Home > Research Legal Advice > Real Estate > If the seller fails to perform the repairs she agreed to do prior to c...
Asked 11 months ago - Dumont, NJ
FlagShe agreed in writing.My expenses include: bank charges;legal fees;inspection fees, etc
I agree that you should consult with your current real estate attorney. He should be advising you that you can refuse to close until the repairs are made and the seller agrees to reimburse you for your out-of-pocket costs, you can agree to close with an escrow agreement whereby the seller agrees to make the agreed-to repairs and reimburse you for your expenses with a generous amount set aside in escrow until the repairs are made, or you can ask the seller to give you a credit against the balance of the purchase price due and you will take care of making the repairs after the closing.
If the seller agreed to make the repairs, and failed to do so, she is likely responsible for your cost to make the repairs. Her actions may be a breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation or fraud.
While matters affecting title "merge into the deed" and do not survive the closing of title, structural issues do not affect title and therefore do not merge into the deed.
As a general rule, you have to pay your own attorney fees unless there is a specific statute or rule that permits fee shifting. For example, the NJ Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) requires that a losing defendant pay the plaintiff's attorney fees. Unfortunately, the CFA does not apply to individual homeowners.
Thus, you may be able to get the seller to pay for the cost of repairs, but probably not your legal fees.
Don't speak legalese? We define thousands of terms in plain English.
Browse our legal dictionary
