Our home was under construction when we signed the contract to purchase. The seller advertised the buyer could pick out what they wanted since the inside only had the sheet rock up. So we picked out everything, colors, fixtures, cabinets, flooring. We had agreed with the seller to pay for amounts that were over the allowance the seller had budgeted for fixtures, cabinets, and flooring. We ordered the flooring ourselves and made arrangements with the flooring company and seller of the date to install the flooring.
The day the installer completed installing the hardwood floors we came by the house to look at the finished product, it looked GREAT!!! However, during the middle of the night, a big rain storm blew open one of the back doors of the house and flooded the dining room and kitchen. The next day we came to see if the cabinets had been installed but found half the dining room and kitchen hardwood flooring ripped out because the seller said the wood was destroyed by the rain. The seller said he had insurance on the home and he would turn it in on his insurance. The seller admitted it was his fault for not making sure all the doors were securely closed because it was his house. The seller told us that day he was hoping to have the floors repaired before we even had a chance to see the damages, but the flooring company did not have the hardwood in stock so he had to place an order for more wood.
Within a couple of weeks the hardwood floors were repaired and we eventually closed on the house when everything was finished in the house. We also paid the flooring company for the amount that was over what the seller had budgeted. However, we did not pay the flooring company for the repair bill. Now, after closing on the house, the seller is only agreeing to pay the flooring company half of the repair bill and the flooring company is threatening to take us to small claims court if we do not pay the other half. We do not think it is our responsibility to pay the repair bill for the following reasons:
•It was not our fault the doors blew open, it was not our responsibility to lock the doors or make sure the house was secure
•The seller admitted it was his fault for not making sure all the doors were securely closed
•The seller owned the home at the time of the damages so we could not get our own insurance on the house
•The seller said he would turn it in on his insurance and pay for the repairs the day we came to see the damages
•The seller was the one that had the floor ripped up by his workers before we even saw the damages
•The seller made all the arrangements with the flooring company to repair the floor
•The seller placed the order for the additional hardwood and materials, we had nothing to do with ordering the materials for the repairs
Are we responsible for paying any of the expenses incurred from the repair of the floor?
The day the installer completed installing the hardwood floors we came by the house to look at the finished product, it looked GREAT!!! However, during the middle of the night, a big rain storm blew open one of the back doors of the house and flooded the dining room and kitchen. The next day we came to see if the cabinets had been installed but found half the dining room and kitchen hardwood flooring ripped out because the seller said the wood was destroyed by the rain. The seller said he had insurance on the home and he would turn it in on his insurance. The seller admitted it was his fault for not making sure all the doors were securely closed because it was his house. The seller told us that day he was hoping to have the floors repaired before we even had a chance to see the damages, but the flooring company did not have the hardwood in stock so he had to place an order for more wood.
Within a couple of weeks the hardwood floors were repaired and we eventually closed on the house when everything was finished in the house. We also paid the flooring company for the amount that was over what the seller had budgeted. However, we did not pay the flooring company for the repair bill. Now, after closing on the house, the seller is only agreeing to pay the flooring company half of the repair bill and the flooring company is threatening to take us to small claims court if we do not pay the other half. We do not think it is our responsibility to pay the repair bill for the following reasons:
•It was not our fault the doors blew open, it was not our responsibility to lock the doors or make sure the house was secure
•The seller admitted it was his fault for not making sure all the doors were securely closed
•The seller owned the home at the time of the damages so we could not get our own insurance on the house
•The seller said he would turn it in on his insurance and pay for the repairs the day we came to see the damages
•The seller was the one that had the floor ripped up by his workers before we even saw the damages
•The seller made all the arrangements with the flooring company to repair the floor
•The seller placed the order for the additional hardwood and materials, we had nothing to do with ordering the materials for the repairs
Are we responsible for paying any of the expenses incurred from the repair of the floor?
