarrassing. 

My house had a heat pump, but the home inspector though it was just an A/C unit, so when we did the inspection it was very cold outside, and he said we could not test the A/C.  The house also had baseboard heating as a secondary heat source, but the guy said that must  have been the main heat source.  The guy wasn't even qualified enough to know that the house had a heat pump, yet this guy is a home inspector?  Embarrassing.

As for your home warranty, sucks they cap any work at 2 grand.  I ended up getting a brand new A/C and furnace when my heat pump conked out a few weeks after I moved in (see my home warranty jackpot thread )

Bottom line, the world will be a better place when the role of the realtor is nothing more than just completing a contract.

Oh, and NEVER use a home inspector that your realtor recommends.  Ever.  Never.

My realtor is my wife's aunt...and she was far FAR more picky on evrything than I ever could be. We did use the inspector she recomended, and he was just as picky. He spent over 3 hours on the inspection (it's only an 1800 sq foot house) and noted all kinds of crap I never would have thought to even consider. Seemed like a terrific investment to me...we used his report to hammer the seller and get a ton of stuff taken care of, including a brand new HVAC

 

[ghostguy123]

My realtor is my wife's aunt...and she was far FAR more picky on evrything than I ever could be. We did use the inspector she recomended, and he was just as picky. He spent over 3 hours on the inspection (it's only an 1800 sq foot house) and noted all kinds of crap I never would have thought to even consider. Seemed like a terrific investment to me...we used his report to hammer the seller and get a ton of stuff taken care of, including a brand new HVAC

If your realtor is your wife's aunt and someone you trust, then sure.  That is what, like 1% of cases?

 

[ghostguy123]

Yeah...I'm in the middle of trying to buy a house now. Some of the crap they've been asking for is an absolute joke. I had to get a letter from my WIFE, that stated I had full access to our checking account. Mind you...the earnest money deposit came from that account, and my name is the only one on the statement since I'm the primary, AND MY PAYCHECK is automatically deposited there. When I laughed at him, his answer was..."well, she isn't on the loan. how do we know who she is?" Umm....she's on my joint tax return you already have?

As if someone faking everything else couldn't whip up a random note from someone they never met?!

I really liked how the loan officer I was working with would ask me for certain forms.  Before I left (on multiple occasions) I would ask "is that all you need?  Are you sure there isn't anything else?  Do you have a printed list of everything I could possibly need so that I would be over prepared and not forget anything?".

He would of course say "nope, that's everything" only to have him call me on a few different occasions telling me different things I needed to bring up to him to get this done, delaying the process like two full weeks. 

A letter like you mentioned was one of them.  I also laughed at that. 

I was flabbergasted that the guy didn't have a list of items that could potentially be needed.  I understand that some people need different forms than others, but if the the list has everything I could possibly need then we wouldn't run into these phone tag stupid ### dumb #### delays that were completely unnecessary. 

 

[fissure man]

You can't check the A/C when it's cold outside. If the heat pump is producing heat, then it's likely the A/C works, unless the reversing valve is damaged or broken.

The "list of items that could potentially be needed" would be so long that you would complain about that too.

 

[Zegras11]

If your realtor is your wife's aunt and someone you trust, then sure.  That is what, like 1% of cases?

Actually,  related realtors are often afraid to speak 100 percent truth in fear of upsetting the relationship most of the time. His aunt was very wise to go to great lengths and get it done right from the start.  

Agree with you on inspectors.  As an agent now, I have a pool of six good ones, but without regulation, there can be some real bad ones.  

People need to ask their realtors if they are full time or not before they hire them and how many inspectors they use.. 

 

[Caesar]

I will say I was very happy with the inspector.  He seemed to be very thorough and even called me to explain some of the issues he had.  He had been inspecting homes for almost 30 years.  He told me, in his opinion, what really needed to be addressed prior to closing and what I could probably choose to let go.  He also explained to me about how to check for foundation issues and what to do about them if they should arise.  All in all, I spent over 3 hours talking to him.  

He actually caused a little stir up when he was explaining the water in the basement.  He called to apologize if he misrepresented the issue.  I was quite impressed, actually. 

Most people never even meet their inspector.  I am guessing that a lot of home inspectors have no interest in interacting with the people who are paying them.  My advice would be find one that is willing to go over their report.  If they are good, they can be a wealth of information.

 

[ghostguy123]

You can't check the A/C when it's cold outside. If the heat pump is producing heat, then it's likely the A/C works, unless the reversing valve is damaged or broken.

The "list of items that could potentially be needed" would be so long that you would complain about that too.

I dont think you read what I posted correctly about that.  He didn't test the HEAT PUMP, because he didnt know it was a heat pump.

 

[Caesar]

I contacted a lawyer.  Basically, its tough to prove fraud, but if it could be proved, the guy could be forced to pay 3X "damages" and also could be forced to pay my lawyer fees (I guess thats a fraud thing)  However, I don't know if it is worth it because if it can't really be proved, or it ends up being drawn out, I am out everything plus the cost of the lawyer.  I'm not interested in that.

So, I have two options.  The warranty company will cover $530 of a new unit, or pay for the compressor replacement.  The catch there is that I will still be charges for the freon (at $65/lb) for a little over $500 total out of my pocket.  I am worried I drop the $500, and something else goes out in 3 months.  

Second option is to get a new unit altogether.  I can get a tempstar installed quoted (best price) at $5300.  I don't think this is a bad price, and at least it will be under warranty for 5 and 10 years.  The HVAC guys says he has to replace the inside and outside unit, so at least the system is updated. 

Along with that, I will likely ask the guy about the best place to put my vents for the basement I am finishing, as well as the return line.  So, there will be a little expert advice he probably won't charge for.

So, what's the play here?  I am struggling with this decision.  I do have the money to replace the unit, but it might cut into the basement budget a little.  which way do you go?  New compressor and hope for the best?  Should I get a second or third quote on a new unit?  We've already been out of A/C for a couple weeks, and it is starting to warm up.  I don't want to wait too long and I work the next nine days in a row, so not much time to deal with this.

Thanks for any help. (except from Otis)

 

[Zegras11]

That's a tough one.   I always opt to get new so I never have to worry about it again.  But that's just me.

I also have all my buyers meet and talk to my inspector two hours after he has started to go over any issues and pay him. We had to back out of the deal from a few days ago. Worst report I've ever seen. 

 

[Warrior]

Realtors are scum.  Home inspectors are scum.  Both want your money.  Neither gives a flying #### about you.

My realtor sent me a birthday card

 

[gianmarco]

If the new unit will be more efficient, then I'd lean that route.  Save money on monthly bills, don't have to worry about "next time", much longer warranty. 

 

[Caesar]

That's a tough one.   I always opt to get new so I never have to worry about it again.  But that's just me.

I also have all my buyers meet and talk to my inspector two hours after he has started to go over any issues and pay him. We had to back out of the deal from a few days ago. Worst report I've ever seen. 

Good practice.  If I had not been out of state, I would have been there for sure.  I am leaning towards the new unit for the reason mentioned.  I have the money, so I would rather do it now instead of it going out when I don't have the extra money laying around.

 

[Angry Beavers]

Sue everybody - problem solved!

 

[sbonomo]

Have the warranty company fix it.  The cost for freon is such a sham.  They can do a leak test if you are worried there is a leak somewhere  in the system.  

 

[Caesar]

Had the whole unit replaced. 

Signed papers to build a new house.

Solved!

 

[Caesar]

So, now I'm pissed.

I don't live in the house anymore.  My SIL and BIL live there and cover the mortgage.  Turns out the guy who sold me the HVAC unit oversized it be a ton.  Guess what happens when you oversize a unit by .5-1 ton?  @chiefD can probably tell ya.... the blower motor burns up.

AWESOME!!!

So, its under warranty, but the tech (not the original guy who installed it, oh no, his company didn't call me back for a week so I called the national customer service) told me that its just going to keep burning up because its overworking trying to push all that air through undersized ducting. 

I feel so stupid at this point, and yet I'm sure 99% of people could have had this same problem.  I distincly remember him telling me one of the reasons the first one failed was becuase it was UNDERsized.

So, now I get to decide if I want to replace a two year old unit AGAIN, or replace the blower motor and when it burns up again, the warranty won't cover it a second time.  I hear blower motors aren't so cheap.

I want to call the national hotline and complain that their AUTHORIZED agent speaks for THEM and they need to help sove this, but I'm guessing, like most companies, they aren't going to do #### for me. 

I just needed to vent.  I don't feel better.

 

[Beef Ravioli]

So, now I'm pissed.

I don't live in the house anymore.  My SIL and BIL live there and cover the mortgage.  Turns out the guy who sold me the HVAC unit oversized it be a ton.  Guess what happens when you oversize a unit by .5-1 ton?  @chiefD can probably tell ya.... the blower motor burns up.

AWESOME!!!

So, its under warranty, but the tech (not the original guy who installed it, oh no, his company didn't call me back for a week so I called the national customer service) told me that its just going to keep burning up because its overworking trying to push all that air through undersized ducting. 

I feel so stupid at this point, and yet I'm sure 99% of people could have had this same problem.  I distincly remember him telling me one of the reasons the first one failed was becuase it was UNDERsized.

So, now I get to decide if I want to replace a two year old unit AGAIN, or replace the blower motor and when it burns up again, the warranty won't cover it a second time.  I hear blower motors aren't so cheap.

I want to call the national hotline and complain that their AUTHORIZED agent speaks for THEM and they need to help sove this, but I'm guessing, like most companies, they aren't going to do #### for me. 

I just needed to vent.  I don't feel better.

It would be amazing if the company or the contractor would own this but I think that is highly unlikely. I feel sorry for you and am grateful I have a good buddy in the HVAC biz up here in Cbus that has always taken good care of me.

No matter what the line of work is, when you find a good mechanic, Dr or HVAC guy, hold onto them! 

Hoping for the best for you!

 

[Mr.Pack]

Take it to a local TV Station, maybe they can at least get them to split the bill for a new unit with you.

 

[glvsav37]

So, now I'm pissed.

I don't live in the house anymore.  My SIL and BIL live there and cover the mortgage.  Turns out the guy who sold me the HVAC unit oversized it be a ton.  Guess what happens when you oversize a unit by .5-1 ton?  @chiefD can probably tell ya.... the blower motor burns up.

AWESOME!!!

So, its under warranty, but the tech (not the original guy who installed it, oh no, his company didn't call me back for a week so I called the national customer service) told me that its just going to keep burning up because its overworking trying to push all that air through undersized ducting. 

I feel so stupid at this point, and yet I'm sure 99% of people could have had this same problem.  I distincly remember him telling me one of the reasons the first one failed was becuase it was UNDERsized.

So, now I get to decide if I want to replace a two year old unit AGAIN, or replace the blower motor and when it burns up again, the warranty won't cover it a second time.  I hear blower motors aren't so cheap.

I want to call the national hotline and complain that their AUTHORIZED agent speaks for THEM and they need to help sove this, but I'm guessing, like most companies, they aren't going to do #### for me. 

I just needed to vent.  I don't feel better.

I hate that I have to resort to this at times, but I find Twitter is a great resource for customer complaints, esp if there is a national company behind it. Stomping your feet enough publicly might be enough for the company to at least work with you on the replacement—cite poor franchisee work, poor customer service, overbuilding to soak the homeowner, etc.  None of which is a lie. I've run into problems and run around on the phone with both Direct TV and CVS specialty pharmacy and within 1 tweet, I have them DM'ing me asking how to fix any issues. Just, if they do fix the issue, make sure you send a follow-up tweet complimenting them on resolving the issue. 

The other option is to take them to court. You can prob prove they knowingly put too big of a unit in there (they should know the ratios) in a way to overcharge you for the install, plus future repairs, etc.